Stay-At-Home Moms Benefit From Center

For many women, choosing between stay-at-home motherhood and full-time employment is one of the most difficult - and important - decisions they will ever face.

Jeanette Lisefski, a 41-year-old mother who lives in Fairfield, Iowa, is hoping to make things a little easier for women who choose the former.

On Mother’s Day of this year, Lisefski launched the At-Home Mothers’ Resource Center to provide information and support for at-home mothers around the country.

The center publishes a resource catalog as well as At-Home Mothering, a quarterly magazine that tackles issues ranging from earning money at home and financial planning to self-esteem and feelings of isolation.

The mother of 14-year-old twin sons and a 5-year-old daughter, Lisefski quit her full-time accountant job when her sons were born. Since then, she has worked part-time at home, organized home-based businesses and helped edit a book, “Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul” (due out in October.) Lisefski, who thinks that many women view their motherhood choices as limited, also founded the National Association of At-Home Mothers.

How did you decide to stay at home with your children?

“It wasn’t a choice for me. It wasn’t an ‘either/or’ for me. I always knew I would be home. It was just a matter of making it work. My husband (Donald) supported me in that.”

How did the At-Home Mothers’ Resource Center get started?

“Five years ago, we started making information booklets on home businesses and home-business ideas. We were focusing on earning money at home and saving money at home. How to look at your financial situation and see how to make it work. As we got responses from mothers, we started looking at the broader perspective of home mothers and what their needs were.”

What are some of the issues facing at-home mothers?

“For some women, it’s not a financial situation. They are dealing with emotional issues of isolation, self-esteem, finding balance in their lives. They may not have another athome mother in their neighborhood. They may not have any family close by. There is an isolation issue, and it’s a common experience. We want to provide some support.”

How can the average family afford to live on one income?

“There is sort of a myth in this country that you can’t make it on one income. When you look at the costs of having a job - child care, transportation, business clothing, eating out more, a higher tax bracket - there are a lot of hidden costs that go into the office environment.”

Are more women choosing to stay home or work from home?

“I think the trend is in that direction. More women are choosing and finding ways to stay home or working part time. In some ways, (working part time) can work very well, and it’s a nice balance in terms of personal self-esteem and income. However, it’s hard to find part-time child care, and it’s hard to find a part-time job. There is a trend toward more family-friendly options (in the workplace), although sometimes they are not well used.”

What is fueling this trend?

“In the past, there was the feeling that (women) could do it all … What we’re finding is that it’s just not working for many families. Something has got to give. I think we have to support mothers in finding ways to do what’s best for their families and to see what their options are.”

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