I REALLY don't mean this as a competition. I don't. I am just trying to see how different personalities work under these circumstances, as I likely think there is no one answer that works for every person.

I have done both.
Right now I am a SAHM.
When I worked I thought it was so much harder because I was not happy with that. Now I am a SAHM & although it is nice that I like it & am quite happy - man I feel like I have no time to get little stuff done & I actually get behind on things easier than before. I have no lunch break to make a quick run for errands or stop on my way home or whatever. I also homeschool my 5 yr old & watch a couple of other children for various hours during the week, so I know that adds up. But seriously - I thought I was going to "get so much done" once I was home. hahahahaha

So I am just curious - I am particularly curious for those that have done both what their take on it is. I love it - I just wish I had about 3 more hours in every day when everyone else was out of my way.  

I'm a working mom. But honestly I think they're both pretty hard in their own ways. I don't think I could say ones harder than the other.

Ive done both, and while I think being a SAHM is "easier" I was not happy. BUT I also only have one kid who is very well behaved. I hated staying at home all day. Now I'm a full time nursing student and I got NUTS in the summer when I have to stay home all the time.

I've been a sahm since I got preg in may of 2009, I hate it... I never enjoyed it, I was happy to be able to do things with my children but it was extremely hard on me... I started working 3 nights a week this year just to get out and pay for my daughters tuition, and its helped my sanity, but I'm still home during the day with my youngest... its better but still hard

<blockquote><b>Quoting justanothamotha:</b>" I REALLY don't mean this as a competition. I don't. I am just trying to see how different personalities ... [snip!] ... their take on it is. I love it - I just wish I had about 3 more hours in every day when everyone else was out of my way.  "</blockquote>




Im a sahm and i think its eaiser because i dont have to go out to a job then come home and take care of dd id hate to work then have to come home and cook

Side note dd is not walking yet so im sure it will be harder when she is walking.

Ive done both at one point... going out and working was easier physically, but emotionally it killed me. All I did was think about my babies and how much I missed them and all of the things I could be doing at home with them. SAHM is anything but easy but its what I love.

I've done both. For me, working was harder, but I think it was because I was working out of necessity when I wanted to stay home. Now that I'm able to stay home, I'm much happier. Although back when my son was born and I took a semester off from college to stay home with him, I went stir crazy and worked part time just to get out of the house lol

I think it depends. It's pretty easy to keep up with one child, but if you're a SAHM to lets say 3 kids, that may be a lot harder then actually going to work. I just find that when i was a SAHM i felt lazier. I never really wanted to get up, i just napped all day with my daughter and most times didn't get dressed. I also felt extremely bored and was going crazy. Now that i work, i don't really think either is harder then the other. I just like to get out of the house once in a while and get to be around people my age and then i enjoy my days off with my daughter.

I have worked outside the home when my daughter was young. For the past few years I have been working from home. Hated it when I had to leave home. Love it now. Not always easy but its flexible.

I've done both (I work currently) and.. while I can see the difficulty in staying home (especially when it came to fairness between my spouse and myself) I honestly chuckle at the argument that staying home is harder. But, to be fair as you say.. different personalities handle their own circumstances in their own way.
I just think that people forget, either way, life has time constraints and schedules to keep up with.

While I don't miss the sanity-draining aspect of it, I do miss running to my own schedule more opposed to being on "the man's" time.

I've havent worked since having LO so I can not compare.

I would guess work because I am not a morning person and I would hate to get up EXTRA early to get LO ready and to a sitters.

I guess it depends what you enjoy doing more, too. If you like being around peers and having different goals to achieve each day while bring in extra income, then I would imagine working is easier. But, if you would rather be around your children all day in and out and constant home making, I would say SAHM would be easier.

None would be exactly "easy," but I would understand why one mother would prefer one over the other in both cases.

Where's the "neither is harder" option?

I have done both and am currently a full time student and SAHM. It is a nice change from working 60 hours a week but it also comes with its own challenges.

I've done both being a SAHM is so much easier IMO only cause I still had to everything I did as a SAHM before and after work. As a SAHM I get more time to do those things and just relax with my LO

Also, I believe the results will come out as "being a sahm is harder" because I believe the majority of BG are SAHMs.

I've worked all my life, and I quit when I was 5 months pregnant, and officially became a SAHM at the end of September of this year.. While I miss working and interacting with people, I can not/will not go back to work until i'm done having babies and they are all in school. I couldn't bare not being with them every second of the day.