What Is The Role of Motherhood?I think that the role of motherhood is not actually one role; rather a mix of many different roles. At different times and in different circumstances we are called upon to put on different "hats" in order to deal with particular issues. Some of these sub-roles are:
nurse carer cook entertainment officer cleaner exercise coach councellor career advisor wardrobe lady relationship adviser health and safety officer play leader motivational coach Paid Work? In addition to this, modern moms have to decide whether we want to do paid work; in addition to the role of motherhood that is! Of course, it may be that we don't have any real choice because our family couldn't survive without the (second) income. Now if we already had a job before becoming a mother, it may be a case of deciding whether to go back to work full-time or part-time. My Choices I continued in my nursing career part time after the birth of my eldest child, but was only able to do that with the use of paid childcare. After my second child was born and my marriage broke down I fell back on state help for eighteen months. Then I met my second husband Barry. A few months after moving in together I decided to start on a new career path; I registered as a childminder, and ran a small childcare business from home. I've recently given up childminding to concentrate on writing and publishing. I'm choosing life my way! No matter what choice you make there will be upsides and downsides. Stay At Home Moms This is perhaps the most luxurious option, but many would find it stifling. You concentrate solely on your role of motherhood and don't do any paid work. There's an obvious financial downside to this choice! There's also the social/intellectual downside. It could also be argued that this is the best option for the kids. Take a look at this great site dedicated to professional mothers:
professional-mothering.com
Bringing in an income is increasingly part of the role of motherhood. Often that income will need to come through employment. As I commented previously there is some flexibility within this choice as regards what hours you choose to work. Many countries have legislation allowing for flexible working or negotiation of reduced hours and home working for parents of young children.
Domestic Discipline One of the most important parts of the role of motherhood is domestic discipline. How we mould and teach our children to behave is moulding the future of our societies. There are some general principles to bear in mind when thinking about disciplining children. Sometimes we get into the wrong groove and our kids start to behave badly. If that happens, there is help out there. Check out Ashley Ryan's "From Mis-Behaviour to Great Behaviour - 20 Days To A New Child". Family Budget Managing the family budget can be part of the role of motherhood. It certainly was for me when I was with my first husband, and while I was on my own. It can be a challenge to stretch the money as far as you need it to go. You need good admin and organisational skills. Feminist Motherhood? What is feminist motherhood? I guess it means not being held back by the traditional mother's role and being free to manage your motherhood role in the way that best suits you and your family. Your Perfect Life No matter what you choose and how you manage your motherhood role you will benefit from taking time to think about what you want from life. I really enjoyed writing down a description of my perfect life in great detail and I actually got really excited about it. Mind Movie After you've pictured your ideal life you can boil that down into a series of affirmations that encapsulate your goals. When you've done that you can make a mind movie. This is a short sample to give you an idea:
How To Make A Mind Movie I used Windows Movie Maker software, which is part of Windows Photo Manager. This software can be downloaded free from www.Microsoft.com or you can order a CD. You first import your photos from the SD card of your camera into Windows Photo Gallery. (You can also purchase and download photos from iStockphoto.com.) From there you click on the Make a Movie link at the top right of the page. The next step is to Import Pictures into Movie Maker and there is a link for this in the left menu. Click on pictures to browse your computer for saved images to use. Double click on the image you want to use and it will import into Movie Maker and appear on the page as a thumbnail image. At the bottom of the page you will see timeline view, click on the downward arrow to the right to change to storyboard view. There you will be able to click and drag images you have imported into the storyboard in the order you desire. In the edit menu you will be able to choose effects for each image. These are special effects that are applied to the image to add interest and movement to your movie or picture show. These can be clicked and dragged to the star in the bottom left hand corner of each image in storyboard view. Also in the edit menu you can choose transitions; these add an effect to ease between each image. Click and drag on the transition of your choice into the small box between each image frame in the storyboard view. To add text you need to decide whether you want to overlay an image or make a separate slide. To make a separate slide select the slide you want the text slide to precede and click on titles in the edit menu. Click on Title Before The Selected Clip and enter the text. You also have the option to edit the text font and colour. Click on add title and it will appear in the storyboard. From the same menu you can add a title at the beginning of the movie and credits at the end. I really enjoyed playing about with the software and making my movie; I'm sure you will too! Return from Role of Motherhood to All About Motherhood
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