Housewives who have degrees, a waste of education???

Good Morning! I have a degree as well and stay at home with my little guy! I haven't had anyone really degrade me for 'wasting' my education. However, I've had people question when I will return to work - as if it's any of their business! I think that anyone who accusses a woman or a man for choosing to stay home to raise their children are 1.) JEALOUS 2.) small minded and 3.) judgemental. You made a very good point about daycare/neglect... that's a good one! I'm of the mind that everyone is different and what works for one may not work for another... I try not to judge and I try to keep an open mind. As long as people respect me and my life, I show respect for them and theirs. I think it's wonderful that women are choosing to stay a home to raise their children and I think it's a blessing that those who can - do.

Yes,i feel they waste their time and their parent money..pity on woman,still weak and no choice.

Is learning ever a waste of time? Your educational experience stays with you until your mind ceases to function. Even if you aren't directly using the skills/knowledge learned in a specific program, you can always teach others, share experiences and pass along knowledge. Do you have to be gainfully employed to use your education? Is your degree a waste if you volunteer or work in an unrelated field? Many skills learned at all levels of education can be transferable to other areas. These skills improve our performance in all aspects of life. They help us contribute to our communities in a myriad of ways and make us better citizens, friends, family members, and parents. Do some aspects of our education go unused? Sure, but that can be the case for people who enter/remain in the workforce too. Does technology not change? Are new methods and better approaches to performing tasks not developed over time? Does new information or additional knowledge never appear? Sometimes it's the process and not the material covered that is the important test in education. Those who choose to denigrate housewives and stay at home moms have their agendas. Is it really worth your while to pay attention to someone who would attempt to get between you and what is best for your family for their own reasons? Are their arguments really that strong if they have to rely on pressure tactics and ridicule in order to get others to change? Running a household and raising children is one of the hardest jobs to do properly. The true shame is to make light of this work. Is not producing and raising healthy citizens who make quality additions to society the greatest contribution that one can make to their community? I commend you for the choice that you made and for the difficult work that you do. Despite the protestations, children need strong role models. structured boundaries and a healthy family unit. Who better to give this to them then their parents. You don't have to look far to see the adverse effects when children are denied these essential building blocks.

15 years and waste? Whoever said that must think that education is a source of money and nothing else. I think that working overtime can cause a problem to the children as well. WE were having this discussion on whether a woman working or a housewife would be better able to take care of children. Contrary to most views, it was noticed that career woman had a better chance to raise her children in a better manner because she can teach them about how to interact with world. Any woman who is educated will give education the priority over other. bourne

You have every right to raise your children yourself if that's what you want to do and it's really no one's business other than yours and your husband's. I do agree that everyone's situation is different and it amazes me that people still feel compelled to comment on the personal choices of others in this area.

I don't think that housewives who have degrees are a waste of education. Who is going to teach the children? My mom has taught me many things and she is a housewife. She didn't even go to college but she read a lot of books when she was younger. I think that if you decided to go back to work it would just make things easier for you to have an education but it was never a waste. You can teach your kids lots of stuff because you have experience as a housewife,working in your field, and working hard to get a degree.

Education is NEVER a waste of time. EVER. Whether you use it or not. Besides, the more knowledge you have, the more you have to give to your children. People just like to tell other people their business when they should just butt out.

Education is never wasted - it is always a gift and a wonderful thing to experience! I totally agree that each person and each family unit will have a different way of working out what works best for them and how they are going to raise their children. Personally I think that we are constantly receiving an education of sorts and if we have a formal education those qualifications are not going to disappear if we take time out from a career to raise children or for any other reason! xxxx

I think part of it depends. On one hand...you are right...each family has to decide what is best for them. I am a stay at home mom. I have three years of college under my belt, but no degree. There is a huge part of me that would love to finish because that piece of paper is the part that matters. I don't think education is really a "waste", but it is expensive. My mother-in-law has a masters degree that she has never used. It was sad because 25 years later when she had to go and get a job it didn't do her any good. She works at the library as a librarian assistant...something she could do with a high school diploma. While I am all for education, they stress it to their daughters, but they want them to be stay at home moms. That seems a little weird to me...if you are raised to be a stay at home mom, then college seems more optional then if you weren't. So, it is an interesting topic all in all. 15 years is a good amount of time to have put in your field too...hard to say that your degree wasn't worth something!

