Working Mothers Give Themselves Lower Parenting Marks (1/3)

There has been a shift in attitudes among American mothers over the last decade about full-time employment. According to the Pew Research Center, more working mothers now say part-time work is the ideal situation, and they give themselves lower marks as parents than stay-at-home moms.

The debate over what's best for mothers — to stay at home or go out and work — has resurfaced with a new survey.

What these mothers told NBC News echoed what a larger sample of working and stay-at-home moms said nationwide. In the Pew survey, 60 percent of the employed mothers said part-time work would be best for them and their families. Only 48 percent felt that way in 1997. Among stay-at-home moms, nearly half said their set-up was ideal, up from 39 percent a decade ago.

Rachel Hamman quit her job as an investment adviser two years ago to raise her children. She chronicled her experience in a book, Bye-Bye Boardroom. She says with the variety of choices now available for mothers — work full-time, part-time, have a flexible schedule, or stay home — having it all is simply a question of how you define "all."