Women Working And Raising A Family Essay

, Research Paper

WOMEN WORKING AND RAISING A FAMILY

Do you ever wonder how women’s roles have changed in recent times? Originally women were in the household to take care of family matters such as cooking, cleaning, and children. Now in more modern times women’s roles have expanded to working outside the home to take control of their families, and to work and take care of the children. Along with the increase of women in the work place the business of working at home and entreprenuership has become a valuable resource for women.

Mothers in the work force must face their jobs, children, and husband’s everyday. Many bosses are willing to sympathize with women who have kids. However many of their co-workers believe that this is a way of getting extra attention. The children of these mothers may feel that they are not receiving the attention they are entitled to. Also some corporate husbands who work long hours don’t have time to do motherly duties (Swiss and Walker, 6).

“In 1975, according to the United States Census Data, 28 percent of mothers with children under the ages of three worked outside of their home. Today, the numbers exceed over 60 percent.”(Who’s minding the kids, pg. 73). Men who prefer not to get their hands dirty, leaving the less desirable jobs to for women whom may not be capable of handling such a heavy load are taking many female positions. It is very hard for a parent that is divorced and trying to raise the family and take on a tiresome job too. Apartments and rent are the least of the troubles, especially since the price to rent an apartment has gone up over the years making it very difficult for single parents without degrees or experience to find etiquette jobs. Many men think it is easy to work and come home to bring up the kids. It is very hard on these parents who have low self-esteem about themselves because barely go anywhere or have nice things to wear. People as a whole need to get out away from their problems not using this as a reason to run but relaxation. When you bring children into the picture, everything changes. You become that provider for the family which can bring on a lot of responsibility and demands that causes a person to become stressed and depressed braking up your family. There are men who don’t want their women to be independent but dependant on them. There is also that inner pride of whether or not their partner is making more money than them. Since these are things that should not matter, there is more time to spend with the children whom in return do better in school and other extracurricular activities.

A working women life can be crazy and fast paced. It is making list with things that are never crossed off (Employed Mothers and their Children, pg. 108). A working mom needs help from an inner and outer force. It is very hard to carry the responsibilities of the family on their shoulders, just as it is hard for any one person to absorb all the responsibilities of there whole family on herself. However, it is so much harder for women to do so with the world being set up for men to take the lead. Most jobs lean toward the male gender. Not saying that jobs are set for one specific sex, but jobs available through companies seem to structure the job force to suite and work for men.

In the older days wives were not able to work at all, they just stayed at home taking care of the kids and cleaning the house. Now we have a new ball game going on in which women are basically working for a living and raising the family. They got tired of being men’s slaves and being in the house bored. Some women are even taking over men’s jobs now, so we have been getting very powerful over some period of years. We are no longer considered to be housewives, but partners. For many families this helped out a lot because instead of barely making it they had a chance now. It’s really appropriate that you manage your work time with family planning. Women that are working seem to get more respect than women staying at home raising the kids, and this is an everyday struggle for these moms who choose to stay home. One of the most difficult tasks is finding a babysitter that you are comfortable with while at work and many women go through this everyday.

Yet some women work just to be away from home and all the demands that are required from mom on a daily bases ore just to say that they work. Most likely this is done because of that person gender. Some feel lazy or wasteful to the world if they don’t have a job. But you see people are all different and most women don’t think alike. Now when your sitting at home will the kids are at school and your husband is at work boredom shall set in which brings along complacent habits become part of everyday life. Women feel they must be active so that they don’t have to sit around the house and watch Oprah, Rikkie Lake, and Jerry Springer all day long. The feeling of days having meaning and purpose brings forth that anxiety of believing that working is the missing link to them filling there day and days yet to come.

What about when the husband is out of work and the wife is trying to keep everything together? In today’s society many women are working to take care of their husband’s as well as the kids. Because men are getting so aquatinted to staying at home letting their wife take care of them that they won’t even go out and get a job. But most women wouldn’t throw things in their husband’s faces like men throw things in their wives faces (My Mother Worked and I turned Out Okay, pg.59).

A job can bring self-satisfaction. It can make a woman feel good about herself. She feels she has done something productive with her time and energy. A job can give her a real added since of purpose. The way a woman feels about herself and her being can really improve her attitude and life at home outside of work. That feeling of satisfaction can go a long way for her and her family. If she comes home from work feeling good about herself, it can affect the way she approaches her family situation in a very positive way. This positive attitude will affect her entire family. Her positive vibes can rub off on her family. Let’s be honest, no one wants to go knowing someone is going to be there upset, tired and just bother to be around. Going home to smiling happy mom is a great joy for the kids and the husband. Work can effect a woman’s health emotionally and physically (She Works, How Two Income Families are Happier, pg.25). Knowing she will be in a good health she can easily put more positive spin on the day.

I believe when people get a divorce the kids suffer the most because their unable to relate to a missing part a the family in the same way that women who were dependent on their husbands can’t relate to that missing part of the financial department. Sometimes children think it is their fault their aren’t together, just as moms may blame their spouse on their lack of education and work history. Some children have to get counseling to deal with these issues while mom has to take on a lot of temporary jobs to build on her experience. I would like to blame it on the government who come up with things like no-fault divorce, which basically tell mates that you can run when you want to. There should be something to protect the children till they are old enough to take care of themselves (Mason, pg. 49). Know older children may not miss their mom as much because they have been out on their own, but the younger siblings have not reached the point of having enough motherly love to survive this world. But of course this will be one of those issues that5 children won’t be protected from. “Many parents need to be sensitive to your child’s signals of just wanting attention.,” says Alice Sterling Honig, PHD. A professor of child development at Syracuse University (A real mom’s guide to working at home, pg. 1138).

