Letter: Happy at home

Sir: Why is there a constant assumption that a woman who chooses to stay at home should be an object of derision and pity? ("Is the housewife all washed up", 30 April).

I have been in the fortunate position to be able to choose to be a full- time mother since the birth of my two daughters, now aged nine and eight years old. I spend very little time worrying about our choice of soap powder. It only takes a few hours a week to keep our small house clean, which leaves me free to pursue my many interests which include art, creative embroidery, cultivating an allotment and serving as a school governor.

It is my working friends, over-worked and stressed, who lose out - I have my freedom.

Kate Burbidge

New Malden, Surrey