Online Blog Assignment
Brian Lewis 1022 English Comp II
Home with the kids?
Motherhood is a book in itself. Only a mother could tell you the trials and errors of raising children. How many sleepless nights do we as mothers go through? Maybe an ear infection, cold or flu virus could have been the reason for rocking your child sleep. I feel every mother has an internal "knowing" of when her child is in need. As mothers, I'm sure we have all asked ourselves if we are doing the right thing. Do we stay home and provide all the love and care we can, or do we leave our children's care to someone else for the day, as we find it necessary to help provide for the family financially?
An early study done by the University of Michigan was based on children's time diaries. The study found that when a mother went out to work she only spent 48 minutes less with her children than a mother that was a stay at home mom. This is documented in The Wilson Quarterly.
You may argue that even stay at home moms don't have a full day with their school age children, so why would it make a difference if you brought them to a daycare for the day?
Children need a good foundation and that starts with the love they receive from their mothers and fathers. They watch everything we do and trust us to provide all they need. In the same way we adults want to trust our Government in hopes that they have our best interest at heart.
There is an article written in the Commentary. It refers to pitting conservatives against liberals the same way as we view stay at home moms verses working moms or feminists against traditional families. This article also talks about the negative effect on the emotional, psychological, and even physical development of children in commercial daycares. Stating that money is being spent by day care lobbying to silence researchers who call attention to childhood agression and too much non-parental supervison and care.
Why is this happening when we have more moms and dads asking for more options at their work place, to spend more time at home with their children? Anytime a company gives it's employees options such as a flexible schedules, so as to spend more quality time with their children, I believe we are coming to a good and healthy solution to all of the above tug and war of a stay at home mom and the working mom or dad.
Remember, our children are the leaders and presidents of our country in the future. How would we want them to act on our behalf as we grow old, needing care from others?
Works Cited
Souce Citation: "How Mothers Find Time. "The Wilson Quarterly. 25.3 (Summer 2001): p86. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Century College Library. 30 Jan. 2010 http://go.galegroup.com.cenproxy.mnpals.net/start.do?p=LitRC&u+mnacenturycl
Source Citation: "Caution: day care may be harmful to your child." Commentary. 116.3 (Oct. 2003): p9. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Century College Library. 30 Jan. 2010
http://go.galegroup.comcenproxy.mnpals.net/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=mnacenturycl
From what I gathered in your post you are advocating for mothers to stay at home, is that correct? That's really interesting that people are trying to suppress research that concludes that aggression can result in children who do not get enough time with their parents. I do wonder if this may not be the result of childcare, but rather the result of poor attention when the children are with their parents. This question comes to mind because I've seen kids thrive who go to daycare, while I've seen kids act out who stay at home. I think that this problem could possibly show a link between some parents who place their children in childcare facilities that do not spend quality time with their kids when they are around them. For instance, many career-minded parents need daycare in order to fit in their workweek. However, for some, after-hours is not family time it is still time to work. It's just a thought that came to mind when I read that part in your post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the time parents spend with their children. Whether they are home with a parent or in a daycare. It is vital that kids have some kind of structure and they feel loved and cared about. Seems said to see children act out in negative way just because they want attention from their parents. Even if a mother can stay home for a couple years with the new child. I think that does play a big part in the childs behavior and having a parent give them the feeling of security those first couple years of life means a lot.
ReplyDelete