So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom [Paperback]

Cheryl Gochnauer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 1999

Are you thinking about making the transition from the rat race to the home front? Perhaps you are wondering whether being at home full time is for you. Maybe you are trying to figure out how to make ends meet with only one paycheck each month. Maybe you doubt your ability to deal with the mental, emotional and physical challenges. Or maybe you're afraid that staying home now will derail your career goals for good. So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom will tell you what to expect and how to prepare. Written by a mom who made the transition and loves being at home, this practical book will help you decide what choice is best for you and your family. You'll find step-by-step guidance on how to

• evaluate your financial situation and develop a family business plan
• talk to your employer about leaving or changing your work schedule
• maintain your work skills for a return to your career
• develop a personal mission statement
• learn to live abundantly even with less income
• plan activities with your kids that keep you thinking creatively
• avoid "super stay-at-home mom syndrome"
• respond positively to the worries of relatives, friends and coworkers
• build the physical and emotional support networks you need

Here is guilt-free counsel that will help you determine what you and your family really need--whether that means staying in a full-time job, making the move to part-time work, starting a home-based business or being at home full time. Every woman who has ever faced this complicated and confusing decision will welcome So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom.

Product Details

• Paperback: 143 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books (July 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830819223
• ISBN-13: 978-0830819225
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #906,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!, September 19, 1999

By 

Kylie ([e-mail]) (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom (Paperback)

There is one use for this book that perhaps the author hasn't thought of, and it's an important one -- "So You Want To Be A Stay-at-home Mom" is an inspiration for the disgruntled stay-at-home mother who isn't sure that she wants to be there anymore. Being one such mother myself of late, reading this book has changed my perspective on my role in the home with my son and the amount of overtime that my husband puts in. Cheryl's book has give me a fresh perspective on the important work that I do here each day in raising our son and though it sounds like a cliché, has truly changed the way I parent and view myself.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspiring Book to Take With You, January 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom (Paperback)

So You Want to Be a Stay-At-Home Mom is a delight to read and it is packed with helpful tips as well as sometimes humorous anecdotes. For readers who appreciate traditional family values that are rooted in Christian tradition, this book is a total winner! We need more books like this available to mothers everywhere.

I got so engrossed in Cheryl Gochnauer's book that I took it with my purse to the hairdresser, the dentist's office, and even to get my car's oil changed. As I read it, I got my own personal "oil change"---I got energized to use "Creativity on the Home Front" as Gochnauer calls one of her chapters. This writer writes well and is so transparent and offers " loving hands on" ideas to utilize so mothers can stay home and BUILD A HOME. Every chapter was helpful, but I especially liked, "Will My Professional Training Go to Waste?"

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start, December 3, 2007

By 

mommyofone - See all my reviews

This review is from: So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom (Paperback)

"So You Want to Be a Stay-At-Home Mom" is targeted to Christian mothers who are currently working but want to become stay-at-home moms and aren't sure it's financially or emotionally feasible. Gochnauer hopes to encourage prospective at-home moms to look at their options now instead of waiting for a crisis that may reveal a choice they could have made years before.

A secondary audience would be Christian stay-at-home moms looking for ways to live better on less, keep up career skills in order to return to the workforce later, plan activities to do with their kids, or get encouragement and support.

Initially, I was surprised and confused to find so many Christian references in this book, as there was no indication on the cover to prepare me. Now I realize that InterVarsity Press is a Christian publishing company. I am not a Christian so I found myself skimming over several portions of the book, but I was not offended. Besides being non-Christian, I am part of the secondary audience and I found the book to be very encouraging. It included lots of tips that I found helpful including developing a mission statement, remembering my priorities, and creative activities to do with my daughter.

Gochnauer's style is easy to read and well organized. She provides many examples from her own life and from other couples who have been in similar situations. Her tone is encouraging and she uses no guilt tactics. She covers many topics well, and others fairly well (the table of contents lists most of the topics fairly decipherably). I consider this book to be a good starting point, but it is not a definitive reference. There is a lot of good advice, but harder questions are often answered with "God provides" and other similar comforts. While this may be enough for some people, it left too many questions unanswered for me.