Chapter 9
Quality carefor children remainsa
challenge,particularly if thereareno
extendedfamily membersavailableto
watch them.Thefamily with a working
mother andchildren younger than 15,paid
an averageof $107each week for childcare
expensesin 2005(U.S.CensusBureau,
2008a).Sincebabiesandtoddlersaretoo
youngtoreport on their treatment (or
mistreatment),it becomesvery risky to
leavechildren in thecareof others.The
perception of a lack of reliablechildcareis
a dilemma which pushesmany mothers
out of theworkforce.A parent cannot do
their jobeffectively if they areworried
about their children.
Disadvantages of the Dual-Income Family
Over the last two decades,there has
been an increasing divide between those
families who work too many hours and
those who do not work (Hochschild,
2007).According to Hochschild (2007),
both extremes hurt families.While those
who do not work contribute to the
growing poverty level,those who work too
much experience a“speed-up”in their
work lives,such that balancing work and
family no longer carries any meaning.
Dual-incomefamilieshavebeenatthe
heartof muchheateddebateoverthelast3
decades.Muchresearchonthisissue
emergedduringthe1980s,aneraof conflict
betweenworkingmothersandnonworking
mothers.Thedebatecontinuestoday,with
polarizedpositionscitingeitheradvantages
ordisadvantagesof dual-incomefamilies.
Manypeoplehaveassumedthatmothers
workingoutsidethehomewouldbe
harmfultochildren.Theseassumptions
biasedmuchof theearlyresearchandhave
becomepartof thepopularnotionabout
dual-incomefamilies.Thepresshasserved
tofostertheideaof harmbydepictingthese
familiesastime-crazed,withchildren
starvedforparentalattention(Galinsky,
1999).Forinstance,theMay,2001issueof
NationalReviewshowsangry,crying
childrenwithacaption,“ThanksMom!”
TheCaseagainstWorkingMothers(Lowry,
2001).Populartalkshowhost,Laura
Schlessinger,equatesmaternalemployment
withchildabuseandneglect,callingita
societaltrendwhich“isadisastertothelives
andemotionalwell-beingof thechild”
(Schlessinger,2000p.7).
Despitethenegativeassumptionsabout
theeffectsof mothersworkingoutsidethe
home,researchhasnotconfirmedthe
damagetochildren.Galinsky(1999)looked
attheimpactof workonthefamilythrough
theeyesof thechildren.Shefoundover
60%of thechildrenfelttheyspentabout
therightamountof timewiththeirparents,
incontrastto53%of parentswhofeltthey
didn’tspendenoughtimewiththeir
children.Abouttwothirdsof thechildren
felttheirparentsworkedabouttheright
amountof time.Withregardtohow
successfulthesechildrenthoughttheir