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The debate over working mothers and the effects it has on our children
The dilemma woman face today when working outside the home is deciding on the best care for their family, regardless of what others say. Women have fought for independence and equality to work outside the home for the past forty years. Stay-at-home mothers have debated over mothers working outside the home and the effects it may have on a child’s development for decades. One study shows that there is no harm emotionally, psychologically or developmentally to a child that has a working mother. Women around the world have been asking themselves what seems to be a simple question, is it better to stay at home with their children, or work outside of the home? The answer to this question is not going to be the same for everyone. Overall, this is a very personal choice for the mother and family and what is best for one family may not be best for another. One of the main things that mothers think about when contemplating entering the work force is how will this impact their child. The good news is that there have been some recent studies to help answer this tough question. Let's look at the long-term impact from children being in daycare from infancy. One of the issues children in daycare are stigmatized with is behavioral, this may be due to the length of time spent over four years in day care.
In children of Middle class and Upper class mothers, who spent a good amount of time in day care from infancy did show more behavioral related issues versus children of mothers who worked part-time. The study found that children in daycare for the first year of their life had lower cognitive scores compared to those children of mothers who did not work. Although ...
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... to work without feeling guilty about putting their children in day care. In outline, the agreement of the exact studies on the effect of maternal occupation finds that youngster conformity is attached to various pertinent variables. On account of single-guardian families, or families generally confronting destitution, the effect of maternal occupation seems, by all accounts, to be for the most part positive. On account of working class or rich families when the mother is working full-time, especially in the unanticipated months of a youngster's life, there has all the earmarks of being a somewhat expanded danger for later behavioral issues and inconspicuous cognitive effect with respect to moms who aren't working or are working low maintenance. It is exceptionally paramount to note, be that as it may, that these conclusions can't fundamentally be summed up.
Chapter seven of “Making the “Terrible” Twos Terrific” by John Rosemond is about sending your children to daycare. Rosemond believes that if possible one of the parent stays at home for the first three years of life. “The first three years of life constitute the single most critical, precedent-setting developmental period” (Rosemond 207). He also talks about putting your child in a three day or half day daycare. From birth to age two children rely completely on their parents. At age three is the transition time when children learn they are not the center of the universe and this should be taught by the parents.
Changing demographics in America are leading to an increased need for preschools. In 1950, only 14% of mothers of children under six worked outside the home (Williams 351), but in 1995, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 63.5% of mothers of children under age six worked outside the home (Garey 4). The number of families with two working parents is steadily rising; the number of single-parent families is also increasing. Many families cannot afford to have a parent at home full time but have a hard time affording preschool or childcare costs. A publication by L.M. Casper, printed by the U.S. Census Bureau, found that on average, parents spend 8% of their family's income on childcare (Kinch 68). Many of these parents make great sacr...
McCartney, K. (1984). The effect of a quality day care environment upon children’s language development.
In today’s society, many people look at stay-at-home moms as being lazy or irresponsible, but in the article, “Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom,” Ashley Nelson states many different reasons why being a stay-at-home mother isn’t so bad. Staying at home with children makes families closer together and they get along more. People in society argue that mothers need to work instead of spending time with their children. In “Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom,” Nelson claims that being a mother is stressful, that mothers are being discriminated against and treated differently, and that they are given too many extra hours at work. I agree with Nelson that being a mother is hard, they are discriminated against, and that they are given too many hours at work because having children and a job is tough, many people believe mothers can’t have a job and a child at the same time, and having a child means they need more hours at home to bond and take care of their children.
For low-income families, particularly single mothers, preschool is a huge financial burden. Despite what parents want for their children, it isn’t always a practical option; sometimes, the cost of enrolling their children outweighs the money earned at a job (Mason 46). Soon, mothers are sending their kids to preschool so they can work to make money to pay for preschool. Furthermore, without an education, parents are confined to minimum wage jobs with no hope of advancement (49). Where’s the incentive to work? Robin Mason describes one single mother’s motivation. For her, employment is more than just money; rather, it’s also a means to boost her self-esteem, gain financial independence, and set a positive example for her children. She emphasizes her responsibility to her children to keep a roof over their head, be a good mother, and choose a quality daycare (47).
