The Effect of Mother Employment on Families and Children - Research Paper Example

Case Study: The Effect of Mother Employment on Families and Children The Effect of Mother Employment on Families and Children Since the early 1960s, the rate of female labor force participation has been on the increase. The last quarter of the 20th century was quite a massive improvement in the way female workers have joined the labor force and contributed to the building of the nation as a whole. This is the same period that saw the shortening of the break in employment after childbearing which has been related to the profiles that women have acquired compared to the post-war era. There have been several researches that have confirmed the willingness of women to get back to paid work immediately after childbirth with just a few months of rest utilized to cater for the child in the early months of their life on earth. At least 49% of women were noted as having reported back to work within 9 months after childbirth with the US providing much higher statistics (Dex, Hawkes, Joshi and Ward, 2005). With such a high number, it is important to look at the benefits and the challenges that it presents when the child’s perspective comes to focus. Before the increase in the number of women in the labor force, it was general wisdom that the separation of the child from the mother was jeopardy to the child’s mental and social development (Hansen, Joshi and Verropoulou, 2006). Thus, it was generally accepted and expected that the mother’s prime responsibility was to care for the pre-school children. Even if they forfeited their work, they would be seen to be directly investing in the production of a quality child with all their faculties functioning as expected due to the nature of their bearing. Thus, the trade-off between maternal time and cash resources would be quite unreasonable because maternal time was essential for the growth of the child compared to what would be bought using the earned cash (Fitzpatrick, 2010). But affirmative action has seen women relinquish this attitude and pick a more direct responsibility by choosing to get to work like their husbands do. They reckon that what a man can do, a woman can do better (Dex et al., 2005). Though a common phrase, it is the child that suffers the most. This is because they have to create attachment with strangers which may affect their development cognitively and socially. As Bandura expounds on the issue of attachment and development, it is clear that a child must at one time or the other learn to retain, pay attention and reproduce what they have learnt to promote development. As such, this will affect their reaction to reciprocal interactions between their cognitive, environmental and behavioral influences (Bandura, 2006). Attachment comes from having someone to emulate and in this case, building a close relationship with the mother allows the child to explore more and develop faster. Further, Urie Bronfenbrenner is of the opinion that the development of a child always reflects the influences that the surrounding environment systems provide and how the child interacts with them matters. If this is taken into consideration, it means that there are loads of things that an individual must be careful not to do in front of the child because their development and reactions are all tailored to what they see and how those around them react to certain events surrounding them (Darling, 2007). Bronfenbrenner created an ecological system that seeks to explain the different systems that a child uses to tailor their attitudes, reactions and perceptions and will be detrimental in trying to understand how a child behaves. It also showcases how the parents and other environmental agents affect the development of the child (Santrock, 2007). The case study below will take all the above into consideration and offer some insight on how the relationship between the mother and the child is affected by the mother’s employment schedules and whether ecological systems can explain the noted interactions and relationship queries between the child and the mother as noted from a social worker’s perspective. Case Study Description During social services, the social worker is allowed to interact with as many children from different backgrounds as possible their work entails checking up on the welfare of the children and understanding what issues they may be facing and how these may affect their relationship with their parents as well as their overall development (Horner, 2006). During one of my visits, I noticed this child who was exceptional from the rest. She was mostly secluded and rarely engaged with other children unless she deemed it necessary. When a child is growing up and at an age of four years, they are expected to be playful and seeking to take initiative in creating playful situations. As Erik Erikson stipulates in his developmental stages, a child is seen to create stories, experiment, and more so try to emulate what they see adults do. Children here are struggling to fight off the oedipal complex by identifying their roles within the society (Mobley and Johnson-Russell, 2005). The basic family here plays a very vital role in helping the child grow and adapt to the social system without any difficulties. The five year-old child in question here is a boy who seemingly comes from a well-to-do family judging from his neat appearance and his orderliness. Unlike the other boys who were seeking to conquer and create a territory for themselves, he was all alone using some toys to build a house and other small childish objects such a car and a pillar. He was engrossed in what he was doing and was less aware of the other peers that were jumping up and down performing stunts that were arguably from some TV program. The atmosphere was ecstatic given the cheerfulness that the children portrayed in the room. On asking the teacher afterwards, she confirmed that she had already gotten used to his solitude