A New Wave of Happy Housewives

"For the first time since the downturn of 2008, the percentage of stay-at-home mothers rose between 2010 and 2011, and some of the biggest increases have been among younger mothers, aged 25 to 35," writes the Daily Mail in Rise of the Happy Housewife.

One year ago, Kelly Makino, 33, quit her job running a program for at-risk children to stay home full time, because, she says, women are better at that job than men.

The mother-of-two and self-described 'flaming liberal' and feminist, told New York magazine: 'The feminist revolution started in the workplace, and now it’s happening at home.'

Mrs Makino, who has a Masters of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania, and struggled to balance long hours with caring for her children 'properly,' said that no amount of professional success could compare to her happiness knowing her two children, Connor, five, and Lillie, four, were being looked after by her - not a nanny.

Her sacrifice of a salary pays her family back in ways Mrs Makino believes are priceless, and she is not alone. A new breed of young, educated, and married mothers are finding themselves untouched by the notion of 'having it all.'