When it comes to career and women, there’s always that hot, under-the-radar whispers about the ultimate choice in family life.

Unlike past decades, women now have the freedom to mould their profession just as they dreamt it as a child. But there are times when a woman has to make a decision based on what’s needed to be done. Be it a child or being close to your husband in a foreign land, a housewife’s duties comes with many perks and drawbacks.

A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mum) is a woman whose work is running or managing her family's home — housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying and/or mending clothes for the family; buying, cooking, and storing food for the family; buying goods that the family needs for everyday life; partially or solely managing the family budget; — and who is not employed outside the home (a career woman).

The term housewife has come to have a negative connotation in the 21st century. The origin of housewife duty is actually a by-product of the Industrial Revolution when people moved out of agrarian societies and into modern cities and women faced new roles in society. With this new modern lifestyle, the definition of housewife came about: a woman who stays home and tends the children and house while her husband works in an industry-based job for forty or more hours a week. Whether they go by the name of housewife homemaker or stay-at-home mom, the housewife definition has certainly changed over the past century or so.

Times have changed. For a while, that meant being a housewife was uncommon. Those that were housewives were looked down upon. Fortunately, it is becoming a far better situation for mothers to stay at home with their children or wives to stay at home to keep up with the house. With the cost of daycare these days, it is the best option for many families.

Whether this is a result of less than accurate reality television, the prominence of feminism in current times, or some other idealization that being a housewife is no longer relevant, it is a job that has the opposite stigma than it did in the past. Women in the 1930s were expected to be housewives - the idea of women who work outside the home was frowned upon. They were expected to prioritize their home and family over everything else, especially a career. However, nowadays, not only had the role of a housewife gone away nearly completely, but it has started to make a comeback.

Unlike running errands under tight deadlines at a workplace, being a housewife brings its perks in freedom. You can work according to your own schedules whilst focusing on your health and wellbeing at the same time. A woman alone in a house makes her the boss. This would somewhat change if you’re a mother, but the bottom line is, freedom is all yours.

Although housewives were responsible for keeping children away from Dad in the past so that he could relax after work, parenting in the modern era is much more of a team effort. Today's housewife communicates with her husband and does not do the parenting alone. Although her husband might be tired from a long day at work, a good full-time housewife will also be tired from a long day of caring for the house and kids.

It all boils down to this: it doesn’t matter what path you choose, there’s always advantages and disadvantages. This topic, in particular, is quite sensitive to many women. As you stumbled upon here, it could be that you’re in two minds, or you’ve made a decision, and you wonder if it’s the right one. Don’t let society and stigma persuade you to do the ‘popular’ thing, but choose the right path for yourself and your family. Most importantly, do what makes you happy.