nature and he always was able to express what he needed and when he needed it. He did not find it necessary to argue with people when they were clearly not willing to listen to his side of the story and thus could not enjoy the company of many of his jumpy friends. This seemed to be quite intriguing given his age and his “sudden” maturity. On further inquiries about the background, the parents were not at all molesting or abusing the child in any way. Thus, there was no point in worrying about the child’s well-being when harm, neglect and abuse are considered. The child was in safe hands. While wondering what the problem could be, the boy’s mother enters the room. It was in the evening and judging from the look, she had had a busy day at work. She exchanged some pleasantries with the teacher and went on to chat for a while. The boy, to my surprise was not moved. He acted as if it has been just another person that had entered the room. The mother was a middle-class looking woman who looked as though she worked in an office in the neighboring urban center. She represented a class of women that would be considered sophisticated given the way she carried herself around with an air of surety. She carried her car keys around which shows that she was well-to-do if she could afford such a lifestyle. She needed to talk to her son’s teacher and caregiver to understand whether there was a problem with her son. The teacher had also sought audience with her but her busy schedule throughout the week had made it difficult to spare some time for the talk. However, now she was present and needed to exchange notes with the teacher so that they could try and help the boy. The teacher was also worried and wanted to make sure that the parents were aware of their son’s changing behavior. The mother was getting frustrated about the way her son was behaving. According to her, his behavior was not like that of his peers or even someone his age. He was more engrossed in activities that would be considered a little bit mature and mostly preferred time alone compared to being with others. When directly talked to, he would answer and unless the topic interests him he would go on about his activities oblivious of others around. He loved watching cartoons but not those that would normally excite children his age. He wanted something more challenging and less obvious. He engages in activities that would be considered way above his age and his conversations were also mature. He did not marvel in small talk like children do and seems to be interested in doing things on his own. From her explanation, the mother was very worried that she might not be able to enjoy time with her son and that the innocence of childhood that every mother yearns for may be deprived of her in case her son’s current trend continues. Given that the teacher had also observed the same, they decided to call the child and try to get what the problem could be. The boy was obviously upset for being asked to leave what he was doing but hall the same he went. The boy did not look his mother in the face or even show any enthusiasm, facially or physically, at her presence. The mother did not touch him either and only motioned him to sit on a chair opposite her. The boy obliged and continued staring down unless when he was asked to face up or asked a question. The boy was somewhat indifferent and repulsive to her mother’s figure and looked more uncertain or unsure of what he was expected to do in front of her. The mother seemed to get incensed when the boy did not respond to her advances though she tried to hide it. One could tell that she was used to scolding him or shutting him down when he was a little younger which led him to learn to do things that were personally engrossing rather than fun. Their communication seemed to be strangled and they were all struggling to say the right words. The boy seemed to be uncomfortable being there and the teacher was not oblivious of these subtle signs prompting her to ask the mother whether she beat him or scolded him. Her answer was no though one could note the uncertainty in her eyes as she answered. The boy did not look up and this left many questions unanswered. She was also asked whether she had spent time with him and how long that was. She said her busy schedule was not very accommodating and her husband was also a busy man and rarely came home during the weekdays unless it was the weekends. She sometimes had to hire a nanny to take care of him during the night or leave him at a friend’s place to tend to matters concerning her occupation. He was most of the time accustomed to being alone even during the holidays and the most time they spent together was the 20-minutes drive from school to home and vice-versa. From a social worker’s point of view, several issues arose from the conversation between the teacher and the mother as well as the non-verbal communication gathered from the mother and son when the boy was called. Their relationship had been adversely affected by the employment of both parents and the lack of time to socialize with their kid when he needs them the most (Bernal, 2008). An Ecological Deduction Based on what Bronfenbrenner defined under the ecological systems, there are five steps that define how a child reacts and behaves the environment has provided four systems namely the micro-system, the meso-system, the Exo-system, the macro-system and the Chrono-system from which a child bases his/her influences (Kail and Cavanaugh, 2010). The child’s interaction with these environments always provides a chance for them to grow and develop cognitive abilities based on their ability to grasp what is expected of them by the surroundings. The more motivating and nurturing the relationships are the better (Darling, 2007). The micro-system, which is the closest environment that a child has, is defined as those institutions and groups that have a direct impact on the child’s development such as one’s neighbors, the