"Who is a good wife material?"
The husband's mother says it is the woman who also works to improve the family's income, and even the wife's mother agrees with the idea that a woman should not be idle. Women today insist on taking a job outside their home as a way of supporting their husbands and avoiding total dependency.
It has become a norm that a good wife is the woman who also works so that the home has a dual income source. Assuming the husband is the primary breadwinner and the wife is also working, this increases the family's income.

This concept is contrary to the traditional African family system, where the man is assigned the role of breadwinner; he goes out to work as a hunter, fisherman, company worker, driver, teacher or palm wine tapper. The wife stays at home, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children.
When it is farming season, everyone has a part to play, planting or harvesting.

Problem identification

The modern family has quietly suffered neglect due to this new norm; families are producing children that are not well cared for physically, emotionally, and are lacking true home training, which is in the hands of house maids.
Wives are often burnt out, over-stressed, and unable to function properly in their roles as mothers and wives.
Husbands are physically and emotionally wrecked with little or no quality meals, working harder but seeing no results due to being trapped in the dual-income illusion.

It is true that when both husband and wife are employed, they generate a higher combined income. But this status almost always generates an equally higher expenditure and cost that takes away more than the added income.

Such homes now needs to double the cost or means of transportation to work. From needing one car to needing two, which means more maintenance and taxes.

The domestic workload at home still needs to be taken care of, and so one or more housemaids are needed and would have to be paid.

With the chef cooking and housemaid cleaning, the new status needs a bigger and more comfortable home, which means more money on rent and other bills.

Mum is not at home to take care of her kids, care for their homework and look into their social and moral education. This results in kids who have the philosophy and values of the house maids and are not doing well academically or morally.

Why the problem persists

In-laws are not thinking it through, they are following ideas that are mathematically sound without looking at the social, moral and health implications of such systems.
This problem persists because people do not calculate beyond the initial increase in the income of dual-income families. They are not observing that in the long run, the added stress leads to higher and more frequent health bills, which consume all the extra income. And anyone who wants to be a stay-at-home wife is labelled lazy and unproductive. Now that I have brought this problem to your notice, it is up to you to run the mathematics, including more variables like additional transportation cost, higher health bills, expenses on a bigger house with aids, effect on children and the rate of satisfaction gained from it.
If you factor in these variables correctly, you will see the reason why dual-income households are not doing any better. But if you decide to follow the norms, the problem ofdual-incomee households still struggling will still exist.

The most misunderstood part of this problem

A dual-income is made to look like the choice of entellectually sound people and at such, if you decide to swim against this line of reasoning, you look like a fool.

Today's strangling economy seems to call for more diverse income sources to stay afloat. Increasing income to meet expenditure is a norm, but only a few understand that avoiding a competitive extravagant lifestyle allows you to run with minimal income.

A change in mindset

Instead of having our wives and later our kids join us in the workforce to care for the inflated lifestyle we have adopted in comparison with our friends and neighbours, let's deflate our lifestyle.
Identify and avoid the ripple effects that come from running a home with a double-income system.

Conclusion and Recommendations

While real laziness is not supported in any form, a stay-at-home wife is not lazy. The amount of domestic work at home is enough to keep a wife occupied. From getting the family ready in the morning, to dropping kids at school, to keeping the house clean and preparing healthy meals, then solving homework for kids and caring for the husband when he is home.

You really need to be a superwoman to do all of that and still have energy to work even part-time.

But some wives have engaged in online ventures like Steemit and provided a little but meaningful support, some have stayed at home and wracked in income that equates or surpasses that of the husband, while still caring for domestic work.

Maintaining a simple lifestyle is key to having a happy home that is run with minimal income, and a wife who cares for the home and works from home.

I am inviting contributions from @commy05 @sademathew @rubee2as1 @dequeen and @bossj23

Media Credit

Composer	@manuelhooks
Captured with	Galaxy-A15
Entry type	[SLC-Contest]
Contest link	link
Date	Monday. 27th January.
	(@) 2026