working moms

Many working mothers today report they must play a balancing act. Some mothers say they have to find balance between day to day chores and working a full time job. For those mothers who are in single parent households the stress of balancing it all seems to be an even tougher task. Add to that the pressure of going to school either full time or part time and the demand for balance becomes even tougher.

In an article written by Wen-Jui Han of Columbia University, it was discussed that some mothers’ work various schedules could affect children’s cognitive growth. Many mothers are choosing to, or may feel the need to, return to work after their children are born. Most of these mothers say they end up working the evening shift, night shift, or swing shifts.

In an article in the Journal of Family Issues, for those women who try to find the balance between mother, family, work, and possibly even higher education, the stress of finding this balance can be quite difficult. In fact the number of women enrolling in college has increased in the last 20 years, according to the Journal of Family Issues. Also as reported in the Journal of Family Issues, spousal support is an irreplaceable part of reducing stress among women. Working moms say when they have their spouses’ support emotionally and in other areas such as household chores; these women have lower stress levels and are happier in general. These working moms say the emotional support of the spouse is just as important, if not more important as help with everyday life. Working women/moms say when they do not get or do not feel they are getting the emotional support they need from their spouses; they do not feel as though they are as good as a wife/mother as they are expected to be. For these women the chances of anxiety and depression increase.

It was also stated in the Journal of Family Issues that women and working mothers who depend on their faith and Christianity seem to experience motherhood and the role of wife, and even their education differently. Their faith and spirituality seem to play a major part in the way they handle day to day life and situations that occur. These women say they depend on their faith in God to hold everything together.

As stated in the Journal of Family Issues, There are three major things that working moms find important when it comes to practical support: child care, household chores, and unexpected events or crises.

In an article in Child Development it was examined whether or not mothers who work during the early years of a child’s life affects the cognitive outcome of the child or children. As stated earlier, most moms who work during the first few years of a child’s life seem to end up working evening shifts, night shifts, or swing shifts. These women have reported experiencing more depression than most women have. The article in Child Development states that when working mothers’ experience the different levels of depression, it seems to have quite an affect on the relationship between mother and child.

Works Cited: Han, Wen-Jui, “Maternal Nonstandad Work Schedules and Child Cognitive Outcomes.” Child Development 76.1 (Jan.-Feb. 2005): 137-154. LexisNexis Academic. LexisNexis. Shawnee State Univ., Portsmouth, OH. 9 Feb. 2006 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>. Thorstad, Roxanne R., et al. “Breaking the Mold.” Journal of Family Issues 27.2 (Feb. 2006): 229-251. LexisNexis Academic. LexisNexis. Shawnee State Univ., Portsmouth, OH. 9 Feb. 2006 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

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