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Is a Mom Really Worth Over $100,000 a Year?

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A recent survey by Salary.com found that a mom's monetary worth to the family is $112,962 per year. But is that an accurate representation of how much a mom's labor is worth? Should we even be trying to quantify what mothers do in terms of dollars and sense?

Suzanne Lucas of CBS News doesn't think so. In her recent article "Why I Hate Salary.com's 'What's a Mom Worth' Survey," Lucas explains her objections — basically, fuzzy math, loose definitions, and the need to make everything about money in the first place.

A few of her points:

 

Do You Know What You're Worth?

  • Being head of the household is not the same as being a CEO. Chief executive officers might earn $171,000 per year, but the ones who do don't manage companies the size of most families. (Duggars notwithstanding.)

     

     

  • "A mom is not a psychologist." If your kid needs therapy, they need therapy, not a chat with Mom.

     

     

  • Everyone has to pick up after themselves. Maybe if Mom really did make over $100,000 per year, she'd hire someone to do the laundry and the vacuuming and the carpool duties, but most people don't make that much, and they do the housework themselves.

     

    Perhaps most persuasively of all, she points out that what parents do isn't something you can appraise financially: "It's rather insulting to suggest that the only value in motherhood is a monetary one. And that moms (or dads) can be replaced by a paycheck."

    A good reminder that while the best things in life may not be free, they often don't pay a dime.

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    (Photo Credit: Ed Yourdon/Flickr)

  • Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
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