Stay-at-home moms are no longer just
co-stars from Leave It To Beaver, Brady Bunch, and other television shows from a bygone era. Taking care of kids has become cool thing to do again for women in their 20s and 30s. According to U.S. Census Bureau, there are at least 5.4 million stay-at-home parents in United States alone. These are a dynamic bunch of women, and men, who see opportunities in their domestic role, especially opportunities presented by Internet.Sure, many of these parents gave up exciting careers and important roles in their community to take up time-honored tradition of rearing their children. You yourself may have put goals and dreams on back burner when you accepted commitment and responsibility of raising your little ones. You understand importance of a parent being there for those firsts: first crawl, first step, first "momma" and "dadda".
At same time, though, you may feel like you have taken on too much. Not only do you have pressures of bringing up a smart, well-behaved child. You worry about being able to make ends meet to provide everything your child needs.
If this sounds all too familiar, take a deep breath, turn off television, and log online. No, don’t think you're going to surf Web to just pass time. The Internet is your portal to transforming your stay-at-home life. In between diaper changes and feedings, bedtimes and burpings, you can reach beyond walls of your home and access outside world as never before. The benefits are as close to limitless as millions of sites on Web, including:
-E-support system. Whether you're searching for other stay-at-home moms to lean on, folks with same health ailment as yourself, or even just other Oprah fanatics, Internet is like one big community center where you can find them.
-Friends and fun. Through e-mail, chat rooms, and instant messaging, Internet is one of easiest ways to keep in touch with old friends and family members, as well as to meet new acquaintances.
-Cyber community. Look for your neighborhood's Web site for information on shopping, festivals, town hall meetings, and other local interests. If you can't find your town's home on Internet, take a leadership role in creating it with help of your neighbors.
