A Good Mother

A Good Mother

In Cameron MacDonald, “Shadow Mothers: Nannies, Au Pairs, And the Micropolitics of Mothering”, explores the concept of what is a “good mother” when it comes to a working mother and a hire caregiver for a child. Many women are choosing to work, which requires them to hire a caregiver for their children that sometimes can take the place of the mother. There as been a rise with the employment of nannies. Many individuals in the world view mothers that work outside the home as neglecting the duties as a mother. Which sometimes cause the caregiver to step up and become this “Shadow Mother” figure for the child. The theme of the book is surrounded around this ideology of what motherhood is supposed to be when it pertains to the family;

Throughout the book she has interviewed different women and nannies talking about their experience when it comes to the balance of family and work life. In addition, the book shows that nannies don’t try to replace the mother; however, they are just trying to be the best in order to provide for them and their families. Since, many of the nannies are either young, foreign, immigrants, or even old, they all come from different backgrounds. MacDonald taught the understanding of this powerful concept of family about how being a working mother does not really change that much in the family atmosphere. The concept of “family” can be defined as many things from blood relatives to close friends. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, a family is defined as “two or more persons who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption and who live together, as one household” (Newman and Grauerholz, 2002, p. 7). A Family can mean many things for individuals; however, the roles of the individuals in the family, such as the mother and father sometimes cannot be simply defined. MacDonald started with the Chapter on “Childcare on Trial”, which was a story about Deborah Eappen, a wife and

MacDonald showed that a good mother can mean a variety of things and those that chose to stay home because they can afford to be not the only good mothers. A woman should never be limited when it comes to different aspects of the family, such as helping provide financially for their family. In addition, we cannot as a society’s shame others who choose to employ someone to help them. However, many have to realize that many caregivers dedicate their lives to making sure they protect a family for fewer benefits. I would recommend MacDonald,” Shadow Mothers: Nannies, Au Pairs, And the Micropolitics of Mothering” because it explores more than the lives of working mothers, but also the lives of nannies and how they are more impacted than the child