This has been something on my mind lately. Who are we as modern moms? What do we stand for and represent from the generations before us. Our statistics have such a gap in working moms having aspirations to be a stay at home mom. Gen Y, Babyboomer, Imoms.... where are we headed and where do we want to go? Here's my take... food for thought.

In the 50's, mothers stayed at home to serve their husband and children.  Between the 60s and the 90s, women fought hard to define femininity in the workplace, culture and home.

Today, 72% of moms are in the workforce with kids under the age of 18. Modern moms now want to be great mothers, however, while still pursuing and an identity outside of motherhood.  One of the biggest issues that moms face is the backlash of fragmented families and the fight to hold on to traditional values.  Moms are finding themselves having to work for financial needs but in reality 53% of them would actually prefer to be stay-at-home moms!

Is that possible for a working mom can put 150% in during work hours and can come home and hold on to traditional values?  Why is it that moms feel like they have to aspire to be a stay at home mom in order to achieve that?  Try Googling with the keyword "mom guilt", and you'll find over 20 pages of content just about moms and their guilt of self-care and work.  Each day, more than 25 millions mothers work, in addition to performing their duties as a mother, wife or homemaker.  Where is the Momevolution moving toward?  Are we going backwards?

With the rise of Gen Y moms (ages 20-35), a shift in thinking will be needed to close in this gap of 53% of working moms aspiring to be stay at home moms.  The modern mom will enlist help from friends and families to keep focus on their children's development while feeling fantastic about the work they're doing outside of their home.

Kick in those traditional values like "it takes a village" to raise a child and believe in the power of community.  Use technology to make your lives easier while staying connected with people you trust.  Don't feel guilty for your happiness because the media portrays what their definition of a mom is supposed to be.  Because only 12% of moms feel that the media actually portrays them correctly.

The modern mom is NOT about going back to being a mom of the 50's.  It's about being smarter while combining the old with the new.

What are your thoughts?

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*Sources: Searcher Moms: A Search Behavior and User Study, DoubleClick, 2007, U.S. Department of Labor, Trillion Dollar Moms by Maria T. Bailey & Bonnie Worthy Ulman and the Current Population Survey, Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics

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