Home by Choice: Raising Emotionally Secure Children in an Insecure World

by Brenda Hunter

Book Overview

It's one of the toughest choices a mother will ever make: to work or be a full-time mother? It is also a long-running debate between moms who feel they contribute more to society at work than at home... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576737217
• ISBN13: 9781576737217
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Multnomah Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The best parenting book every!

This is the best parenting book ever. The book sites many references that back up the practical, moral advice for mothers. No mother should even leave the maternity ward of a hospital without reading this book. Excellent. This book supports a mother making the most important, most responsible decision of her life-Raising her own children!

Great support for women who stay home with their children

I am in the middle of making the transition from working full-time outside the home as a teacher the first year of my daughter's life to working full-time FROM home. I am lucky to be able to do this; in our family right now, my working is a necessity rather than a choice while DH finishes his education. HOME BY CHOICE backed up my belief that the place I need to be is home. We women who are educated and choose to use our skills on our children rather than on (in my case) other people's children should be commended, not condemned. Regardless of what people think, the research simply supports us. Reading this book reinforced my decision, revitalized me when I was beginning to feel alone in that decision, and re-energized my spirit so I could give more to my daughter. I HIGHLY recommend this book to any pregnant women, women who already stay at home with their children, or moms who work outside the home and don't feel particularly comfortable leaving their children in someone else's care.

The Research to back up the Stay at home mom

I just finished reading this book and feel revitalized about my decision to stay at home with my kids. I have always felt intuitively that what I am doing is important, but this gives me the statistics and the research to back it up. An educated woman like myself is not wasted on the care of her children. When people look back over the course of their lives they wish they had spent more time with their families, they don't wish they had spent more time advnacing their careers.

The "90's" or the new millenium do not change age old truths

And that is that children do better in the care of thier own parents. Perhaps the differences are subtle in that perhaps they are just feelings as we get older of more stability, more happiness and fulfillment with our lives having been nurtured as a child, but they are there. And I say this not only as a stay at home mother, but also as a child who endured daycare. I absolutely attribute that early experience to some problems I have had nurturing relationships as an adult(something I take responsibility for and am working on so no, this is not an excuse for them) and one need only see the differences between my brothers(much younger than me) who had my mother home and me to know there is a difference!I don't doubt there are spectacular nannies out there, but unless you are super wealthy, it's doubtful this person will be a constant figure in your home until your child is grown and personally I'd rather my children bond with me instead of a nanny anyway.The folks who look at this as some work bashing need to get a reality check. If this is working mother bashing, than Ms., working moms magazine, and the host of books supporting working moms are sahm bashing. If this isn't your choice and you aren't open enough to question your values than don't read the book for goodness sakes and live in your life of denial and at the very least with a narrow view of the world. Also maybe it would help for you to understand that kids really are "fragile" in the sense that they are not mini adults. People would be better off if they listened to that message and some, like myself, are even taking that reality to a new level and pursuing homeschooling as well. It's not about coddling you goof, it's about nurturing your child and honoring thier innocence and protecting thier will to learn. It's about raising them in a everyday more sexualized and violent world until they are at a point where they can really deal with the world ie the main way I see this is my child goes out with the wolves when he is ready to fend them off, I don't throw him/her out there ill equipped and hope they survive. I give my children the skills they need and THEN they leave my home to be capable adults. Other people believe they gain those skills through disappointments and hard knocks AWAY from thier parents guidance. Sorry, I don't agree with that very callous view of children and I'd hope people who think like this would reconsider bringing a child into this world. If you already have one, keep your guilt in your own psyche, get help, or open yourself to the idea that your children need you AT HOME AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!