Writing Feedback / 1st essay in 13 years. Disadvantages that working mothers give to their children [12]

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. I'm out of practice and could use the help!
Diana

Persuasive Essay.
1,000-1,500 words.

Disadvantages that working mothers give to their children: It's not about money!

The negative impacts of working mothers on their children; what are they? Is it really that big of a deal? Can a child turn out worse if his or her mother is working to provide for him or her rather than sitting home and devoting every moment to nurturing and ensuring the emotional and physical happiness of her children? Are mothers doing more harm than good by joining the workforce? Although some believe there to be hundreds, and some believe there to be none, I will point out three major negative impacts that I see that a mothers working has on her child (ren). Extensive research and data collection points to an agreement that a child's behavior, a child's learning capabilities, and a child's development and fostering of peer relationships are all negatively affected by his or her mother's working outside of the home.

A child's behavior is no doubt impacted by a mother working outside of the home. Being there both physically and emotionally for a child is what it takes in order for him or her to obtain and maintain a good outlook on life in general. Maternal bonds are a very important deciding factor when it comes to the achievement and outlook of a child. For example, when a mother works outside of the home she has added stressors placed on her by the aggressive and rushed emotions that the working world produces. Stressors at work may cause a mother to become more passive and less nurturing simply out of pure exhaustion. It is agreed upon that passive parenting leads to more aggressive children. Parents who are exposed to chronically high levels of job stress appear to be less involved and more controlling with their children (Daniels and Moos, 1988; Grossman, Pollack, and Golding, 1988; Piotrkowski and Katz, 1983; Repetti, 1987). In Baumrind's (1971) terminology, these parents', who are authoritative, children tend to be self-confident, independent, and socially responsible. On the other hand those children who have authoritarian mothers are more likely to rebel due to a feeling of not being understood, being talked at and not talked to, or just simply not having a strong bond with his/her mother and not feeling a part of a family "unit".

A child's learning capabilities are affected when the mother returns to work after giving birth. Most teachers will tell you that the majority of children of stay-at-home mothers not only turn in their homework, but score higher and understand concepts better than students where the mother works outside of the house. This can be due to a lack of time for working mothers to sit and complete homework assignments with their children while they have housework and cooking still to complete, or a mother's lack of energy after completing all of her immediate duties that she no longer has the energy required to complete the not so immediate situations. Studies show that the sooner a mother goes to work after giving birth the greater the likelihood of those children not doing as well in school-readiness testing when they are 3 years old. "In fact, children whose mother didn't return to work until after the first year of birth did much better than their counterparts." Reported Jeanne Brooks-Gun of Columbia's Teacher's College. Also in other studies, it's been proven that those negative effects of early full time maternal employment persist among children who are 7 or 8 years old (Lewin, T). No one will do the job of nurturing and upbringing with the same level of commitment and investment as one's own mother.

The effects of a working mother on a child's peer relationships are also very vast. Peer relationships are probably the most important relationship to children second only to family relationships. Peers have a deep reaching influence on each other that may impact their attitudes, opinions and behaviors. Dressing alike and fixing their hair alike are just a couple examples of peer influences. A child whose mother works most likely doesn't spend much "quality" conversation time with the mother, and it is therefore concluded that "children are described as oriented toward parents or peers; children who are more influenced by parents are assumed to be less influenced by peers ,Hayes, C.D. and Kamerman, S.B , (1983). So, if you are not your child's biggest influence, someone else is. Sure, your child's friends may seem quiet and polite when they are around you, but how long are they really around you? Maybe 10 or 20 minutes, if that? You can never really be sure of the type of influences that are surrounding your child if you are not a key influence. The old saying of "monkey see monkey do" still rings true today.

Though most people agree that mother's working outside of the home is a wrong choice, for some it is the only choice. We are just now beginning to gather enough data and evidence to show the long term ramifications that a mother working outside of the home has on her children. As a mother myself I've chosen to write about this topic because after 10 years of being a stay at home mother I have now been back in the workforce for 10 months and I see each and every one of these negative impacts in my own children. A mother's place is in the home providing for the minds and soul's of her family is a phrase you would expect to hear in the "old days". Maybe they weren't so backward thinking after all.

References:

Baumrind (1971), Psychometric Support for a New Measure of Authoritative, Authoritarian, and Permissive Parenting Practices; Cross-Cultural Connections.

Hayes, C.D. and Kamerman, S.B. (1983), Children of Working Parents. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

Lewin, T, Study Links Working Mothers to Slower Learning. New York Times.