Your education is very important when you have a child because you need that knowledge of being able to take care of your self and your baby. When a mother has a baby and has little to no education she limits herself to taking jobs of lesser pay with longer hours.

Working full-time is very hard for moms taking care of a family. Sometimes it is easier for moms to work at home and take care of the kids. As Barbara Soloman said “When I was pregnant with my first child, I’d often think about how lucky I was to be a freelance writer who worked at home”. It’s easier on moms working at home because while the baby is napping you can be working (Juggling, pg.50).

I think kids bond very soon with their parents and it makes it hard for the parents to get a babysitter to watch the baby while they are at work. Children become very confused and insecure when their parents leave them with a babysitter. To have successful work at home experience, it is important to consider your child’s needs and to help him or her learn what to expect. It’s not easy to handle the demands of your job and care for your child at the same time. How much uninterrupted time you need to spend working will show you if you need a babysitter full-time, a few days a week, or not at all. Without a sitter, you can do a fair amount of work during naps and after your child goes to bed, and depending on your child’s age and temperament, you can probably get some work done while he or she plays on their own. Kids form ages 1 to 4 need a lot of supervision because they like to get into messes.

An employer may question a woman’s professional commitment and ability to sustain her productivity and performance as a full-time worker. They may feel she will become side tracked by other things. As we know some men don’t like for their wives to work. Therefore their wives will receive some sort of resistance. The juggling of a family without the cooperation of a husband can be an added stress. When there is conflict between her and her spouse other roles in life may be incompatible with the want of extra money. Women may however, find a way to work through his personal feelings. They may come to an agreement where she works out of the house, which may turn into something a little bit larger than extra money. She may want to start her own business from which she can work out of the house, which is a very serious investment of time and energy. This is a whole other area for a mom.

Part-time work is very good for a mom raising kids while taking care of her husband and home. I think you can spend time with your family plus make a little money to help your husband with the bills. But sometimes you can often feel stressed out having a hard day at work, and then going home to a yelling baby. Working full-time can be an option but that will mean you would have less time with the family, need a babysitter, and be missing out on the best of the child’s life. ” Clothes, transportation, and child care are the big ones,” says Barbara Comer, a New Haven, Connecticut, financial planner. Many women think that they have less power when dealing with their husbands. I would think this to be true also. In order to stop feeling insecure about the situation you should talk to your husband and come up with a time that you will go back to working full-time. It’s hard finding a job part-time that pays good money. If you can’t find a job part-time you should start looking for a temporary job, then it might turn into a part-time job (Dunnan, 1146).

Now, you do also have mother’s who work for extra money. They may do so because they have a tight wad husband or just to have some money for a rainy day. However, in some cases the extra money is used to pay off bills that may otherwise put a slight bit of strain on the family. However, when trying to find a job for that extra bit of cash they run into an extra bit of problem.

Running a business from home has become a popular choice for many people who want autonomy and flexibility ( The Part Time Solution, pg. 198). When running your own business form your house you have many great advantages. You as a mother are able to decide just how much time and effort you are going to put into this idea. You are not obligated to work everyday, since the business only grows as fast as you want it to. If you don’t put a lot of time and effort into it, it will grow slowly. Most likely at a pace you can handle your job, and that’s just right for you. You have the ability to set up your own personal time frame around your children and other family duties.

When working part time for an outside employer you might want to consider working at home, either a portion or all of your part time schedule (The Part Time Solution, pg.198). When you are working for yourself you won’t have these problems. You control the whole entire ballgame. You decide how much money you make and how fast or slow you are willing to make it. This is a very good solution for mothers who have time on their hands outside of time spent on the family and taking care of children. This can be a very satisfying way to spend time and to make that bit of extra cash you want. Working at home can give you a feeling of added purpose, knowing that you didn’t just sit around and blow off the day. This is a way for mothers to maintain that feeling of independence, and you never know when that bit of experience can help you later in life. Running a business from home has become a popular choice for many people who want autonomy and flexibility (The Part Time Solution, pg.198). When running your own business from your home you have many great advantages. You are not obligated to work everyday, since the business only grows as fast as you want it to. If you don’t put a lot of time and effort into it, business will be slow. Most likely working at a that will not over load or over burden you is the pace that is just right for you. You have the ability to set up your own personal time frame to benefit not just your job, but your family and other family duties.

Raising a family and working is a very difficult task. Parenthood was made for two responsible adults to handle. Whether you want to or not you should plan your future so that your life may be ran smooth and healthy.

Bibliography

Work Cited

Barnett C. Rosalind, and Caryl Rivers. She Works/He Works: How Two-Income Families are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1996.

Beroset, Deborah. “Who’s minding the kids?” Ladies Home Journal. Oct 1997 v114 n10 p70(4).

Canape, Charlene. The Part-Time Solution. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1990.

Crosby J. Faye. Juggling. New York, NY: A Division of Macmillan, 1990.

Dunnan, Nancy. “The part-time solution.” Parents Magazine. May 1996 v71 n5 p55(3).

Galambos L. Nancy and Jacqueline V. Lerner. Employed Mothers and their Children. New York & London: Garland, 1991.

Goldman, Katherine Wyse. My Mother Worked and I Turned Out Okay. United States, US: Garret Press, 1993.

Mason, Mary Ann. The Equality Trap. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1988.

Solomon, Barbara. “A real mom’s guide to working at home.” Parents Magazine. May 1996 v71 n5 p55(3).

Swiss J. Deborah and Judith P. Walker. Women and the Work Family Dilemma. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, 1993.