Mothers, Jack of all Trades and Masters of all. How Much do They Earn for Their Job Description?
Have you looked critically at the duties of a mother? The list is endless. It is comprises of both the most desirable and the least desirable duties on earth. It doesn’t matter whether mothers enjoy fulfilling those duties or not, mothers have to do them because that is what mothers do. The mothers are jack of all trades and masters of all. The children sometimes think that it is their responsibility to be their maids, servants, housekeepers, nurses, doctors, dentists, cooks, teachers, companions etc. They carry on various roles that sometimes they are not really appreciated enough.
1. Mother, the housekeeper
A mother makes sure that the house is clean, tidy and organized. She sleeps late and wakes up early because she got a lot of things to do in order to put her house in order. She collects the children’s dirty clothes that are lying everywhere in the house. She does the laundry almost every day so that the children could have clean clothes to wear each dawn. She collects dirty utensils that are left in the bedrooms, family living rooms, kitchen, balcony, backyards, garage, name them. She changes the bed sheets and sometimes tidies the children’s bedroom even for those who have already grown strong muscles to tidy their own rooms. How much does she earns for each of these duties?
2. Mother, the cook
Mothers have these natural instincts that always ensure their young ones are fed. A mother makes sure she puts food on the table for her family. No one in the family really cares whether she has any food to cook or even money to buy groceries. Sometimes children complain of consuming the same kind of meals everyday not caring what their mothers go through to feed them. Some of what women do, they may not want anyone to know because it carries shame and guilt yet they still do it because they want the best for their families. How much do they get paid for grocery shopping and for being the main family chief chef?
3. Mother, the tailor
When the clothes get torn or the buttons come off, who knows where the needles and threads are, and who knows how to sew the buttons back on? A mother. When the clothes need ironing, who makes sure the ironing is done so that the children are well groomed both at home and in public? The mother ensures that the children have clean clothes, well ironed and not spoiled through the process of washing. She should earn a few dollars for this hard work.
4. Mother, the problem solver
This reminds me of that AT&T high speed internet advertisement where the young boy kept asking these intriguing questions and the mother is busy cooking breakfast and almost late for school. The mother is rushing so that she can get the kids to school on time thus she has no time to answer the young lad’s questions. The older sibling came to the mother’s rescue and answers the question from surfing through the internet as she also waits for the mother to cook breakfast. The mothers will always receive spikes of questions from all corners. Remember also the age of the “terrible twos”? They get the mothers (and fathers) off guard with their questions. Questions like “where do babies come from”? or “why is the sky blue”? etc. The mothers have to think logically and practically on how to answer these questions to satisfy these new emerging analysts. This is critical because if the mother’s answer fails to satisfy the child, he or she will seek answers from others. We all know what happens if for example, a teenager seeks answers from peers or adults whose values and priorities are different from their own family. They will be deceived. So, how much does a mother earn for solving the problems and answering all kinds of questions with an instant correct answer?
5. Mother, the bank account.
When a mother goes shopping with the children, the kids would want to purchase every item in the store. They don’t understand terms like “priorities”, “economic crisis”, “hard times” or “checks and balances”. When they are grown, they still expect their mothers (and fathers) to provide for their every financial need. It amazes me that sometimes parents have to beg their children to mow their own lawn for a payment! Can’t they do this for free just like the way mothers do? Well, the way bank accounts works, is it that you have to make a deposits for you to have a withdrawal sometimes in the future. The only exception is spending on credit cards of which you will have re-pay back with a higher interest rate at a later time. Mothers don’t get any “deposits” yet they transact withdrawals on a daily basis. That is why parents sometime reaches or over exceeded their credit cards limits and are stuck with making payments forever. Should the mothers not receive any deposit, or even an interest or a commission?
Reference
Stadlen, N. (2004). What Mothers do especially when it looks like nothing . Retrieved from http://www.naomistadlen.com/default.asp
