After hearing Michelle Muscat’s message on You Tube, we couldn’t help but feel that women who choose to stay at home because of their children are being looked down upon. What’s the problem with mothers choosing to stay at home? Not all stay-at-home mums do so because of guilt.

Some mothers choose to stay at home for a period of time because they feel that’s best for them to rear their children. Others prefer to combine their motherhood with work as that works best for them. Making mums feel guilty is bad, but it’s just as bad to exert pressure on them to work, so that our statistics look good in front of the EU.

Stay-at-home mums are not inferior in any way to working mums or vice-versa. It is nonsense to talk of undeveloped women’s potential because one stays at home. Rearing children also develops our potential.

Children enrich our vision of life, the way we look at people, our sensitivity, as well as patience, perseverance and resilience. They make us encounter our innermost weaknesses and become stronger as we struggle to overcome them. Children are not a hindrance to the progression of our career but an asset.

Please let’s give space in this country for every mother to be herself. We all do our best to raise our children in the best possible way. Some prefer to give more time to motherhood or feel more tranquil with one role; others might work better or feel more energised combining motherhood with work.