Working Moms Good for Children

Mothers who are full-time homemakers are more likely to use either an authoritarian or a permissive parenting style than momswho are employed full-time, according to a University of Michigan study.

Working mothers are more likely to use an authoritative approach that relies on reason rather than assertions of parental power and encourages both girls and boys to be independent.

In contrast with full-time homemakers, employed mothers differentiate less between sons and daughters in their discipline style and in their goals for their children, a revealed the study of 369 families by U-M psychologist Lois W. Hoffman.

While earlier studies have shown that daughters of working moms are likely to do better academically, Hoffman and Youngblade show that the positive effects of maternal employment are multiplied when fathers contribute to child-care and household responsibilities.

The new study also finds that sons as well as daughters of working mothers had higher scores on standardized achievement tests in reading, math, and science.

For the study, Hoffman and colleagues interviewed mothers, fathers, school-age children, their teachers, and their classmates, collecting a wide range of information on behavior, attitudes, background, and academic achievement.

For more on the study, see the press release.

Teen-age Drinking, Driving on Rise

After almost a decade of decline in the rate of adolescent driving after drinking and riding with a driver who had been drinking, the rate appears to be headed in the other direction, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.

Published in the May 1999 issue of American Journal of Public Health, the study found nationwide adolescent drinking and driving rates declined about 40 percent between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s. But the study's author reported the decline appears to have peaked in 1992.

Rates of driving or riding after drinking were higher among high school seniors who are male, White, living in the western and northeastern regions of theUnited States, and living in rural areas.

The study used data from one of the longest-running surveys of teen health issues, run by the University of Michigan.

Mothers Are Worth $508,700

Your mother may be priceless to you, but in today's job market she's worth over $500,000 per year, according to an Edelman Financial Services Inc. study.

The EFS study looked at salary data supplied by the U.S. Bureau of LaborStatistics, trade groups, and human resource and staffing firms. EdelmanFinancial established criteria and determined what the median yearly salarywould be for a multi-tasking mother asked to:

• raise children
• cook meals
• keep house
• care for pets
• dispense medication and nursing care
• attend meetings and functions
• manage family finances
• provide transportation
• assist with homework
• listen to and resolve family problems
• keep family on schedule
• maintain family order and harmony

Based on 17 key occupations, Edelman Financial estimated that a mother'sworth is approximately $508,700 per year, or almost $42,400 per month. The 17 key occupations that mothers typically perform, with their medianyearly salaries, are:

• Animal Caretaker $17,500
• Executive Chef $40,000
• Computer Systems Analyst $44,000
• Financial Manager $39,000
• Food/Beverage Service Worker $20,000
• General Office Clerk $19,000
• Registered Nurse $35,000
• Management Analyst $41,000
• Child Care Worker $13,000
• Housekeeper $ 9,000
• Psychologist $29,000
• Bus Driver $32,400
• Elementary School Principal $58,600
• Dietitians/Nutritionists $41,600
• Property Manager $22,600
• Social Worker $30,000
• Recreation Worker $15,500

"Edelman Financial is attempting to quantify what the true market value ofa mother's worth is in today's economy," said Ric Edelman, chairman of hisfull-service financial planning company. "Of course, no one can place a valueon the love and affection that mothers give to their families," he said. "Butsince a mother wears many hats and is on duty 24-hours-a-day, we decided thata typical mother deserves a full-time yearly salary for all 17 keyoccupational positions."

For more on the study, visit Edelman Financial.

The survey also revealed that working mothers are increasingly likely to be primary caregivers for aging parents and relatives as well as children.

Nationally, 63 percent of working mothers have children under age six. InNebraska, 71 percent of working mothers have pre-school aged children -- thehighest in the U.S. In West Virginia, only 48 percent of mothers of smallchildren work outside the home -- a national low.

Child care workers, depended upon by many working mothers for child careoutside the home, are rarely paid in accordance with the invaluable servicethey provide for families. On average, child care workers make less thanpeople who cut hair or trim hedges. Nationally, child care workers make 63percent of wages for other workers.

CPA, a non-profit policy and leadership development organization, works with women leaders across the states to advance a women-led Economic Agenda for America based on economic self-sufficiency, health and security, entrepreneurship and family and work.