When a mother has children it can be very difficult to think about leaving them for even a second. Therefore, many mothers prefer to stay home with their children when their husbands have a financially stable career, because mothers understand the different struggles of income, quality time, and the roles of parents in two-career and one-career families. Today, many parents both have careers, which can put added stress on the family and especially mothers. With both parents working, one needs to consider the roles of the household. There are more husbands today that help with household duties such as laundry, cleaning, cooking, and caring for the children, but there are still many that don’t think this is a job for men, which can add more …show more content…
The roles for parents of a one-career family are different, especially that of stay at home mothers. Mothers are responsible for caring for the children and most household duties, while the husband’s main priority is making an income to support the family. Many mothers find it less stressful and are glad to be able to stay home to care for their children and household, since many of these responsibilities ultimately fall on mothers, many husbands are happy to not have the pressures of doing household …show more content…
With only the husband working it can leave a family with financial stress and less money for some luxuries such as a new car or family vacations. Although, there are many relatively inexpensive day trips for families, some mothers feel it leaves them with a limited amount of opportunities, but can be a great cost savings. Vacations don’t need to be big and extravagant, it’s the time spent together that counts. Many small day trips can be just as special for mothers and their families, and can be an annual event to look forward to for years to come. Mothers understand how precious time is with their children; it’s time they can’t get back, so it’s important to be there for all those precious moments. When mothers are able to stay home with their children because their husbands are able to support the family it’s one of the greatest sacrifices to make for their children because mothers understand the many different struggles of two-career and one-career families. Mothers understand how precious time is with their children, and when parents make the needed sacrifices for the best interest of their children it’s the greatest gift for the family. Fathers love their children and want to provide for the family, and the instinct of a mother to care for the children because they understand the many differences of two-career and
“Men’s greater involvement at home is good for their relationships with their partner and also good for their children. Hands-on fathers make better parents than men who let their wives do all the nurturing and child care” (Coontz 99). Coontz believed that if men come home after work and share the chores with their wife, then they will have stronger bonds and the marriage will stay longer. Children’s are very observant, therefore they will learn valuable lessons from both of their parents. Carver showed how his father not being involved in the family has affected his relationship with his
Working women who filed for divorce often say its because their husband’s lack of support. Women in these positions are often forced to work much more then the other side of the couple, as they do most of the work at home. In the beginning when women just started to begin to work, they would accept responsibility that they have to work as a homemaker and at their regular jobs all on their own. But as the jobs available to women become ...
However, the demands put on parents by the workplace can make spending time with the family a difficult task. The technological revolution has made it possible for businesses to assign work after hours which could cut into family time. Balancing family and work is even more difficult for new parents. They must learn what it means to be a parent, maintain a healthy marriage, and continue to provide for their family. According to Kunz (2013), parents experience stress and exhaustion following the birth of their child. Kunz also mentions the responsibility parents have to aid in every aspect of their child’s development. Parents are being pulled in one direction by their infant and another by their boss. This strain can be especially difficult for new mothers who want to breastfeed. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for 6 months (who.int, 2017). If a woman returns to work quickly after giving birth, she will have difficulty breastfeeding and is at a greater risk for postpartum depression (cbsnews.com, 2017). The need for time to bond with an infant, encourage healthy development of the child, and to rest from child birth are all reasons why parental leave should be offered to all people. The need for time off after the birth of a child is not exclusive to one group. Parental leave should be offered to all types of families and business’ and the government should offer adequate assistance
Family leave has many benefits to children and the family. Rossin (2011) states, “[family] leave may affect the amount of time a child spends with his mother rather than in non-maternal care. [family] leave will also affect the quality of time the child spends with the mother, depending on changes to her stress level and her satisfaction with the trajectory of her career. The quantity and quality of time a mother spends with her child in his first year of life matter for the child's well-being”
However, because roles are changing the truth is in most families people are now negotiating about the work at home. According to David Molpus, studies show that especially among two-job couples there is an agreement about equal sharing at home when the man and the woman both work full time. Mothers and fathers find different ways to contribute to childcare and other household work. They like equal parenting and don't want to leave their children in the hands of strangers. Equal sharing at home gives the fathers opportunity to stay more with their children and to know more about their lives. To do so, working-class couples try alternating their work shifts, and middle-class couples try working at home for one or two days. They both share enjoyment and the sacrifices of their family.
