FREE ESSAY ON EFFECTS ON CHILDREN WHEN BOTH PARENTS ARE EMPLOYED

EFFECTS ON CHILDREN WHEN BOTH PARENTS ARE EMPLOYED

Effects on Children 
When Both Parents are Employed
Socio-economic conditions in North America have contributed to the need for dual incomes
for
families. Economically, the number of two parent families below the poverty line would
increase to an
estimated 78% if they were to become single income families. (Ontario Women's Directorate
9) Socially,
it was the norm, in the past, for women to stay at home having a more expressive role in
the family;
taking care of the children and providing emotional support for the family. Presently,
women feel that
their traditional roles as child bearers and homemakers must be supplemented with a sense
of achievement
outside the home. Recent studies reflect an increased trend towards the dual income
family and
projections are for this trend to continue. In 1961, 30% of married women were working;
in 1978, 38%
were employed; by 1981 50% were working and in 1985, 55% held paying positions outside
the home. (Jarman
and Howlett 95) In 1961, only 20% of all two parent families were!
dual wage families, but by 1986, more than half (53%) of all families were dual earning
families. (Ramu
26)
In light of the fact that the majority of two parent families in the 1990's have also
become dual
wage earning families, it is important to examine the effects of such a phenomenon on
society in general
and on child rearing in particular. Children acquire their goals, values and norms based
on the way that
they view or identify with their parents as well as from the quality and amount of care,
love and
guidance given to them by their parents. Parents who work present a different image to
their children
than parents who do not work. In addition, wage earners, including parents, must (in most
cases), be
absent from the home during the day. When considering these modifications to the family
dynamics, there
is considerable basis for proof that the positive effects outweigh the negative effects
experienced by
offspring in families were both parents are employed. 
The working parent occupies an important exemplary role within the family. Working
parents often
command considerable respect from their children, because they demonstrate the worthy
characteristics of
industriousness, social compatibility, self reliance, maturity, intelligence and
responsibility. Because
children identify with their parents, the feedback from such positive influences tends to
be positive as
well because many of these positive characteristics are imparted upon them. A child who
observes the
competent coping abilities of a working parent learns in turn, how to cope with life's
problems. At
first this may translate into an improved sense of self-reliance and independence for the
child as well
as an improvement in the ability to be socially compatible. As the child grows, it can
further render a
child more emotionally mature and hence more competent in dealing with responsibility and
task completion
such as is needed for school work and extra curricu!
lar activities. A study by Hoffman in 1974 corroborates these observations and therefore
one can
conclude that, in general, the working parent provides a very positive role model for the
child in a
family where both parents are employed. (Hoffman 18)
Attitudes of working parents pertaining to achievement, responsibility and independence
affect
both male and female offspring. There seems to be more beneficial effects felt by
daughters of working
women than by sons; however, this neither implies nor concludes that males do not receive
some positive
effects due to maternal employment. (Spitz 606) Hoffman has concluded that daughters of
employed
mothers tend to be more independent. (Hoffman 73) This tendency may result from the fact
that in the
mother's absence, a daughter is often left to cope with caring for herself: This promotes
her
independence and self-reliance. At the same time, the daughter may also be left with the
job of looking
after a younger sibling, helping to promote her sense of responsibility.
Significant too, is the fact that daughters of working mother's tend to be more decisive
about their
futures than sons. Further studies have demonstrated that a mother's employment status
and occupation
tends to be a good predictor of the outcome of the working mother's daughter, since
daughters tend to
follow in their mother's footsteps. Typically, working mothers held higher educational
aspirations for
their children and furthermore, most daughters tend to achieve higher grades in school. 
(Spitz 606)
It is also important to note that both male and female children acquire more egalitarian
sex role
attitudes when both parents work. Boys with working mothers showed better social and
personal skills
than boys of non-working mothers. On a negative note, middle-class boys tend to do worse
in school when
their mothers worked. (Shreve 118) As well, boys whose mothers work tend to have strained
relationships
with their fathers due to their perceptive devaluation of their father's worth as an
adequate
bread-winner. (Adele 32) One can conclude that males may be negatively affected when
their mothers
work, but males and, to a greater degree, females are affected in many positive ways with
regards to
achievement in independence and responsibility.
