She Works/He Works: How Two-Income Families Are Happy, Healthy, and Thriving

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Optimistic View of Couples Who Work
Review: Barnett and Rivers do a wonderful job of presenting real facts that support a phenomenon so many of us experience. Thank you for the support and optimism!

Rating:
Summary: Deliberately flawed data to support corporate greed
Review: Before you buy or, God forbid, become influenced by this book, read what a major news columnist had to say about the study that provides most of the data for this book:

A study from a major university early last year made the pronouncement that children whose mothers work full-time suffer no detrimental effects.

Now, that's what the news media wanted us to hear. CBS Evening News couldn't wait to broadcast it. The Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Atlanta Journal & Constitution all trumpeted the story.

There was just one problem. The study showed no such thing. It's an example of how the "science" of sociology is being used to serve an ideological agenda.

It was later discovered that the researcher, Dr. Elizabeth Harvey of the University of Connecticut, had skewed some of the data. The stay-at-home mothers in her study were mostly young, poor, and uneducated. They were twice as likely to be single mothers as the national norm, and their income was less than half the national average.

In his book, There's No Place Like Work, Brian Robertson observes, "Clearly, [Harvey's] findings could not be applied to American society as a whole -- yet this is precisely what was claimed in the news stories."

The misinterpretation of her data didn't faze Harvey a bit -- in fact, just the opposite. She said she hoped her study would alleviate the guilt mothers feel when they leave their children each day.

Robertson says the lesson we ought to take away from this is that sociological research "can be -- and often is -- used selectively in the debate over what type of culture we shall have." Journalists grabbed onto Harvey's study because they have a philosophical commitment to the idea that no woman should be asked to interrupt her career in order to care for her children full-time.

If you don't believe that, imagine how the media would react if a researcher announced that full-time daycare caused great harm to kids. As writer Danielle Crittenden asks, would such a study "be heralded... as a vindication for mothers who stay at home?" Would the network anchors tell these moms they need not feel 'guilty' about not contributing to their household expenses?

Don't hold your breath.

Over the last three decades, huge numbers of Americans have shifted time and attention from home to the workplace. Despite assurances by the experts that children are not being harmed by this, Robertson notes, "There remains a strong sense among the public that something is deeply wrong with the parent-child relationship." And a Wall Street Journal poll reveals that an incredible 83 percent of all Americans believe that "parents not paying enough attention" to their children has become "a very serious problem."

Democrats apparently want to solve the problem with government-funded daycare. Republicans want to reform labor laws to give working parents more flexibility. But Robertson says both of these are quick-fix approaches that will not work. They ignore the reasons behind the social and economic pressures that have led to the "flight from domesticity."

The reasons behind this flight are the subject of this special BreakPoint series based on Robertson's book, There's No Place Like Work.

You'll learn the truth about how deliberate, government policies are harming America's families -- and what you can do about it.

(Charles Colson is chairman of Prison Fellowship Ministries. His daily commentary can be heard on radio stations throughout the United States, and at the Breakpoint web site.)

This book is pure hucksterism based on bad statistics. Instead of easing your conscience with crud like this, take a look at the two-income families in your neighborhood and decide if they're "thriving."

Rating:
Summary: Find out what works for you
Review: I have read many books about parenting. Some are in support of the stay at home mom and others support the working mom. The fact that many of us need to read books like this to feel good about the choices we make seems to say that this is a controversial issue with no easy right answer. She works, He works, is a book written to make to income families feel good about their choice. Other books are written to make stay at home moms feel good about their choice. People will believe what they want to believe about this debatable issue. Make the choice for yourself. Do what is correct for your children and family. If that means working, by all means work. If that means staying home with your young children, be all means stay home with your children (at least while they are young and not school age). I am in support of all loving parents that really make an effort to create good lives for their children. While keeping your children and family in mind, make the right choice for your circumstances. I think books like this are for the most part pointless. They are written to make the authors feel good about their choices whatever they may be. It is also written to justify the choices that author has made. However if you are reading this book to support the choices you have made, that is fine too. We all need to feel supported especially when confronting difficult decisions like this one regarding our families and lifestyle.

Rating:
Summary: Great Info!
Review: This book finally debunks many of the myths that tend to dog working parents. It turns the table around to show that, in many cases, working parents provide a healthier and happier lifestyle for their families.

Let's face it, the two-income family is hear to stay. It is highly unlikely that we as a society will go back to having a parent stay at home just to tend to its children. It didn't work in the '50s, and it won't work now. We need meaningful change based on a real assessment of the situation--and this book gives one.

Based on Barnett and Rivers' 4 year study of 600 working class and middle-class COUPLES (don't know WHAT that other review is talking about--this book is not based on the study "A Reader" suggests--the data was compiled by 1996 from a study funded by [I think]Radcliff). Many real-life examples are given, and their invaluable insights compliment Barnett and Rivers' points.

Brava!

Rating:
Summary: Yeah! Research supports a positive view of working families.
Review: This book gives research to support that working families do not ruin children. I particularly liked the different view of families in the past and the contradictions with the "Leave it to Beaver" time. Historically, women have either worked or even when home did not interact as much with children (they were just "there"). The research also does not seem to show much more happiness for moms that work outside the home part time (which really surprised me). Women as individuals are taking care of themselves and sharing the load. The husbands have become partners more often than not so the marriages are healthier. Gender roles are becoming less rigid. I really enjoyed reading this book and felt a lot of affirmation from it. The only negative side is that some of the information is repetitive.