What is Mom’s Job Really Worth?

Most mothers start their day off early — 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. on most weekdays and probably some weekends. They don’t necessarily ride a bus or get in a car to get to their job, but they always need to be on time.

Whenever the baby cries or the kids need their clothes, lunches and signed papers for school, mom is most likely the one expressing the milk, cooking the eggs or cutting the crust off the bread just the way the kids like it.

In between changing diapers, car pooling the kids to their activities and entertaining them with crafts, sing-a-longs and story time as well as organizing the whole family schedule, mom usual has a list of domestic chores she needs to accomplish during the day and, for many women, there is a part or full-time work schedule added to the already heaping work load. Let us not forget, dinner, bath, and bedtime rituals ending somewhere around 9:30.

A recent study taken by salary.com and reported by MSN Money determined the average wage for a stay at home mom performing the aforementioned routine would be estimated at $138,095 based on the job description created in a survey by 40,000 participating moms. 

A working mom was estimated at $85,939 plus whatever her employment outside the home earned, although, according to statistics from the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), the average cost of childcare in PA is $11,000 or $917 per month.  .

The problem on the working mom equation is that although her home occupation may be estimated at $85,939, the average wage in Pennsylvania for a woman is $35,301 before taxes. After taxes and day care costs, her efforts are rewarded outside the home almost as much as inside the home. In essence, she makes less than a full-time stay at home mom. Go figure.

Of course, none of these assessed salaries include overtime and the one thing that mom is always on is overtime. In the wee hours of the night, children are still in need — infants need their feedings, cuddling, rocking and lullabies. Toddlers sometime need that mid-night clean-up that makes mom wish she had invested in those overnight pants because not only does she have to bathe her toddler at midnight, she is also doing laundry and making beds until about 1:30 a.m.

There are multiple other reasons why children get up in the night and need their moms —thunder, lighting, falling out of the bed, bad dreams, drink of water and the stern declaration of “I can’t sleep.”

Now, this doesn’t exclude dad’s role, but more often than not, the bulk of the childcare, family programming and domestic chores falls on mom’s shoulders. Though dads often are the chief financial supporter of families, it is women who are more likely to make the purchasing decisions.

According to Forbes, women in the U.S. spend more than $3.3 trillion annually and 95% of family financial decisions are made by women. Of working married women, 48% provide half or more of the household income.

While women have certainly come a long way in breaking barriers in the workplace, they are still at the glass ceiling for wages and, certainly are still trying to maintain the dual role of domestic goddess and bread winner.  Not to usurp a slogan but, motherhood is truly the toughest job you will ever love ... eventually.

When you’re in the trenches of motherhood, it can often seem like everything you do just makes that hole get a bit deeper and, there isn’t any way to stop digging. You must persist as a mother because the outcome of your children and family demand it. 

So, why write about the inequity of wages when Mother’s Day is right around the corner? Is it to evoke some sort of sympathy or some sort of guilt or to extort some sort of grand gift of obligation?

No, because good moms don’t try to manipulate like that which is probably why they are undervalued in the first place.

Moms get up at 6:30 a.m. on weekends and holidays. They don’t get days off and rarely get to call in sick. They do this for the love of their children and the hope that they will raise good, kind and productive human beings with tendencies towards compassion and generosity.

Well, those are the ideal virtues for which we strive, but, moms fall down and moms get frazzled. It’s nice to feel appreciated; really, who doesn’t want that — to feel appreciated? 

On Sunday, think of the value of everything that a mother does. Whether she works or is a stay at home mom, there is definitely a value attached to that work load that does not necessarily translate into financial compensation.

Moms are compensated by a child’s smile or the delight in their eyes; They are compensated by a good report card or a home run; They are compensated by being there for the first steps, the first words and the tooth.

Not to usurp another slogan, but, Motherhood: Priceless.