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Chapter 9

Rolemodelingegalitarianrolesisanother

positiveresultindual-careerfamilies

(Haddock&Rattenborg,2003).Whenboth

parentswork,theretendstobemore

commitmenttoequalityandavoidanceof

genderstereotypes.Childrenlearnamore

balancedapproachtopowerwithinfamilies

byobservingtherespectandsupport

parentsdemonstratetowardseachother’s

schedule,workgoals,andparenting

obligations.

Havingacareerinadditionto

childrearingcanbebeneficialtothe

developmentofone’sidentity.Thisis

especiallytrueformiddle-classwiveswho

donothavetoworktosupplementthe

family’sincome.Forthisgroupofwomen,

workingoutsidethehomeincreasestheir

confidenceandself-esteem(Amato,Booth,

Johnson,&Rogers,2007;Hochschild,1997;

Haddock&Rattenborg,2003).Work

providesasocialoutlet,aswellasproviding

adultinteractioninanintellectual

environmentforwomenwhoworkoutside

thehome(Haddock&Rattenborg,2003).

However,notallwomenbenefitinthesame

way.Womenwhomusthelpsupplement

incometendtoexperiencelessjob

satisfactionandfeeltheirjobinterfereswith

theirfamilylife(Amatoetal.,2007).

InHaddockandRattenborg’sstudy

(2003),manyparentssaidworkinggave

themabetterappreciationofhome.It

providedaseparaterealmofinterestaway

fromthefamilywhichledtobetter

parentingandoverallincreasedhappiness.

Manyoftheseworkingparentssuggested

theyhadmorepatienceandwerebetterable

togivetheirchildrentheirfullattention.

Parentsalsomentionedthat,bynothaving

theirchilddependentonthemalldaylong,

itwaseasiertoaccommodatethemselvesto

theirchild’schangingdevelopmentalneeds.

Children in familieswhoaresuccessful

in managingthework-family interface

benefit in a number of ways.Haddock and

Rattenborg(2003)foundchildren

benefitedfrom theincreasedopportunities

for socialinteraction with other children

duringdaycareandwereabletointeract

on a moreintellectuallevelwith adults.

Children alsodisplayedan increasedsense

of responsibility andindependence,

viewingfamily asa team in which they

contribute.Increasedfinancesplace

parentsin a better position tobeableto

affordhigh quality childcare,which

Children in dual-career families benefit from the

increased social interaction at daycare.

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