Parenting as a career

In the famous Ayn Rand's playboy interview, she was asked a question near and dear to those of us who have chosen parenting as a full time occupation:

PLAYBOY: In your opinion, is a woman immoral who chooses to devote herself to home and family instead of a career?

RAND: Not immoral -- I would say she is impractical, because a home cannot be a full-time occupation, except when her children are young. However, if she wants a family and wants to make that her career, at least for a while, it would be proper -- if she approaches it as a career, that is, if she studies the subject, if she defines the rules and principles by which she wants to bring up her children, if she approaches her task in an intellectual manner. It is a very responsible task and a very important one, but only when treated as a science, not as a mere emotional indulgence. 

 This basically validates everything that I hold as important: parenting is not about keeping the house. It is an intellectual pursuit, one where truth is knowable, learning is valuable and ideas matter. Parents who choose to do anything less, have not chosen raising children as a kind of single-minded goal that is a requirement of a productive life. They need no excuse to continue working full time. Yet, they cannot make the claim that their children are their primary and fundamental value.


An additional question arises: what does Ayn Rand mean by young children? Infants? Preschoolers? How about homeschool teenagers?


My best guess is that Ayn Rand would not be able to answer this question in terms of concretes. Parenting was not her field of study and she would likely be at a loss as to when parenting is a full time job.

However, the general answer is within the above quote:

"if she wants a family and wants to make that her career, at least for a while, it would be proper -- if she approaches it as a career, that is"

As long as the mother finds herself productively engaged with her children, as long as this engagement is capable of occupying her whole self intellectually & emotionally, providing professional satisfaction - it's obvious, she is making the right and moral choice.

When at some point she is looking for something to do to occupy herself because her children are away and she feels bored around the house - well, that's a great time to consider a productive activity.

Therefore my answer highly depends on the mother and her engagement. On one end of the spectrum, I can see that many mothers are not intellectually engaged in parenting. They should probably seek a productive activity as soon as they feel it is reasonable for the child to be separated from the mother. On the other, I imagine a mom dedicating her life to kids' education, spending her free time learning how to excel.