Mothers - Their Role Today

Being a mother has changed through the years and women today find that they have to do more of a juggling act between work and home, reports a study. The research was carried out by the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) and its Changing Face of Motherhood report was published on International Women's Day.

The research involved focus groups with mothers and grandmothers and a survey of 1,000 mothers. It also looked at data from the 1930s onwards.

Today, 68 per cent of the mothers work full or part time, but the findings state that they are twice as involved in childcare as fathers are. The report also discloses that nine out of ten mothers feel guilty about how much time they spend with their children. More than a third of the women think that their own mothers had more time for themselves. And 50 per cent of the women surveyed feel that the 1970s and the 1980s were an easier age for raising children.

According to the report, the 1930s and 1940s were the worst decades for being a mother and the 1970s and the 1980s were the best.

Women today have more time for themselves than their mothers, the reason being labour-saving household equipment and cooperative partners. Some 32% of mothers say they spend over 28 hours active time a week with their children. Nevertheless, 88% of the mothers feel some guilt about their work-life balance and how much time they have to give to their children.

Grandmothers, mothers and mothers-in-law are still the most important people to have around for a young woman who is trying to maintain balance between her job and her children. But technology has made it possible for young mothers to draw support from social networks, Skype and texting so that they can do their balancing act better. 

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Source-Medindia