Pros of Being A Working Mom

Being a working mom is not always a choice, and it is not always a preference. There are pros of being a working mom, just as there are many cons. For many families with children, having two working parents makes the most sense financially. Sometimes the mom is the breadwinner and the dad chooses to stay home. Sometimes you want to stay home with your babies, but it just is not in the cards. Or maybe you love your career and the lifestyle working affords you, so you choose to return to work after baby. Whichever camp you fall in, working moms have one thing in common: You are the perfect mom for your family. All moms love their children deeply, and make choices for the benefit of themselves and their family.

All moms weigh the pros and cons of working versus being a stay at home mom. We all know there are some downsides to being a working mom, and I feel them everyday. I choose to focus on the pros of being a working mom. I choose to focus on the benefits that working provides for my babies and for me. If you are a working mom too, I am always cheering for you. Here are some of the best pros of being a working mom!

Money

Boom. First one is easy. Being a working mom means having more income than not working. Financial reasons make up the largest reason for being a working mom and having greater financial flexibility is a major pro. If you have a vision of what lifestyle you aspire to, finances from a dual working household can be necessary. Having two incomes is also helpful in the event that one parent loses their job or faces a hardship that renders them in a tough financial spot. By being a working mom, I feel more secure with our financial needs and goals.

Outside of having more income, there are other financial facets of working that need to be considered as well. Benefits such as medical or dental (hello, braces) can be very costly. My job provides benefits for my entire family, and we would be in a tougher place without them. One of the huge pros of being a working mom of our family is in planning for retirement. Both my husband and I consider retirement planning a priority. Have dual incomes along with two company supported retirement plans allows us to save in the manner we need. With only one of us working, we would have to significantly cut down our saving or even pause which slows our progress towards our goals.

Peers

For most working moms, you do not work in isolation. You manage a team, work with a team, or serve customers or clients.  Being a working mom means getting the opportunity to interact with like-minded adults in various capacities. It means the opportunity for daily adult conversation and interaction. For many moms, dressing up and socializing with peers allows them to feel confident. It is an opportunity to hold onto a piece of self outside of being a mom and a wife.  To be fair, a large portion of my conversation with peers are about my children, but I still enjoy the time to talk with other adults about any subjects!

Personal Achievement

For many careers, there is a lot of education and preparation involved! You might have earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a law degree, or even higher education. Being a working mom means you get to continue using those degrees that you worked hard to achieve if you choose to. You pursued those degrees for a reason, and your passion in your career is important too. Having a career you are proud of means having a strong sense of self worth and confidence in your lifestyle.

Personal Development

Whether required by your job or not, having a career allows for many opportunities for personal and professional development. Through my job, I take several hours of professional development yearly along with having the opportunity to attend many conferences or speakers that are of interest to me. I make time in my hours at work to attend to professional development, and that spills over into my personal life as well.

Marriage

Yes, even my marriage is positively impacted by me being a working mom. Being a working mom means my spouse and I are on a more equal playing field when it comes to the division of household duties. Because we both work and we both want the other to succeed, we work hard to support each other with our respective careers. We work to ensure everyone is able to meet the demands of their job, and we work together to ensure the household runs smoothly.

On top of the division of duties, my ambition is one of the things that I love about myself. Loving myself and achieving my dreams allows me to be loved deeply by my husband in the best way possible. Marriage after kids is tough no matter how you do it. But working helps our marriage immensely.  Plus, being in a corporate role means lots of workplace fashion and high heels which helps with my confidence, and our view of each other.

Quality Time

There is literally nothing like walking in the door and hearing tiny little feet running to greet you with smiles and laughter. There is nothing quite like hearing how much your child missed you during the day. They cannot wait to share everything about their day, and the hugs are endless. For me, being a working mom allows me to truly appreciate my family. I understand what I am doing for my kids matters. And I try to be as fully present as possible when I am with them. Working allows me the chance to miss them fiercely, get excited to see them, and make them proud too.. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that being a working mom negatively impacts your bond with your baby. I have birthed three incredible humans and our bond is as strong as any other mama. 

Life Lessons

Another pro of being a working mom in our household, is the opportunity to teach life lessons to our kids woven into our day to day life. We have frequent conversations about responsibility and accountability. We talk about various career paths and what that could look like for them in the future. Our kids are learning a lot about independence and fiscal responsibility. I love the opportunity to support their dreams and serve as a positive role model for some of the things we value in our house. There is a ton of research out there regarding the positive impacts on kids with working moms, and reading articles like this helped me with some of the intense mom guilt I experienced initially.

Social Interaction For Your Kids

If you choose a childcare option for your kids outside of you and your spouse, it gives your kiddos a great opportunity for social interaction and building healthy relationships. Daycares and preschools offer incredible opportunities to socialize with peers and learn from other adults. Nannies allow for your kiddos to bond with other adults and grow other healthy relationships. Our first nanny has become a second home for our girls, and we absolutely love the bonds they have with our nanny’s children. We have seen first hand the value of these relationships to our girls as they grow.

If you are a working mom, I hope you can see the pros more than you see the cons. I am always cheering for you mama.

All the best,