Lois Hoffman's book Working Mothers gathers and discusses some of the research that has been done on how maternal employment can effect other aspects of children's development other than just the cognitive. Much of their information came from studies done in the 60s and 70s, so it's interesting to see how these perceived advantages/disadvantages of maternal employment have manifested themselves in the current working generation. Here are some of the main conclusions in Hoffman's chapter on the effects on children:
- Children of women who work were much more likely to approve of maternal employment, specifically girls reported their desire to enter the workforce when they got old enough. This seems appropriate considering the rising number of women in the workforcee over the past 50 years (rock on).
- A blending of traditional gender stereotypes. "Daughters of working mothers saw women as competent and effective, while sons of working mothers saw men as warm and expressive" (131). It's cool to hear that exposing children to something outside of the traditional male breadwinner/female home-maker environment might actually change the way they think about these expectations.
- Some of this information was wishy-washy, but I think worth noting. There may have been some correlation between daughters of working mothers and higher levels of self-confidence and independence. I think this is a really hard factor to account for, which is why the book doesn't make it an absolute conclusion, but there is definitely evidence for the argument. Along these same lines, "evidence suggests that daughters of working mothers have higher acheivement aspirations" (136).
- She found that children who are expected to help with household tasks (this focuses mainly on children of working mothers) exhibited positive consequences.
I'm not trying to say that all of these are absolutely true, but I think there is something to be said of what image mothers put forth for their children. I won't say that I grew up with low-self confidence and minimal aspirations, but I do think I was presented with an environment that required less responsibility. However, I think a lot of how we react once we're actually ready for the work/stay-at-home decision comes from far after the initial child-rearinig period that many of these studies focus on. I know that until I came to college I honestly believed I would finish school, work for a while, but give up my job when it came time to stay home with my children. I'm not arguing that this isn't okay, but I definitely think we are nurtured for so many years beyond our initial childhood. At least for me, being able to receive the education I'm getting has pushed my thoughts on this matter far past what these studies say about children of non-working mothers.
When I taught at St. Olaf, I got to know many female students who like you expected to finish their degree, get a job, then marry, have children and stay home. And I always wondered, why on earth then, are you here??? This always made me feel the US is still such an old-fashioned place in terms of gender and family.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet now, I, with a Ph.D. and a former college prof, find myself a stay-at-home mom. Sure, I write too, part of the day. (and often outside of the house, e.g. in the library). But really, I'd prefer staying home to having my child in daycare. If my writing doesn't pay off, I'll need to get another paying job. But it won't pay much, and it will be hard to find, because I want to be home for my child when she comes home from pre-school (which we're planning on her beginning a year from this fall) and then school after that.