The Mother Load Podcast
Stay-at-home or working mum: Is there ever a right choice?
Synopsis: Join us for a five-part series on working motherhood from July 3-31 with episodes out every Friday.
This episode explores one of the biggest questions mothers face: Stay home with my children, or continue working?
From the emotional cost of missing moments with their children to the financial realities of stepping away from paid employment, working mums often find themselves weighing impossible trade-offs, even though there is no “right” way to raise a family.
Host Vanessa Chelvan speaks with Kristen Kiong, a speech therapist and mother of three who left the workforce to care for her children full-time; and Yong Qiao Qing, a marketing manager and mother of two who returned to work after being a stay-at-home mum.
They discuss the misconceptions surrounding stay-at-home mothers, the hidden value of unpaid caregiving, and why becoming a mother can make women stronger and more productive at work.
Highlights (click/tap above):
8:18 My job comes at the expense of my kids - and vice versa
10:10 Dealing with guilt and the common misconceptions
12:45 From earning your own money to asking your husband
16:35 The value of stay-at-home mums is not monetary
20:42 Dealing with overstimulation as a mum
25:45 We are the first generation of mothers to apologise to our kids
27:27 Stay-at-home mums sometimes feel ‘collectively lonely’
30:55 The motherhood penalty
34:11 On why mothers are extra productive workers
36:35 Advice for those considering the switch
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Host: Vanessa Chelvan (vpchelvan@sph.com.sg)
Read Vanessa’s articles: https://str.sg/gr5Z
Produced and edited by: Teo Tong Kai
Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Elizabeth Law
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Follow The Mother Load limited series every Friday (July 3-31):
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Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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