family, religious centers and the schools. These are aspects that shape up the child’s overall perspective bout the world and the interactions present a common ground from which they can interact with the rest of the world (Kail and Cavanaugh, 2010). The way a child reacts is the same way that they expect the environment around them to react towards them. Their genetic makeup is also considered in this system and thus has a bearing one the child’s temperament in relation to others. When looking at the boy in question, this system has been oblivious of her wants and needs as a child. Attachment, as noted, is more of a maternal instinct as opposed to influences from the outside environment. A child, according to Bowlby, is born destined to be attached to its mother. He elaborates this under two distinct reasons: one is the fear factor of the unknown and second, the need to seek comfort and security (Bell, 2010). Thus, as a child, the boy’s set goal of the attachment behavioral system is to maintain a close proximity to the most important attachment figures in his life, in this case his parents (Van der Horst, 2011). However, their busy schedules have only drifted them apart and this does not auger well with his development. The school does not offer him the solace he needs and this leads him to choose solitary sports that will keep him at bay from the rest of the children as much as possible. Being left with friends and neighbors may have also affected him as the different home systems that people ascribe to may have confused the child since the rules, norms and behaviors of each family may be alien to the child. This means that he must sit back and watch so that he can be in sync with the rest of the family. Comparing these to his family may also make shut him down emotionally and psychologically affect his development of cognitive abilities. This leads to the meso-system which refers to those relations that one creates between the different micro-systems and how they affect the child’s notion of reality (Kail and Cavanaugh, 2010). The family has a strict adherence to rules as can be seen from the way her mother likes keeping time and tending to important matters. The son may have adapted this form and since there was no one to guide him about where to apply the certain experiences that he goes through, he ends up creating his own system. He knows that he must maintain a tidy room, must be respectful when talking to adults and must always keep time or else he will be late for school. When taken to school, he meets children who are carefree and who enjoy their children he sees mothers who spend time with their children after dropping them off and also sees happy faces when they come to get them in the evening. However, his mother is always tired or in a rush and has little time to spare before or after school to know how he is doing. Maybe, the friends he spends time with when his parents are not at home have interesting things to say about their parents and he has none. As a child, he feels guilty and ashamed since he has nothing to say rather than his parents are working. For such a child, developing a positive relationship becomes a hurdle for them and solitude becomes the best option at this stage (Darling, 2007). There is the exo-system which I believe has led to the current situation. The exo-system is the link between different settings in the society that do not have an active role in an individual but end up affecting their development anyway. The pressure that the parents get from their different occupations has generally affected the way they relate with their son (Kail and Cavanaugh, 2010; Darling, 2007). As they move along, they have generally created a gap between them and the son which has forced him to seek for new ways of keeping himself busy. The school does not seem to offer him any assistance and his solitude has only affected his ability to form healthy relationships with other schoolmates this has made it difficult for interactions to be childlike and thus, the television, movies and other literature that he can lay his hands on have informed most of his influence. It is also possible that the way the father and the mother behave when in his presence has affected his life. If they are overly formal and their verbal and non-verbal cues do not show any form of attachment, the child may have seen this as the ideals that the society embraces. This means that to him, such attributes are not a welcome venture. He may have also learnt from an early age to do things on his own because the parents were not there to do it for him. The nannies may have also expressed the importance of his independence and this may have created the gap since they always emulate that which is in their immediate environment. The aspect of the macro-system has also been influential in the child’s development. This is the remotest form of interaction that the child may have and which still ends up affecting the child one way or the other. It mainly deals with the culture that the child is brought up (Kail and Cavanaugh, 2010). The urban culture and the rural cultures are very different. The gated communities and those living in apartments have different cultures and values that influence how one perceives the environment around them (Santrock, 2007). As noted, the parents here have literally taken the attribute of paid employment as part of their everyday core values. They take their professionals more seriously than they do about their family. They are willing to miss the child’s holiday session for work and this has affected the child’s psychological development. He thinks that doing something makes it worthwhile in life. The parents come home tired or come to work at home. This means that they will not accord the child any form of companionship as is expected, leaving the child to look for some pass time activities that will help him avoid the boredom and sleep. When being brought to school, they have to rush