Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Breadwinner moms and hardworking dads

Last week I posted about not qualifying fathers as "active." I'd like to believe that one day we will drop these adjectives from parental descriptions, so that we will be just "dads" and "moms" and not "active dads" or "working mothers." Especially, as the reality of dads who are involved with their children and moms that work become more prevalent in today's modern world.


My husband and I both work. We both enjoy our work; and we both enjoy our son. We strive for balance (but don't always succeed).

I think that our situation is typical of a lot of families. And, it turns out, moms are needed at work: American woman are fast becoming the top breadwinners in about half of households with children, according to a 2013 Pew Research study. The women in the study reported falling into the breadwinner role by circumstance and, according to the study, were not always happy with being thrust into the role.

Maybe one of the reasons women weren't happy with their breadwinner role is because they have read the interesting research published in Social Forces which shows that men who work longer hours have healthier wives.

So, ummm...does this mean that men need to work longer hours to be the breadwinners in the family for the optimum health and well-being of their families? No. I think it's more important that families find what works for them and what they can deal with in this economy.

As for us, we'll keep plugging away the hours (although, truth be told I prefer it when my husband is home with me and not toiling late into the night) and looking for that elusive sense of balance.

What's the work/home life situation in your household like and are you happy with it?

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