Making dinner time a family time has never been tougher. With the divorce rates going up and economy going down, work isn't an option anymore, it has become mandatory for the survival of the family. Many debates and questions rise on whether both men and women are making the right choices by working outside of their homes. A lot agree that women working outside of their homes create problems between partners and that it has a negative effect on the children placed in the day cares. Are men and women making the right choices for their families and themselves? Did people face the negative effects of working women in the past or did the negative effects increase over time? These questions will be answered and supported by evidence from the sources I chose. In conversations about parents in the labor force, some argue that it is productive for both parents to work. I contend that this view is incorrect, and using the online sources I selected, this essay will argue the negative effects working parents have had on the average American family. As a result, parents should learn to balance between work and being home with their children.
The number of women and men working outside of their homes increased since the past. It was relatively known in the past, that mostly men worked outside of their homes, while women stayed home raising the children. Things have changed now due to the need for more than one income. One article that I found interesting is the article: The effects of the mother’s employment on the family and the child which stated that “At the present time, most mothers in the United States are employed. This is not only true for a mother of school-aged children, as it has been for two decades, but it is also true for mothers of infants less than one-year-old”. This shows that most of the mothers work and it’s nothing different in our society if both of the parents work outside of the home. Women working increased overtime, one example that is found to be interesting in the article is the following: "Both employed mothers and homemakers today live in a very different environment than their counterparts forty or even twenty years ago." The article also shows how much women increased their work outside of their homes over time: "In 1940-8.6%, 1946-18.2%, 1956- 27.5%, 1966-35.8%, 1976-48.8%, 1986-62.5, and 1996-70.0%".
Working parents have a tremendous negative effect on their families especially children. A working mother, for example doesn't have the time to cook hearty healthy meals for the family. Nor does she have the time to always 'be' there. There is a positive correlation between working mothers and fast food restaurants. The more a woman works, the less time she has at home to cook, the more her family needs to order food or eat out. Unless of course, the husband takes on the burden of being at home to take care of the family. But the real problem is that, there aren't many men who end up staying home to take care of family needs. Both parents end up working, neglecting their children as well as themselves. Oh but it doesn't end there. Some studies go even further by saying that working mothers may even be killing their husbands with stress. In a study by a Harvard researcher, such effects are described as follows:
“There is a strong positive correlation between female labor force participation and negative health outcomes for middle-aged men and women, and suggests that this correlation is mediated by household-level stress. At the cross-country aggregate level, I show that labor force participation of women is associated with increased mortality rates among both men and women. At the individual level, I find that married men whose spouses work are more likely to die within 10 years, to have high blood pressure and to self-report worse health outcomes.”
It doesn't necessarily mean that if a woman works, her husband is going to suffer and die. Women are the equal of men and are equally intelligent and productive. However, if a woman decides to work full time along with her husband, leaving their children to grow in day cares and such, it will deteriorate the family.
Remember those commercials about making dinner time a family time? It has become so rare for the whole family spends time together, that dinner time became the only time a family could potentially enjoy quality time together. If both parents work, even that is going to be a rare incident. Family time is very important because it is initially what creates children, the next generation, future adults, and society. If you don't spend time with your children, their peers will be the ones altering their thoughts as well as behavior. In an article by Aurelia Williams about the Importance of family time, she says:
"Spending time with your middle school and high school aged children allows you to stay connected with them and to help them ward off peer pressure. When your child feels a connection to you and the morals you have taught them, they won't have a high need for acceptance from peers. Your teen will be able to take pride in themselves and stand up for their own convictions."
Children need to feel the connection with their parents, not only get a weekly allowance. They need parents, not working individuals who happen to be in their lives and conveniently provide with money. Otherwise, these children will grow up to feel distant from their families and completely detached. It will be considered lucky if these children grow up without facing serious issues caused by peer pressure.
Some may argue that a working couple will provide a better future for their children and less financial stresses. However, other stresses will take place, caused by the absence of parents in the home. The parents themselves will feel tense if they both work full time. Depending on the nature of their work, they may not even have time to spend with each other. If the children don't have the right guidance from their parents, and don't have the proper nourishment, they will have a higher chance of developing some sort of behavioral disorder. In the long run, that will have a worse effect on children, than if they were to live with lower family income.
In conclusion, it is the parents' duty to make sure that their family's needs are met and fulfilled. Although, their main priority is to make sure that they nourish, comfort, and raise the children they brought into this world. Money comes and goes, you will never get another chance to raise your children.
Works Cited:
Hoffman, Lois Wladis. "The Effects of the Mother's Employment on the Family and the Child." Parenthood in America. 15 Oct. 1998. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
<http://parenthood.library.wisc.edu/Hoffman/Hoffman.html.>
Williams, Auriella. "The Importance of "Family Time"" Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
<http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Family-Time&id=749619.>
Plumer, Bradford. "The Two-Income Trap | Mother Jones." Mother Jones | Smart, Fearless Journalism. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
Perrin JM, Thyen U Kuhlthau K. "Employment, Child Care, and Mental Health of Mothers Caring for Children Assisted by Technology." U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 19 Dec. 2010. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10353935>.
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