so that the mother cannot be late to work. In the evening, she has issues that need to be sorted and thus does not commit her time to her son at any time. My guess is that even on their way to school, they rarely have anything to discuss and all the mother does is give instructions or just talk. The last system, the chrono-system, has also been vital in understanding how a child develops. This system looks at the transitional stages that have occurred in a child’s life and how this may be affecting their development. More so in this case, the stage that will be dealt with in-depth is the factor of the mother’s employment and the time dedicated to the child (Santrock, 2007). The fact that the mother is so much engrossed with her career has made the child drift from her. The attachment bond that is expected during these tender ages has been savored and this has led to the child developing resistant attachment tendencies as explained by Ainsworth’s study (Fraley and Spieker, 2003). There are no nurturing support from the extended family that were noted which could be used to ensure that the child maintains contact with family at all times. Instead, the mother has to ask her friends to help look after him or hire a nanny in case they are busy. The child has been left with different people while the mother works. The child may feel as if he is an impediment to her mother’s profession thus preferring solitude rather than disturbing her while she was working (Gregg, et al., 2005). The System and the Employed Mother: A Closer Scrutiny There are different views regarding the importance of maternal employment and the effects it has on the family. There are those who believe that there is a well-established income-health gradient (Currie and Lin, 2007) and those who are of the view that it strains the child’s development timeline due to the broken bond between the two (Ruhm, 2008). Sailor (2004), however, states that the impact of the mothers employment on a child’s development is mostly affected by certain variables that are somewhat interrelated. They involve the mother’s satisfaction with her career, the father’s general involvement in family issues, the features of the child’s early childhood education centers and care as well as the general characteristics of the child. Before a mother decides to go to work, Sailor states that there are reasons that force her to do so; and the satisfaction she gets from her work and the degree of autonomy as well as the relationship with other workers determines her family roles (Sailor, 2004). The stress level affects her relationships and this can spill over to the child unconsciously which may affect the child’s outlook. However, if the mother is autonomous, has support from her husband and other extended family members, relates well with her colleagues, has a good education background and has been able to adjust to the demands of both family and work, she will relate well with her children. The aspect of the childcare education comes in when the type and quality is considered (Berger, Hill and Waldfogel, 2005). The parent who gets the very best for her child and then allows the system to take charge while she gets involved later on during the day is essential. The emotional connection should not be lost whatsoever because the child needs to feel that the mother’s presence is not strained at all. In this case, there are some issues that need to be taken care of. The micro-system is disrupted by the absence of the emotional bond between the child and the parents. The meso-system is also not in favor of the child’s growth capabilities. The exo-system has changed the interaction patterns between the child and the environment. The macro-system has also affected the boy’s view of the society and its norms based on her mother’s schedules. The chrono-system has not allowed the mother to spend time because apparently the career comes first (Van der Zanden, Crandell and Crandell, 2007). Though the mother is earning a good income and keeping the child healthy, the emotional attachment seems to have been replaced by the overwhelming stress levels which are brought about by the need to handle every situation both at work and at home alone (Fitzpatrick, 2010). There are no relatives around who would be helpful in relieving her duties while offering a chance for the boy to venture out into other areas of play as well as increase his probability of learning something new through experimenting. Thus, even if the childcare center was of a high quality, there were some missing parts that the parents overlooked and which are imperative for proper cognitive and psychological developments and especially amongst boys as compared to girls. Conclusion Maternal employment is not bad. However, caution must be taken to ensure that the systems do not affect the way the child develops as well as how the child relate to the different social constructs. All care should be taken to ensure that work stresses do not affect the relationship between them and their children or else the child may get affected and the problems would be immense. The mother should also look for a place where the child will benefit from in terms of a childcare center. This will help the child open up to new experiences as well as gain new friends with whom they may interact and learn from. The systems have also been detrimental in explaining how the behavior of the child may have come about and how they are expected to be treated at every level of the system. If this is adhered to, even the absence of the mother during the day will not affect the way a child interacts with others at any given time of their livelihood. References Bandura, A. (2006). Toward a Psychology of Human Agency. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1: 2-12. Bell, D. C. (2010). The dynamics of connection: How evolution and biology create care giving and attachment. Lanham MD: Lexington. 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