Book Review: The Price of Motherhood by Ann Crittendon

As a mother of three, this topic is highly personal for me. This is something I battle with on a regular basis. It is the topic of many a discussion (and argument) in my household. I have worked outside the home, I’ve been a stay at home mom and I have been (and currently am) a work at home mom. Yet it does not matter where or how I am employed, my main job is taking care of my family, my home, my children.

I am the CEO of this household. I handle all the financial stuff, I schedule everyone’s appointments (which for a family of 5 is a lot, you should see my calendar), I do all the shopping, budgeting, and 98% of the cooking and cleaning. My daily to-do list is always long. On the other hand, my husband’s main duty is to go to work. Then he comes home and vegetates in his recliner until bedtime. Other than the occasionally lawn mowing, heavy lifting or some household chore that involves tools, I am responsible for the maintenance of this house. Yet when we argue about money or household stuff, time, energy, or lack of sleep he throws it in my face that I don’t contribute to this household or family because I don’t get paid for what I do. (Even when I did make just as much money as he did it didn’t count because I was doing it from home - ??? I guess I wasn’t working hard enough) My work never ends, I’m still on call at 4 A.M if the baby wakes up – or is still up- or one of the other kids need me. That is how it is for mothers, housewives and women in general all over the U.S.

The Price of Motherhood- Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued

OK, I know this is supposed to be a book review. I’ve ranted long enough but it proves how deeply and personally this book affected me. Ann Crittendon explores how important mothers are but everyday, even now in the 21st century, we are under appreciated, under valued and even considered to be worthless economically and useless in the eyes of society. “The job of making a home for a child and developing his or her capabilities is often equated with ‘doing nothing’…raising children may be the most important job in the world but you can’t put it on a resume.” The domestic unpaid work mothers do is not considered work because we are not paid for it therefore we are not included in the Gross National Product (GNP) so economically we are worthless and overlooked.

I think this book is wonderful because not only does Crittendon explore and discuss how women have always been overlooked, she talks about how things have changed throughout history (surprisingly little compared to the great advancement society has made in other areas) and she proposes ways that things could be changed now. She doesn’t just whine, complain, rant and rave like women have done in the past to no avail. She offers solutions (not that anyone in power is going to actually implement them anytime soon). She proposes changes in the workplace, changes in schools and education, changes that the government needs to make to appreciate and value the work mothers do.

It’s sad that these changes probably will not happen for a very long time, if ever, especially if women do not join together and fight together. Women are so separate on the issues that affect us all. This book should be in all of our homes and read to our children, it is up to us to make sure changes take place. We have to fight for our rights. Mothers are the most discriminated against minority in the workforce and in society as a whole.

Ann ends her book with this: “a society that beggars its mothers beggars its own future.” Look at the U.S. That explains a lot. Our mothers and our children are ignored and treated poorly. The first budget cuts always seem to be in our schools. Our children get 2nd rate education and the mothers get blamed for everything that goes wrong in a child’s life. Yet we can’t care for our children and support them alone. We can not give 100% of ourselves to our family and home and 100% to our careers which we need to support the children. That makes 200% when we only have 100% to start with. The old saying was that it takes a village to raise a child, yet today’s society leaves it all up to the mother.