If a mother can afford to stay at home, should she?

Host: If a mother can afford to stay at home, should she?

Dr. Diana Zuckerman: If a mother can afford to stay at home there are a few things that she should really be thinking of. For example, how does she feel about staying at home? If a mother can afford to stay at home and wants to stay at home for no matter how old her children are, I think that's a great arrangement. But if a mother would really rather be working at least part of the time whether or not she can afford to stay home, it's very important that she feel satisfied and fulfilled in her life as well. So, a woman shouldn't feel that she has to stay at home just because she can afford to, but if she can afford to, if she wants to, it's a very good arrangement. If she can afford to and she wants to work part-time and stay home part-time, for young children that seems to be a very, very good arrangement. Now the toughest one is if a woman really doesn't want to stay home or wants to, but can't afford it and has to work fulltime and has very little time to spend with her child, that's the kind of arrangement where you really have to worry a little bit more and think about what the priorities are and maybe there is a better way to juggle this.