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THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 8 • PARENTHOOD & SCIENCE CAREERS 81

European au pair to a progressive day care

center to family day care. In addition, special

needs of two-career couples or of the chil-

dren may dictate a particular arrangement. A

child who is chronically ill with ear infec-

tions contracted in a day care setting makes

it difficult for parents to work consistent

hours. A live-in childcare provider may be

the best solution in this case.

Do Not Micromanage the

Family

Many women tend to believe that they

have to run the house the way their mothers

did: take total responsibility for raising the

children and doing all the housework. That

model simply does not work. Fathers deserve

to play as important a role as mothers do in

the lives of the children. If mothers allow this

to happen, it will free up their time and build

close relationships between children and

dad. Take pleasure in knowing that the chil-

dren and their dad can get along fine when

mom has to work extra hours. Many mothers

resent spending home time cleaning and

cooking, rather than playing with the chil-

dren and doing school projects and home-

work. If this is the case, hire a housekeeper,

learn to be more tolerant of the messes, or

both. If there isn’t time to cook, order takeout

or go out to eat. Homework can be started

after the meal has been ordered and before

the food arrives at the table.

While the Family Is Young,

Keep the Research Focused on

One or Two Central Problems

Realize that laboratory expansion and

publication rates will be less than those of

colleagues without young children. The

challenge while the children are young is to

stay active and in the game. The research

programs of many scientists often experi-

ence dramatic expansions after their chil-

dren are grown.

Set Limits on Hours Spent on

Teaching-related Activities

In collaboration with a supervisor or

chairperson, determine how much time

teaching responsibilities should take and

stick to that budget. Teaching is often the

hardest activity to compartmentalize and

juggle successfully. No matter how well pre-

pared a lecture is, there is always another

paper to read or a better way to organize

and present the lecture material. Also, adult

students are demanding, and they require

and deserve mentoring. It is hard to close

the door and focus on research when active-

ly teaching a course or mentoring a student

in the lab. But, just as parents have to learn

to let their children grow up, teachers have

to learn to let students solve some of their

own problems and identify additional

resource people.

Teaching assistants and secretaries can

handle some of the students’ academic and

personal questions; let them.

If you keep in mind these not-so-simple

truths, you will be able to keep all those balls

in the air and stay sane. ■

The challenge while the children

are young is to stay active and

in the game.