Motherhood is a full-time job during the child's first five years. I know some families which just can't seem to pay their bills without a supplement to the father's paycheck, but children need their mother more than they do a newer car or larger house. The issue is not so much, "Should mom work?" as it is "Who will take her place?" Is an eighteen-year-old baby sitter going to apply the principles of good parenthood which I've outlined? Is she going to mold and guide and reinforce those subtle but important attitudes that emerge each day? Is she capable of disciplining and loving in the proper combination? Being a good mother is one of the most complex skills in life, yet this role has fallen into disrepute in recent years. What activity could be more important than shaping human lives during their impressionable and plastic years? I'm afraid I have little patience with the view that domestic responsibilities are not worthy of a woman's time. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, yet mom is now told that she should chase around after some additional source of fulfilment. The cigarette commercial tells her, " You've come a long way, baby," but that image portrayed makes me want to say, "Yes, but you've still got a long way to go, baby." The traditional concept of motherhood, full-time motherhood, still sounds like a pretty good idea to me.