Huffington Magazine Issue 151 | Page 16

What It Really

Means To Be A Stay-

At-Home Parent,

In 31 Candid Photos

According to 2014 reports from Pew Research Center, there have been recent increases in the number of moms and dads who identify as stay-at-home parents.

Though it comes with many rewards, being a stay-at-home parent is a challenge in its own right – from the endless errands and messes to clean up to the total lack of alone time.

We asked the stay-at-home moms and dads in the HuffPost Parents Facebook community for photos that sum up their experience.

Here are 31 of their photos and musings about what being a stay-at-home parent means to them. (Click here for a look at what some working parents had to share about their experiences.)

unfiltered

Exit

Kristen Sievers Bracken

Maggie Jones,

Sarah Poyck Lesniara

Lindsay Atkinson,

Stephanie Gendro

Kimberly Jepsen Howard

Angelic Orellana,

Katherine Smith

Manuela Perez,

Farah Miller

Athina Marie Fascianella

Amber Elalami,

Dara K Tilghman

@josh_0073

Kimmy Green,

Houakia Moua

Lloyd Thomas

Jenn Lott,

Ali O'Brien

Alice Bronzo,

Amanda Hamilton

Kelli Marsden

Molly Kikumi,

Dara K. Tilghman

,

@peachyy_keen

Julianna Fischer

Alexandria Kelly,

Heather Polumbus Wennberg

Danielle Wiltz,

Kayla Jankans

Teresa Johnson,

Kelly Bialick

"Grocery shopping trips with Mom!"

"Make a mess. Clean the mess. Repeat. Love my little guys."

"Being a SAHD means grocery shopping with these two as quick as I can."

"Never going

to the bathroom alone!"

"Being a SAHM not only means I'm there for every tantrum, but I'm also there to teach him how to enjoy simple things like planting flowers. Memories he'll take with him forever. Oh, and it also means hair roots lol."