How to Raise Kids: Stay Home or Go to Work?

Feb. 23, 2006— -- Stay at home with the kids or go to work? It's a question every mom struggles with, and a question at the heart of a fierce debate.

"I think it's a mistake for these highly educated and capable women to make that choice [to stay home]," said law professor and working mom Linda Hirshman. "I am saying an educated, competent adult's place is in the office."

Hirshman found herself at the center of the "Mommy Wars" debate after she published an article in American Prospect magazine condemning the trend of college-educated women opting out of the workplace to become stay-at-home moms.

Many college-educated moms adamantly argue Hirshman's claims.

When Debbie Klett became a mother, she quit her job in ad sales and started a magazine called Total 180 so she could work from home and spend more time with her children.

"I completely disagree," said Klett of Hirshman's argument, echoing the sentiment of countless others.

Hirshman has some questions for the women who disagree with her: How can women leave the workplace when the divorce rate is 41 percent? And don't women know that after divorce, the man's standard of living goes up 10 percent while the woman's can collapse?

Stay-at-home mom Faith Fuhrman said the key was preparation.

"The women of today are prepared for that," Fuhrman said. "You have a sense in yourself that whatever happens, I'm going to be OK."

Some women say that being financially dependent on a husband is their choice and that they should not be made to feel guilty for that.

"Well, people choose to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, but that does not stop people from saying it's a mistake," Hirshman said. "Listen to the risks you're taking before you take the risk."

One of Hirshman's major arguments is that it's difficult to re-enter the workplace after staying at home, and that when a mother comes back, she may make less money.

"Who's to say, though, when you're in the work force, that you're not going to get laid off and you're [not] going to lose your job anyway?" Klett asked.