Motherhood works
Deborah Clarke Sir: Petronella Wyatt has clearly joined the ranks of those who labour under the delusion that full-time mothers don't do anything that is not related to domesticity (Singular life, 13 November).
During my thoroughly enjoyable 15 years as a full-time mother (brought to an end only hy the need to meet school fee increases) I did voluntary work for at least three charities, completed an Open University degree, and worked as a volunteer adviser for the Citizens Advice Bureau, a job which requires a fair degree of intellectual ability. 1 read as much as I always had — including The Spectator — and thus had plenty to talk about to my husband in the evenings. My husband insisted that his earnings should be paid into a joint account so that I did not have to be paid an 'allowance', and I never felt that I could not buy things that I would like.
The result of this was that my children had the benefit of all my attention, and neither my husband nor I had the stress of juggling work commitments to meet our responsibilities to them. In addition, our children knew that they had a parent they could rely on, rather than one of Petronella's 'sex-crazed Romanian au pairs'. Now they are teenagers, and so far they have not shown any resentment at my having chosen to give them my time.
By all means allow women the choice of whether to work or not — if they are lucky enough financially to have that choice — but Please do not assume that those who choose to stay at home turn into dreary domestic drudges. And don't forget that work can at times be as boring as cleaning the floor.
Deborah Clarice
Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
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