Stay-at-home moms: Drawbacks

You In a word: boredom. If efficiently ticking off tasks on a to-do list is important to you, then staying home may feel more like purgatory than heaven. At the same time, your job never stops. Even when the baby is in bed, it's tempting to sort through laundry or pluck toys off the playroom floor. Make sure to carve out some time for yourself every week.

Your kids Some stay-at-home moms feel their babies are clingier than those of working moms. There's no question that your child will be relying on you and you alone  -- a habit that can be hard to kick. Adjusting to preschool is sometimes challenging for such kids. After all, a classroom of toddlers is a far cry from the charmed life of Mommy and me. "Make sure your baby gets to spend time with other children," says April Nesin, Ph.D., a pediatric psychologist at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "That way, he gets a taste of life when he's not the center of the universe."

Your marriage Remember the good old days when you and your husband spent hours venting about your jobs? Well, if you stay home, the first thing you're going to want to talk about when he walks through the door is, When is he taking the baby off your hands? That can be cause for conflict, since after a day at work he wants a break, too. Couples say the best way to deal is first to give him time to unwind (30 minutes tops) and then take the break you deserve.

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