There have been a lot of studies on day care and how it can affect a
In the United States, a third of mothers return to work within three months of childbirth compared to only five percent in other industrialized nations such as Germany, Sweden, and the UK (Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel 29). The rapid return of mothers to the workforce sparked interest in the effects the return has on the child’s behavior and health. The experiments measure the child’s health and development by the amount of time the mother breastfeeds, the immunizations the child receives, their score on a vocabulary test, behavioral problems, and the amount of doctor’s visits (Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel 36). Mothers who returned to work within twelve weeks were less likely to breastfeed their child, provide as many doctor’s visits and immunizations, and there were more noticeable behavioral problems at age four (Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel 39-42). The data is significantly lower for mother’s who work full time within twelve weeks after maternity leave (Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel 43). Therefore, it is proved that the duration of maternity leave is directly correlated with children development and
When selecting childcare for your child the foundation of early learning has offered some tips that they believe will be helpful in the process. The foundation says that parents have always known that good early experience was important for their child. Now scientist and researchers are confirming how critical these first years of life are to your child’s healthy development (Selecting child care, 2002). Because the brain matures in the world rather than in the womb, the brain growth and development of infants and young children is deeply affected by their earliest experiences. In a childcare environment the relationship your child has with the caregiver will also affect how that child feels about himself and the world around him and as he grows up (Selecting child care, 2002). I ...
Child development is a very important in today’s psychology. That is why it is not surprising that so much research has been developed on that topic. In the article “Transforming the Debate About Child Care and Maternal Employment” the author, Louise B. Silverstein, presents a very interesting point of view on the history as well as the future of psychological research on child care and influence of maternal employment on child development.
“The logic of intensive mothering, particularly as it applies to middle- and upper-middle-class mothers, therefore seems to be the greatest barrier to solving the problems detailed in this book….Nearly all mothers, for instance, feel they ought to be at home with their children, ought to want to be at home with their children, and ought to be their children’s primary parent.” Pg. 201 This quote from Untangling the Mother-Nanny Knot emphasizes on the fact that these working mothers need to let go a of that temperament that they must keep the nanny, their spouse and anyone else away from their child at any cost. Because they are not able to be there for their kids they can rest their mind knowing that the person with their child when they are not present is someone that will love them and care for them no matter what, and all the working mother must do is let go just a
It is common knowledge that a parent is considered the most efficient caregiver for their children. It’s also known that with daily responsibilities of caring for a child financially, parents partake in full-time and/or part-time employment. While needing to do so, many children attend daycare/preschool facilities. Granted, it is the parent’s responsibility to cautiously select where they decide to take their children. This is because parents know that while they are away for numerous hours of the day, their children are in the hands of another care provider and that their care would have an enormous impact on their children. At a young age, a child’s social and cognitive skills are continuing to take shape and the amount of time spent in these facilities has a resilient impact on a child’s development. With proper and superior care no matter the time spent, such positive effects on a child’s development should endure in a child’s cognitive and social development. In other words, there is a great benefit of childcare/daycare attendance on a child’s development.
In addition to the above, it is worth noticing that children in day-care tend to be better adjusted people, due to spending time with people outside their own families. This teaches them how to interact with others. It is the interactions between the parents and other caregivers that actually affect the way a baby’s brain is wired for later learning, as has been sug...
Children from advantaged families attending child day care recorded a slight positive or negative effect intellectually. While children from what is considered economically disadvantaged families benefited from child day care centre attendances (Belsky & Steinberg). These children recorded higher score results on standard tests when compared to disadvantaged children who do not attend child day care. The child care experience seemed to reduce the low test scores usually associated with disadvantaged population. However standard tests used were considered not enough to predict intellectual development. The research stressed an importance for more research on the cognitive effects of child day care using observation in everyday situation not just standardised tests.
Given these high child early child education care rates, both parents and professionals have sought to understand the impact of these experiences on children’s cognitive and social development. Evidence regarding the effects of preschool child care on children’s development has been derived from two distinct areas of research early intervention programs for children at risk, and typical community child
Cultural emphasis on self-fulfillment and individualism may influence parents away from the demands of parenting a large family (Morgan, 2003, p. 593). Increased career opportunities for women and the availability combine with the availability and acceptability of contraception to limit family size as well as the increased availability and acceptability of the use of daycare facilitates women working outside the home and prioritizing that over a large family and stay-at-home mothering (Macleod, 2013,