Adequate child care is a necessity for parents who both work. It is often complicated to
balance
both the parent's and child's needs when using child care. However, it may be possible to
satisfy the
demands of both if forethought and prudence are applied. Many cultures worldwide realize
that a child's
nurturing can be acquired from a variety of sources including both adults and older
children. Children
can be as comfortable with grandparents, neighbors, professional child care attendants,
and babysitters
as they are with their own mothers. In fact, a variety of sources for nurturing not only
provide the
child with a variety of role models, such as in the case of grandparents, but it also
provides them the
ability to compare these role models and to choose the appropriate characteristics which
they will adopt
as their own. One third of all children are looked after by relatives; 50% of all
children in child care
situations are being looked after by someone unrelated!
to them. (Petterson 533) 
To date, in Ontario as in all of Canada, there is no adequate government policy for child
care. Funds
ear marked for this area of social assistance are either misappropriated or abused. Even
now, in 1995,
the government of Canada has not yet recognized the fact that children are a community
responsibility and
that they should start treating them as such. (Monsebraaten A1)
In the end, the responsibility of choosing the proper type of child care lies with the
working parents.
Proper research of the day care facilities and employees should include an investigation
into the
availability of superior care in a quality program where rearing beliefs and practices
mirror those of
the parents. When both parents feel confident in their day care choices, they will view
them as
supportive influences rather than intrusive ones. This positive attitude will provide the
child with
positive feedback because when parents feel good about their lives and decisions, they
communicate their
satisfaction to their children in the form of positive feelings. These positive feelings
are then
internalized by the children. (Rodman 576) Difficult as it may seem, it is clear that if
forethought,
research and adequate investigative techniques are applied, parents can successfully
select the child
care facility and/or individual most appropriate to fulfill both their own an!
d their child's needs.
Parents who work alter several traditional methods of parenting. The aspects of parenting
which
are most affected are quality, quantity and content. When considering content, a major
point is the
preparation of the child for a society in which those children will be adults. Currently,
a child has a
50% chance of becoming divorced, and in the case of a female, a 50% chance of becoming a
single mother as
well as the probability of becoming a member of a dual wage earning family. (Shreve 61)
Working parents
are in a good position to prepare their children for that type of lifestyle. Healthy
family dynamics
including team work, sharing, and responsibility, are more easily adopted when they are
already familiar.
As far as quality of parenting, it has been observed that women who are highly satisfied
with their roles
whether they work or not, display higher levels of warmth and acceptance than do
dissatisfied mothers and
these positive feelings are reflected in their !
relationships with their siblings. (Lerner and Galambous 44) Finally, when considering
quantity of time
spent on parenting when both parents work, it has been concluded by Hoffman in 1974 that
there is no
consistent evidence of deprivation felt by children of employed mother's. In fact,
mothers who were
better educated and employed outside the home spent more time with their children even at
the expense of
their own leisure and sleep time. (Hoffman 76) Hoffman also proposes that the time spent
on employment
simply substitutes for time previously spent on needless or less important household
tasks which can be
performed by others or not at all. Researchers question the validity of measuring the
number of hours a
mother spends with her children. Hoffman found that while working mothers spent less time
with their
children , the time spent with them was more likely to be in direct contact with them.
Mothers who are
at home full time spend only 5% of their time in direct in!
teraction with their children. (Hoffman 75) Employed mothers spend about the same time
reading to,
playing with and otherwise paying attention to their children as do mothers who stay at
home. (Hoffman
76)
Because society has changed, the family's function within society has changed as well.
Parental
roles have been modified to meet these changes. Today, the family's most important task
is to provide
emotional security in a vast and impersonal world. Working parents often possess the
skills necessary
for responding adequately and creatively to the increased stress placed on children to
succeed in such an
environment. Parents who work must, out of necessity, be adept at providing fresh,
innovative and
effective modes of parenting even when time with the child is limited. The debate as to
whether or not
both parents should work or not is really not significant anymore. Both parents are
working and will
continue to do so and children are not being raised today in the same way as they were in
the past. The
next generation of parents will be more confident than their predecessors and they and
their children
will probably never experience the dichotomous feelings that t!
oday's parents have about the dual income family and it's effects on child rearing.
Working outside the
home and being a good parent at the same time is possible and in both of these tasks
there is much to
value and treasure.