This argument caused controversy with my Facebook friends, what do you think?
There was a debate of epic proportions on my Facebook recently.
Question in point: should stay at home mums (or dads) have a cleaner? Cue the world, that is my Facebook page, erupting in harsh and judgemental opinions.
Some say yes, their argument being that they are a stay-at-home parent not a stay-at-home cleaner. Others say no, claiming that if the parent has time/ability to be home 24/7 they also have time to clean.
I find the issue fascinating. In my household, we are both working parents, but we don’t have a cleaner.
Would I get one? Maybe, but I’d have to tidy up enough to actually be happy for a stranger to see how I live on a regular basis (oh the irony).
Did I consider it when I was a stay-at-home-mum? No, I honestly didn’t.
Do I care if stay-at-home-parents have a cleaner? Not really. But I don’t really see the point of a stay-at-home parent having a cleaner to be honest, but that’s from my experiences.
My house was definitely cleaner when I was at home with the kids, especially when they were young. I’d put the baby in a carrier and literally clean all day. I do not do that now, and not just because they don’t fit any baby carrier anymore.
This particular conversation basically surrounded the idea that stay-at-home-parents felt entitled to hire a cleaner and some people disagreed with that.
The idea was that stay-at-home parents were at home to spend time with their kids, not spend their time as a house-keeper.
When I was a stay-at-home-parent I definitely didn’t feel entitled to one. I was at home, I didn’t really feel like I could pay someone to come clean my toilet or do my dishes when I had plenty of time to do it myself. Yes, baby and all, I still had time back then.
That and we really couldn’t afford it. We cut a lot of expenses for me to be able to stay at home for a while and a cleaner was definitely not on our ‘must have’ list.
I do have some questions for stay-at-home-parents that have cleaners – do you stay at home while they clean? Is it weird if you do? Are they grateful you’re giving them a job or do they think you’re lazy for not doing it yourself?
I think if you are at a point where you can afford a cleaner and you don’t mind a stranger digging through your dirtiest secrets, literally, then good for you. If you’re a stay-at-home-parent and still have money for this then that’s great.
For the most part, we should probably stop judging people on their choices. They’re hiring a cleaning after all, it means they have a nice tidy, hygienic family home for their kids, is that really something to whinge about?
Do you have a cleaner?
Want more? Try:
The most common messes your kids will make (and how to clean them).