Report: More Favor Mothers At Home

AP ^ | September 10, 2001, 8:36 PM EDT | Associated Press

[Jean S]

LOS ALTOS, Calif. -- Although an increasing majority of American mothers with infants also work, parents continue to tell pollsters it's better for dad to earn the money and mom to stay home with the children.

Reflecting a trend of recent decades, two-thirds of mothers with children younger than 6 were employed in 2000, according to a report released Monday. In 1980, fewer than half of such mothers worked.

The report, "Caring for Infants and Toddlers," was primarily a review of published work by child care experts. It was issued by the Los Altos-based David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

One of the papers contrasted the growing number of working women with people's persistent opinion that mothers should take care of children.

For instance, a 1999 poll of 2,021 California adults reported that 68 percent of fathers and 69 percent of mothers agreed with the statement: "It is much better for the family if the father works outside the home and the mother takes care of the children."

The Packard report made several recommendations to help children who, during their formative years, are being raised at least partly outside the home.

The report said schools should try to make sure children are socially well-adjusted, while governments should help parents by granting work leave and access to good child care.

[riley1992]

The report said schools should try to make sure children are socially well-adjusted, while governments should help parents by granting work leave and access to good child care.

Both of these endeavours belong to the parents but, hey, why bother when someone else will do it for you?

[fone]

Gee, don't tell me the feminists LIED to us all these years!

[Jean S]

Schools and government. Isn't that the same thing?

[Paul Atreides]

I bet this is sitting well with Kim Gandy...first she has to back down from defending a woman who murders her children and now this little bit of news!!

[MissAmericanPie]

Is Kim Gandy the dark haired woman that heads N.O.W.? If it is I would sware that she and Ireland send messages to each other with facial grimmices when they are interviewed on Fox News. Kind of like when that lady commedian would tug her ear at the end of each show to say goodnight to her grandmother. They both give me the creeps.

[Jean S]

Here's a related post. NOW always comes up with something, however lame as it may be.

[FITZ]

My daughter would prefer me to home school her. I wish I could, but I also have to pay the bills. Can't do that without an income.

I'm in the same boat. It's kind of a hard call to make, it's better for the kids with the mom's home but I wouldn't like to have been like someone I knew who did all that and then when she was over 40 with no jobs skills her husband found someone else and tried to take everything from her because she couldn't afford anything making only $6 an hour with no benefits.