To think a degree is not wasted if you're a SAHM

[Ouluckyduck]

as stated today by Sarah Vine in the Times. I learnt many things and it made me the person I am today. It may influence how I raise my children or how I am as, eg, a school governor. When I was a uni I certainly didn't know that I would end up being a SAHM with an SN child. Girls should be encouraged, imo, to aim high, but also to make the life choices they want to make without being made to feel guilty about it.

There might be other sources BTW, it's just that those are the ones I'm aware of. I'll try to get something more concrete I can link you to.

Nothing is wasted unless you waste it . I am a SAHM-in-waiting (two months to go!) with two degrees and believe in setting a good example to my daughter. This includes feeling empowered to do what you really want without regard to gender, and for right now that means being with her.

Educated mothers have positive effects on a wide range of factors - across health, educational outcomes, etc etc.

sunshineandbooks yes.

<a class="break-all" href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/facs/facs_publication.asp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Here's a list of the DWP ones.

"Point 2 actually cancels out point 1, so, for example, a child born to a graduate living in poverty will have the same chance of success as a child born in a HRT-paying family."

Ah well thank fuck for that. At least my MSc counts for something while we're living off income support on a dodgy scheme.

OP YANBU of course.

Guardian article about parental educational level and children's outcomes based on an academic study.

sunshineandbooks that's fab! Thank you so much. Will have a proper read as long as nap time continues (live in States so afternoon here). DH has a doctorate in Industrial Organizational Psych - he'll be psyched (ha ha.....) to have a look also. We are both such nerds.....

Another academic study that references the US one I mentioned earlier

gggrrrhhh....Sarah Vine....mutter..mutter...ggrrhh.

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest

[[http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/indicators/definition/family-and-community-engagement/3973 one from NZ (thanks google)

gah www.educationcounts.govt.nz/indicators/definition/family-and-community-engagement/3973

I had ds pretty soon after graduating. The doctor in the labour ward had been to the same uni as me and asked what I'd studied and then said 'well there wasn't much point in that to just be a mum was there?'. I still can't believe I didn't say anything.

What are the outcomes for the child if their SAHM returns to education and gains a degree?

Education is never wasted, and time spent at university helps make you who you are. Being a SAHM now doesn't mean that that will be the case in a few years time. The Times correspondent was talking out of her arse.

I think my PhD will enrich my finger-painting. :) Seriously.

Hate, hate, hate the view that the purpose of an education is to make one more employable.

Just can't stand Sarah Vine.....

Every column she writes seems to reference her husband in some way.

Who is she again?

Oh yes, a beauty/style writer.

Just read the comments from the Danish PM. Not totally relevant, but what that article doesn't mention is that, in Denmark, there is high quality, state subsidised childcare. Women in Britain don't have this. Easy for her to look down on sah, when she doesn't have to contend with spending all her wages on nursery fees.

My dh is half Danish and I have encountered a negative attitude, in Denmark to my decision to be a sahm. Certainly, some of his relatives consider it to be lazy and a waste of time. I'm wondering how much freedom women really have there, to sah, in a society which clearly doesn't value it and which thinks that only paid work is worth anything.

I am currently using the knowledge I gained through my degree and PGCE, to help my ds with his GCSE's. I have four dc, in total, so expect my education to come in handy for all of them.

My education has also given me an increased chance of getting a job and financially supporting my family, if something happens to my dh.

Even if it was of no practical use at all, education is never wasted. It's helped make me into the person that I am.

Education trains the brain. We all use our brains to make choices and interact with others and our environment every minute of our lives.

The level of debate around women's lives is pretty pathetic isn't it ?
Like constantly dividing mothers into SAHMs and WOHMs.
And then making some sweeping generalisation about each group.
Ridiculous really.

I have a degree and so do many of my colleagues and I work in an early years setting. Some people on here have said it was pointless for me to do it as I only make near the minimum wage, but I think it is important for the children in my care to have highly qualified staff. This is especially important for carers working in very disadvantaged areas.

I did my degree for the sake of knowledge. It was a totally academic pursuit and i have never done a job which needed a degree and certainly not in the subject i studied.

However, i use and apply the academic rigor i developed and now have the ability to research and deconstruct issues thanks to university.

treacle i did choose my degree while also planning to be a stay at home mum. (having grown up with parents who worked long hours i always vowed i would not work whilst i had young children at home). I didn't ever think they were mutually exclusive or even connected in any way. In fact i never even considered any future job when selecting my subject.

I find it very sad when working recruiting in unis now and students tell me they chose subjects because they pay well. Or ask what pays best architect or doctor? I'm not saying everyone should be as naive, stupid, arrogant ideological as i was, but surely there should be passion for a subject and a desire for knowledge just for the joy of it.

So does it mean that mothers who do not have a degree are somehow inferior then?

My mother left school to work in a cotton mill at the age of 14... she still taught me how to read and write before I started school.

Surely it also depends on what the degree is for. Many subjects would not make a blind bit of difference to how you raise a child.

of couirse! yanbu

Sarah Vine should shut up. She is fast replacing Libby Purves as the columnist I hate most! And I am fed up of hearing her going on about her husband the delightful (not) Michael Gove.

Remind me, what academic, degree related subject does she write about in the Times, oh yes, beauty and style, neither of which she posesses. .

The actual qualification, the piece of paper, pretty much it is wasted.

The gaining of knowledge, no.

I believe that education should be an enriching opportunity for personal development, regardless of whether or not you "use" it later on.

As a WOHM, I need a degree to do my job. The degree subject is not relevant, but the organisation believes that graduates will be able to think analytically; to generate, evaluate and synthesise ideas; and to communicate clearly and effectively. I use these skills on a daily basis, not only in my job but also in my parenting. I see no reason why SAHMs would not use similar skills when looking after their children.