A stay-at-home mother might stay out of the paid workforce for a few months, a few years, or many years.They may still be able to earn money through various side-activities (e.g. piano lessons).
Many mothers find that their choice to be at home is driven by a complex mix of factors, including their understanding of the science of human development in the context of contemporary society.
While a mother may do the physical work of preparing meals, running errands and grocery shopping, cleaning the home, doing laundry, and providing care to her child or children, she also often anticipates her family's needs, identifies ways to satisfy them, makes decisions and monitors progress.
At-home mothers are diverse; they range across the spectrum of characteristics such as age, economic status, educational and career achievements, political and religious beliefs, and more.
[17][14] Following the industrial revolution, when women began to work outside of the home,[18] mothers had the job of educating children to be productive members of the labor market.
As Ann Crittenden points out in her book "The Price of Motherhood," this results in "absurdities" where for example a nurse bottle feeding a baby is included in the GDP but a mother doing the same thing is not.
[22] When nations and global aid organizations make economic decisions based only on paid work, they often have unintended negative impacts on unpaid caregivers.
[25] Scholars and advocates for at-home mothers and for unpaid caregiving call for change in everything from how "work" is defined and measured to how economies are structured.
[28] Global and regional organizations are advocating for the interests of stay-at-home mothers and others who do unpaid domestic labor and care work.
"[29] In Europe, 19 organizations campaign together as FEFAF (Fédération Européenne Des Femmes Actives En Famille / European Federation of Parents and Carers at Home).