I have a Masters degree in Spanish and had even studied abroad on scholarship. Some of my professors have kind of hinted that my education was going to waste when I decided to be a SAHM. Like you, I worked and capitalized on my education for years before deciding to focus on raising my child, so in this sense alone, I don't believe that all those years of studies went to complete waste. Also, even if I wasn't doing freelance translation, I plan to homeschool anyway, so I can still continue what I was doing before I decided to be a SAHM (I was a schoolteacher). No matter what we do in life, having acquired education can never be a waste. It's a way of improving ourselves.

Absolutely not!!!!! Oh I don't think this would settle well with me if someone told me that. I was just shy of getting my degree from school but dropped out when the cost of education was more than I could take on my own as well as paying for rents, utilities, food, the daily neccessities. Anyways, I became a stay at home mom last year when I lost my job to having a child. (I was not protected by the maternity leave for those who will say this) I don't regret this at all. Yes I went to school for quite sometime and could put my education to use but at the same time too I know that I am at home watching my daughter "grow up" is more than enough for me. Even then, when your children are all grown up and move out you still have that degree to fall back on if you chose to go back out in the work force.

i totally agree with what you say. Each person has the rihgt to decide for themselves, and if it works for you then i do not see the problem

Education is start from home. So, It's not about waste of education if a mother who have a high level of education. I think it's an advantage. You can raise the children well. The children is being taught by a very successful manager ( Imagine, if you were working in the big company, what position would you get??. That's what your children will have :) )

I don't think that any education will ever be wasted. It is good to have studied and it is good to be smart, it doesn't matter how you use it. Ignorance is one of the biggest crimes possible, in my opinion at least.

Let's see, if it is a waste or not. My mum has a certificate till Secondary school and for some reason she couldn't have read in higher secondary. She is quite intelligent and it was because of her that we didn't feel that we need extra teacher. Her education helped us a lot but that too until secondary school. When we went into Higher secondary, she couldn't help us because she had no idea of study pattern and we had to spend money on private tutions and all. So, here's the difference. Sometimes you don't see a single tea leaf in your cup of tea but the most important aspect of the tea is that tea leaf, isn't it?

I believe that when you choose to be a stay-at-home parent it does not mean wasting what you have studies. A degree will always remain no matter where you are and what path you choose to be. Yes we all wanted to use our education but then I always believe that priorities changes from time to time. Change is the only permanent thing on earth. And so what we like before may now be different. I am a mother and my son is now seven months old. I finished a degree in Public Administration and Governance and I will not say that the education or degree is wasted. I still have a long way to go. I know that someday I will still be working on the field suited for the degree I earned. My husband is the only one working at the moment because I am still waiting for my interview schedule. I will be using then my degree once I get hired again. In some cases I know that most parents were not able to use their degree because they have chosen their family over their career. That is where I am now. But everything can wait. If I will not work again at least I have chosen my family over my personal career and that is what I consider more important on my list of priorities. I do not consider a degree not used in real job a waste. I can still tell my son in the future that I finishes my education and I was able to raise him well by choosing him over my career. And my career will always be there, whether it was used or not. My degree will remain with me no matter what and I should be proud telling my son that I did took up a course that I wanted when I was still a student. That is my opinion regarding degrees earned. So never ever consider them a waste. Education is investment. Maybe I will consider a degree a waste if the person who earned it does not have a purpose in life that he or she can be proud of. Or maybe when he or she is just wasting his time being a dependent to his or her parents, and not looking for a job then that is an education wasted in another way.

I don't think it's a waste of education at all! I think it's best if you at least have a little experience that involves your degree but either way it doesn't matter. You know never when the worse can happen and you have to go to work. In today time have a degree can help you get a job in a dire time when you may need to go back to work.

College degrees can be seen as something that are just certifications of a person's eligibility for a particular field of work. I think the only thing wasted in your education would be the tuition you paid for in the university. But you said you have had your time on a job. Education's primary purpose, I believe, is that of acquiring knowledge and skills. it must not just be seen as a means to having a better economic life. Your value for family life is very commendable.