Rating: 
Summary: The "90's" or the new millenium do not change age old truths
Review: And that is that children do better in the care of thier own parents. Perhaps the differences are subtle in that perhaps they are just feelings as we get older of more stability, more happiness and fulfillment with our lives having been nurtured as a child, but they are there. And I say this not only as a stay at home mother, but also as a child who endured daycare. I absolutely attribute that early experience to some problems I have had nurturing relationships as an adult(something I take responsibility for and am working on so no, this is not an excuse for them) and one need only see the differences between my brothers(much younger than me) who had my mother home and me to know there is a difference!
I don't doubt there are spectacular nannies out there, but unless you are super wealthy, it's doubtful this person will be a constant figure in your home until your child is grown and personally I'd rather my children bond with me instead of a nanny anyway.
The folks who look at this as some work bashing need to get a reality check. If this is working mother bashing, than Ms., working moms magazine, and the host of books supporting working moms are sahm bashing. If this isn't your choice and you aren't open enough to question your values than don't read the book for goodness sakes and live in your life of denial and at the very least with a narrow view of the world. Also maybe it would help for you to understand that kids really are "fragile" in the sense that they are not mini adults. People would be better off if they listened to that message and some, like myself, are even taking that reality to a new level and pursuing homeschooling as well. It's not about coddling you goof, it's about nurturing your child and honoring thier innocence and protecting thier will to learn. It's about raising them in a everyday more sexualized and violent world until they are at a point where they can really deal with the world ie the main way I see this is my child goes out with the wolves when he is ready to fend them off, I don't throw him/her out there ill equipped and hope they survive. I give my children the skills they need and THEN they leave my home to be capable adults. Other people believe they gain those skills through disappointments and hard knocks AWAY from thier parents guidance. Sorry, I don't agree with that very callous view of children and I'd hope people who think like this would reconsider bringing a child into this world. If you already have one, keep your guilt in your own psyche, get help, or open yourself to the idea that your children need you AT HOME AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting story of one woman's reasons for staying home
Review: As a young mother struggling with the notion of returning to the workforce, I found this book particularly liberating. Everyone has to make their own choice, based on the realities of thier own life, but I found this a rare offering in a mire of "you're only valuable if you return to work" messages.I found the author's research interesting, and reading the book certainly fuelled my fire to be an at-home mum. If you want to return to the work place, don't bother reading this, it will probably make you cranky. If, however, you are questioning the values that made you think you had to go back to work, get a copy and read on. "Home by Choice" will certainly give you some thinking fuel for your decision process.
Rating:
Summary: Home by Choice
Review: I am an educated stay at home mom who believes I am where I belong. This book supports my beliefs.
Rating:
Summary: Great support for women who stay home with their children
Review: I am in the middle of making the transition from working full-time outside the home as a teacher the first year of my daughter's life to working full-time FROM home. I am lucky to be able to do this; in our family right now, my working is a necessity rather than a choice while DH finishes his education.
HOME BY CHOICE backed up my belief that the place I need to be is home. We women who are educated and choose to use our skills on our children rather than on (in my case) other people's children should be commended, not condemned. Regardless of what people think, the research simply supports us.
Reading this book reinforced my decision, revitalized me when I was beginning to feel alone in that decision, and re-energized my spirit so I could give more to my daughter. I HIGHLY recommend this book to any pregnant women, women who already stay at home with their children, or moms who work outside the home and don't feel particularly comfortable leaving their children in someone else's care.
Rating: 
Summary: Preaching to the choir
Review: I hated this book. I bought it in the hope that it would be provide support, should I be able to be a SAHM one day, instead what I got was a heavy guilt trip for working now. Never once does the author acknowledge that somen women have to work for financial reasons! Not all husbands are doctors and lawyers and can support the family for 18+ years! (...) And what about widowed mothers? She never addresses them, either! This book seemed like nothing more than another attempt to set working Moms against SAHMs. If she wanted to convince women why they should stay at home, she shouldn't go about it by bashing them and tearing them down for working, no matter what the reason.
Rating:
Summary: Preaching to the choir
Review: I hated this book. I bought it in the hope that it would be provide support, should I be able to be a SAHM one day, instead what I got was a heavy guilt trip for working now. Never once does the author acknowledge that somen women have to work for financial reasons! Not all husbands are doctors and lawyers and can support the family for 18+ years! (...) And what about widowed mothers? She never addresses them, either! This book seemed like nothing more than another attempt to set working Moms against SAHMs. If she wanted to convince women why they should stay at home, she shouldn't go about it by bashing them and tearing them down for working, no matter what the reason.
Rating:
Summary: The Research to back up the Stay at home mom
Review: I just finished reading this book and feel revitalized about my decision to stay at home with my kids. I have always felt intuitively that what I am doing is important, but this gives me the statistics and the research to back it up. An educated woman like myself is not wasted on the care of her children. When people look back over the course of their lives they wish they had spent more time with their families, they don't wish they had spent more time advnacing their careers.
Rating:
Summary: We need this
Review: This book is every feminazi's nightmare. They hate facts and even worse they hate the truth. Research, History and Commen Sense what more could you want from an author who is not only qualified to speak on the subject, but can bring all this information down to a readable, page turninig adventure. I heard Dr. Laura's remarks and all I can say is "You Go Girl" I highly reccomend this book to anyone who cares enough to avoid the pitfalls of rationalized child abuse: "daycare."
Rating:
Summary: More working-mom-bashing, ad nauseatum...
Review: This book is oh, so retro...blaming working mothers and romanticizing the mom who sacrifices her career & interests to coddle her "fragile" kids 24/7. It's basically the same trite backlash junk that circulated in the 80's that if you work, you can't love your kids. Get real, Brenda, it's the 90's!
Rating:
Summary: I've read other books on this subject that were better.
Review: This is an easy-to-read, secondary source on "attachment" style parenting. The major drawback of the book is that the author is so caught up telling the story of her own flawed childhood and the emotional scars it left, and comparing her early years to the similarly sad childhoods other people experienced, it begins to sound like yet another "co-dependency" type book. No wonder the author captured the attention of Sally Jesse Raphael and other popular talk show hosts! I wished I could just slap her and say, "Life is hard, lady. Deal with it!" Actually, this books seems to be just that--a culmination of the author's struggle to deal with her past. There are a number of more informative and less syrupy secondary sources on mother-infant attachment which I would recommend over this one, such as The Baby Book by William and Martha Sears. I think there are better books on becoming and being a stay-at-home mother as well, such as What's a Smart Woman Like You Doing at Home? by Linda Burton and Staying Home Instead by Christine Davidson.
Sharon Reilly (jdreilly@ntplx.net
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