LETTER: Motherhood is a choice

To the editor:

All parents should find great joy in the success of their children. A woman’s desire for other responsibilities does not have to interfere with this. Nearly every working woman today would willingly admit that her children are her priority. Even in Hollywood, actresses are willing to set aside their careers to raise children. It’s unreasonable to expect everyone to have the same ambition of become a full-time mother. Is it so wrong for women to want to be a mother and an engineer? These two ambitions are by no means mutually exclusive.

With the changing times, there also comes pressure from the world to be the perfect women who does everything from hosting parties, to running businesses, to raising ideal children. Not every woman chooses to do all this, nor has to. What this society should be more concerned with is the role of fathers in the home. Throughout time men have been absent from child raising. Families are beginning to realize the need for more men in this process. However, many men still feel their only job is to earn the family’s money and nothing more. To be equal partners in marriage, men should play a more active role in parenting. Men shouldn’t be coming home just to play with the children, but also to teach them the invaluable lessons of life. Women should be more willing to let the men participate in parenting roles, and men should be more willing to let women make a difference in the community.

Women’s skills and talents shouldn’t be limited to what they can produce as far and successful children, but also how much they can contribute to society as a whole. If the best way to accomplish this is for her to become a CEO, or to work with the PTA, or whatever avenue she chooses to pursue, then that should be her goal. While being a selfless mother is one of the best jobs this nation has to offer, being happy with life is equally important.

Kirsten Widdison