Poll: Is Stay-at-Home Parenting as Hard as a ‘Real’ Job?

It’s not a new debate, but it sure became a heated one this week: whether or not stay-at-home parenting constitutes a real job.

Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen found herself in the middle of the debate after comments this week about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romeny’s wife, Ann:

Says the Huffington Post:

Rosen said on Wednesday that Ann Romney had “never worked a day in her life,” referring to whether she understood women's economic struggle. Romney has been a key surrogate for her husband on the issue, as some question whether Republicans have alienated women voters.

What she meant, Rosen said later amid outcry, is that Ann Romney isn’t in the same tough position as many women who don’t have the choice to stay home, but must work to put food on the table. But many took her remarks to mean that stay-at-home parenting isn't a real job.

Several writers have have come to Rosen’s defense, including Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post, who said:

Rosen wasn’t making a commentary on whether stay-at-home mothers had real jobs. Of course, they do. What Rosen highlighted was that Ann Romney has never faced the financial strain of holding things together while her paycheck shrinks or she loses her job or the kids need braces and there’s no money in their meager budget to pay for it. How, then, can Ann Romney advise her out-of-touch husband on the specific problems American women face? 

So what do you think? Is stay-at-home parenting as difficult as taking a job outside the home?