Moms Say, Show Me The Money
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
Mother's Day has come and gone.
We don't take the day too seriously in our house. The kids usually get my wife some gag gift, something silly to make her laugh. We manage to go out to eat … and pretend to dote on her. She seems to appreciate the attention. But I bet she's rather have cash.
A new study shows that moms, especially stay at home moms, would need to be paid more than $100,000 a year if they were getting market rates for their labors. The study figures a stay at home mom would earn $116,000 a year - the bulk of which would come from over time.
Because, says the study, stay at home moms put in more than 90 hours a week doing their jobs including cleaning, feeding, counseling, and shleping. Worse still, working moms put at least 50 hours a week into their work as homemakers. That's right - working mothers have two jobs.
So the cards and flowers and brunch are nice, but next year, don't be too surprised if mom says, show me the money.
By Harry Smith