She Works/He Works: How Two-Income Families Are Happier, Healthier, and Better-Off

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Summary: Excellent summary of a randomized, representative sample of dual-earner families
Review: Studies of this topic have historically used "snowball" samples due to difficulties in getting enough participants via random mechanisms. Rivers and Barnett ditched secondary criteria (Hertz used corporate careers in _More Equal ThanOthers_ from the early 80s; Schwartz used equality in the relationship in _Peer Marriage_ more recently) in favor of focussing on the primary one: a marriage of two people who both work full time. The result applies across income ranges and job types in a way that the work of Hertz and Schwartz did not. And the results are wonderfully encouraging! A two-earner family is less stressed, more flexible, has a stronger relationship between the adults and with the kids and is intellectually and emotionally a more rewarding environment for child-raising. The women are less subject to depression and the men are more actively involved in family life. The big downside: these people are *busy*. I highly recommend this readable and insightful look at what is now the norm for American households

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Summary: ALARMING COMMENTARY ON STATUS OF AMERICAN FAMILY
Review: This is an extremely well written book that takes scholarlyinquiry and re-packages it for the popular lay audience. While I wouldlike to refer to this style as entertaining, I refrain from doing so because of the seriousness of the subject and the alarm bells it sets off in me regarding its message. "She Works/He Works" explores the present state of the two earner income family and forcefully debunks the myth based on nostaglia regarding life in the fifties where Mom was a full-time happy homemaker and Dad was the sole breadwinner. The author's derail the Ozzie and Harriet syndrome and discuss how this period of post-war euphoria was really just a blip on the screen and should not be seen as an idyllic time. In reality, Harriet was miserable and was probably spending most her time sipping Vodka and Tonics while she wisked away at her husband's ring around the collar and doted on her children. The authors do a marvelous job in pointing out the really positive outcomes that have emerged as a result of women entering the workforce as serious full-time workers. In summary, women are happier in challenging jobs, their husbands are are happier that they are no longer the only source of income for the family in a time of frequent downsizing and economic uncertainty. Unfortunately, while the facts are optimistic when it comes to the improvement in physical, mental, and economic health for the adults in the family, it is extremely alarming for the well-being of young children. The authors spend an entire chapter in trying to discredit those like Penelope Leach("Children First") that do not feel that the picture of the two-earner family is a rosy one because of its impact upon young children in daycare. One can be totally in agreement that Ozzie and Harriet should remain forever "dead" without succombing to the assumption that this must be at the expense of the young child. One can be in support of the benefits of the workplace without being in support of placing children in a warehousing mode while this goes on. The "collaborative couple" might need to seriously re-think whether they should have children from an economic, emotional, and career vantage point. If they do, then perhaps, they can come up with a temporary and flexible alternative that would allow ONE (not necessarily the women) to stay home and become a "personal manager" for their young child. All of the recent fanfare on brain development during the birth to three years of age period is extremely compelling. This is a critical period of time that really requires one-on-one "qualified" parenting in order to optimize the growth(emotional,cognitive,physical)of the child. The new "collaborative couple" which the authors so brilliantly bring to the reader's attention, really needs to go back to the problem-solving chalk board and come up with some creative alternatives to placing their young off-spring in a less than optimal environment. This is not a mis-directed wish to return to some period of time that really was not all that it was cracked up to be, but rather a careful analysis of all the recent data that is coming out of the neurosciences that unequivocably highlights how critical the Birth-To-Three period is and how it cannot be entrusted to "others" to oversee. This book is a MUST READ FOR ALL not because of the correctness of the conclusions it draws but because of the need to challenge them. It should also be pointed out that a distinction must be drawn between scholarly research data and a journalistic presentation of the data. There is a difference and this can easily be lost when reading such a well written book.