lynnef@teklabs.UUCP (09/23/83)
I am getting very aggravated by these people that make sweeping statements
that any woman who has a career and thinks that she is a good mother is
fooling herself. This article is going to cover a variety of points.
1) daycare
States have laws about how many attendants there must be for how many children.
In Oregon I think it is 1 adult for every 4 babies or 5 children. It is the
parents' (yes, daddies ought to be in on the daycare search too!) responsibility
to find a daycare setup that they feel is good for their child. Most of the
women I know leave their children in private homes while they work. Some
of the babycare books I have read point out that a private home is better in
that the child is in a home setting as opposed to an institutional-type
setting. Daycare centers have the advantage in that they do not get sick,
go on vacation, or otherwise have to close down for a week or so (usually at
*very* short notice!). All of my in-laws who have children, also work, and
their children are turning out just fine, thank you. Roberta, in a
submission to the net, spoke about her three children, and I agree, they are
great kids. Children who go to daycare develop language skills and social
skills at an earlier age than children who stay at home, especially if the
children who stay at home have no other children close to their age nearby.
Most of the people I know at work who have schoolage children which have
been going to daycare have very well adjusted children. Most of these
children perform quite acceptably at school, and several of them are in
talented and gifted programs.
2) I do not treat my daughter like a toy or a pet.
3) So it is selfish of mothers to work. Would you rather they were on
welfare or feeding their children catfood? While it is not necessary that
all women have a career, it is certainly necessary for most of them to work.
You are still living in Ronnie Reagan's dreamworld. Those of us on the net
are a very small percentage of the wage earners in this country, and we are
up at the top. The average wage in this country is somewhere around $12000
a year (I may be erring on the high side), and I don't see how those people
manage.
Absolutely not afraid to sign my name,
--
Lynne Fitzsimmons
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