Dr. Laura,

I just wanted to write you and tell you a short story about how you affected my life. In 1999, I was a police officer working the evening shift. My wife was pregnant with our first child. I was well on my way to a successful law enforcement career and she was moving up fast in the corporate world. It was a given she would return to work soon after our child was born.

One day about a month into our pregnancy I was channel surfing on the radio and heard your show for the first time. I have to admit, I was first attracted to the show by your blunt way of telling people things they did not want to hear. Many of your messages started sinking with me. I wish I could remember the exact day, but one day you said something that hit me like a ton of bricks. It was only days before our daughter was born, you had a caller that was struggling between career and being a stay at home mother. I’ll never forget your exact words. You said “If you have the ability to stay home with your child and choose not to for the sake of money, it equates to child abuse.” Some people might think that is a hard stance against having a career, but being a police officer, the child abuse reference really struck home.

I immediately called my sister who was as a stay-at-home mom and told her what you had said. She told me she absolutely agreed. That day, I went home for lunch and told my wife what you said. At that moment, we committed to our child instead of her career. We worked out a budget and found that by making simple sacrifices on luxury issues, we could afford to do the right thing. We never looked back and my wife stayed at home with our daughter and our next daughter, too. 

Today, my girls are 12 and 14 years old and my wife is still a stay-at-home mom. We eat three meals a day together, even though I work full time. They are great kids with many accomplishments and I am certain their success is due to your advice said on that fateful afternoon so many years ago.

Thank you.

Richard