Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Parent Trap I highly recommend this fascinating article by Karen Kornbluh in last year's Atlantic Monthly.  She points out that working American parents have 22 fewer hours weekly to spend with their kids than they did thirty years ago. "In the postwar years up to the early 1970s a single breadwinner-working forty hours a week, often for the same employer, until retirement-generally earned enough to support children and a spouse." Now 70 percent of families are headed by two working parents or a single parent. What can we do to guarantee that kids are not left in adequate day care or with the TV as their babysitter? 5:22:59 PM    comment [] Who Takes Care of the Baby? I want to make clear I am not a traditionalist who believes all mothers should be home with their babies. But I believe children thrive when raised by people who love them--mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, close friends--who are a permanent part of their lives. I believe group care too early in life is not the solution; conforming to group norms is hard on toddlers. My highly creative first daughter found all-day kindergarten hard to take. She would announce: "Mommy, I used all my goodness up." Nuturing young kids is a creative, fascinating job-- if the nurturer is compensated, acknowledged, appreciated. Day care teachers should be trained and paid as well as elementary school teachers.. 3:30:14 PM    comment [] Easiest Way to Be a Good Mother 2:04:16 PM    comment [] Mothers Movement Online An excellent resource for mothers thinking about social change is the Mothers Movement Online web page. Be sure to check out their excellent reading list: http://mothersmovement.org/books/list/booklist.htm 1:51:24 PM    comment [] Mothering Is Political I  spent considerable time searching for other blogs covering the personal and poilitical realities of mothering in the way I hope to do;  so far I haven't found them.  Only significant political and social change will make it possible for my daughters and granddaughters to enjoy the benefits of staying home with their young children without  paying a huge penalty in terms of their careers and economic futures.  I am facing the same dilemmas chosing to care for my elderly mother at home and not placing her in a nursing home. Thirty years ago, feminists hoped to change the nature of work so that both men and women could have rewarding careers and share the care of their young children.  There were serious proposals for a shorter work week and a guaranteed minimum income.  We have moved so far away from such visions that often I feel I must have imagained them. 11:23:45 AM    comment []

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