Working Families

Looking back in time when life was different for families living in the 50’s like where the father was the bread winner and the mother could stay home and raise the kids. Times have changed and so has the workforce. The recession and the U.S. economic crisis have made it almost impossible to have one parent stay home to raise the kids and does the entire house work. Today we see both parents working and the kids placed in daycare or one parent will work part-time while the kids are at school. What happens to the kids when they have a dual working parent household? The lack of time parents have with their kids while working so much the quality of childcare is the most important variable. Children whose parents work in the evening are more likely to do poorly in mathematics and 2.72 times more likely to be suspended from school (Global Working Families, n.d.). Certain parents have the ability to juggle work and school activities but this can create a fast driven and stressful life for the children.
There is a big debate with a mother working and the effects it may have on the children. According to Harvey, there was hardly any significant difference seen among children with working mothers versus mothers staying at home. Harvey also stated that this was during the first three years of the child’s lives (Devinsky & D’esposito). A mother working is starting to be the norm with today’s society and it’s not abnormal to see stay at home fathers. Fathers play a big role in child development and the impact of how the father treats their mother can have an indirect influence on the children. The behavior modeled between father and mother will help the children grow and teach boys how to treat women when they become adults. According to Rosenberg, when the father has involvement with the children they have better educational outcomes, better verbal skills, intellectual functioning, and academic achievements (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2010). DHS, also states that the impact of fathers are more likely to be emotionally secure, confident to explore their surroundings, and have better social connections with peers (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2010).
Divorce if not handled correctly can lead children to believe they have caused the conflict between parents and this can lead to physical and mental illness due to the loss of one or both parents through the divorce (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2008). Parents that are going through a divorce need to watch for signs of distress in their children which can lead to more aggressive and uncooperative behavior or become withdrawn (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2008). NIH states that children that spend more time in day care from birth to four are less likely to get along with others, as more assertive, as disobedient, and as aggressive (National Institutes of Health, July 16, 2003).
References
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2008). Children And Divorce. Retrieved from http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Children+and+Divorce&section=Facts+for+Families
Devinsky, O., & D’esposito, M. (). Neurology of Cognitive and Behavioral Disorders . [http://books.google.com/books?id=eCXgtVIsUYkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false]. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=eCXgtVIsUYkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Global Working Families. (n.d.). Work, Family and Child Development. Retrieved August 8,2010, from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/globalworkingfamilies/ChildDev.htm
National Institutes of Health. (July 16,2003). Child Care Linked To Assertive, Noncompliant, and Aggressive BehaviorsVast Majority of Children Within Normal Range. Retrieved August 10,2010, from http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/child_care.cfm
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2010). The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of Children . Retrieved August 9,2010, from http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/fatherhood/chaptertwo.cfm