Watching old shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Andy Griffith Show, it is obvious that our current ideas about gender roles has shifted away from the idyllic family of the husband working and the wife staying at home to look after all the domestic needs. This is mostly because of the economy which as forced many women, whether they want to be or not, to join the work force to keep food on the table and a roof over their families head. While women have embraced this change and used it to show that they can do the same jobs males can, it has been harder for men to accept that they are no longer the sole provider for a family anymore, as pointed out in the article Why We Need to Reimagine Masculinity. It has become a necessity for many people
Stone (2007) conducted “extensive, in depth interviews with 54 women in a variety of professions-law, medicine, business, publishing, management consulting, nonprofit administration, and the like- living in major metropolitan areas across the country, half of them in their 30’s, half in their 40’s” (p. 15). Keep in mind these women Stone (2007) focuses on are “highly educated, affluent, mostly white, married women with children who had previously worked as professionals or managers whose husbands could support their being at home” (p. 14). Her findings revealed women are strongly influenced by two factors: workplace push and motherhood pull. “Many workplaces claimed to be “family friendly” and offered a variety of supports. But for women who could take advantage of them, flexible work schedules (which usually meant working part time) carried significant penalties” (Stone, 2007, p. 16). This quote represents the workplace push, where women are feeling encouraged to continue their rigorous careers with little to no family flexibility being offered from workplaces. The motherhood pull is a term used to describe the way mothers feel when they face the pressure of staying home to raise their children while still expected to maintain a steady job. “Motherhood influenced women 's decision to quit as they came to see the rhythms and
Since the beginning of time, fathers have had a profound effect on their child’s development. Over the years, the norm for traditional family dynamics of having a father figure in the household has changed drastically, and so did the roles of the parents. It is not as common as it used to be to have a father or father figure in the home. In this day and age, women are more likely to raise children on their own and gain independence without the male assistance due to various reasons. The most significant learning experience and development of a person’s life takes place in their earlier years when they were children. There are many advantages when there is a mother and father combined in a
Men have the same rights and obligations, as a child’s birth mother, to spend quality time, bond with, and care for a new baby. With some families living isolated from close relatives, it may be difficult for the mother’s family to support her after the birth of the child. “A study released in January found that fathers who took two or more weeks of leave upon their child's birth are more likely to be involved in the direct care of their children beyond leave” (Gringleburg). The time proceeding childbirth is the most stressful and tedious time. Parents have to adjust to the new baby and his or her schedule, especially the mother. With the both parents home, a lot of the stress is taken off the mother be...
Today, in a vast majority of families, both the wife and husband have a job. Many working parents are under stress as they have to try to balance the demands of their work, children and relationship. Over the past 25 years, women's and men's roles have changed dramatically. In fact, the world of work and home are not separate, research indicates a profound impact on work and home life.
Gender roles are extremely important to the functioning of families. The family is one of the most important institutions. It can be nurturing, empowering, and strong. Some families are still very traditional. The woman or mother of the family stays at home to take care of the children and household duties. The man or father figure goes to work so that he can provide for his family. Many people believe that this is the way that things should be. Gender determines the expectations for the family. This review will explain those expectations and how it affects the family.
Now society expects women to not only be gentle, emotional and nurturing, but also competent, assertive and ambitious and have male “roles”. Women are now more independent. Many have children and are single moms so they are expected to be tough. In the past 40 years or so, women have claimed a wider range of roles, for instance, working. They must balance work and running the household. Obviously, women 's roles have changed, but men roles have not changed very much. In the recent years working mothers have become ordinary, however, stay-at-home fathers exist in only 1% of married couples with kids under age 15, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.(Los Angeles Times, 'Men are stuck ' in gender roles) Although, the number of stay at home fathers did increase in recent years. Jake, a stay at home father picks his daughter 's outfits, fixes her hair, takes her to and from activities and changes her diapers. “While he tells everyone he is very proud to be a stay-at-home dad, Jake said people will give him mixed reactions, some of which seem dismissive.”(ABC, Is Dad the New Mom? The Rise of Stay-At-Home Fathers). Even though it is more common for fathers to stay at home with the kids, they still face traditional stereotypes. People find it strange and not “normal” for dads not to work and not be the dominant one who supports the family. It’s still not acceptable for a man to be “kind,
“Of the 41.8 million children under 15 who lived with two parents last year, more than 25% had mothers who did not work and stayed home, according to a Census Bureau report,” Genaro Armas writes. This is an increase of stay at home parents which maybe because of the economic boom. Many people are wondering why you would give up a job, and economic security just to raise your kids. What most don’t realize is that you are taking on another job when you take care if your kids. The Census Bureau also reported that 55% of women who gave birth between July 1999 and July 2000 returned to the labor force within a year of having their babies. This means that most mothers do not end up at home like old times. They are choosing there own economic safety over there child’s well being. They still have time with there children just while they are at work they just like to forget where there children are.
However, studies have shown that fathers could also be housekeepers. According to Glen Sacks, the author of “Stay at home dads” dispute that, “The freedom to switch gender roles has allowed each of us to gravitate toward what we really want in life” (Sacks 266). Despite that society looks at men as the primary breadwinner of the house, people tend to call men unmanly because of changing gender roles. Exchanging gender roles is beneficial for fathers because it gives them an opportunity to experience the responsibility that mothers have traditionally by taking care of the home. In fact, fathers could also be a positive impact in the family because they continue to be the warden of the house. It also gives them the chance to spend time and create a bond with their children. In today’s society it seems as though men don’t really take on their role of being a father. If fathers get the chance to step into their wife’s shoes, it could give them a possible way to understand the role that women have played for so long. Changing gender roles gives mothers the opportunity to find jobs, develop their interpersonal skills and broaden their horizon rather than go by the stereotypical perception which is cleaning the house, cooking or taking the a child to
Mothers have a very big responsibility. They have a lot of big decisions to make. Some decisions are harder and more important than others are. For instance, one of the big decisions a mother must make is whether to stay home with her children or to go back to work. In this paper, I will give reasons why a mother should consider staying home with her children during their early years of childhood.