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Period: to
Scientific Mom
Motherhood was “upgraded to a profession:" lawful, rule-bound, embodying a scientific knowledge to be mastered. -
Period: to
Empathetic Mom
Dr. Spock's flavor of cuddly, permissive and supportive mothering. -
Demographic data point
A majority (87%) of children under age 18 resided with two married parents. -
Political data point
Congress passed a Comprehensive Child Development Act to provide quality child care for working parents, but President Nixon vetoed the bill, saying publicly-provided child care would destabilize American families. -
Economic data point
The share of all mothers in the labor force was 47%. Among mothers of children younger than 3 it was 34%. -
Period: to
Revolution in motherhood
According to Thurer, "The baby is now seen as a participant in, an activator of the mother-child dialogue, not simply a recipient.” -
Period: to
Family Equality Stalls
1994-2004: the percentage of Americans preferring the male breadwinner/female homemaker family model rose to 40% from 34%.
1997-2007: the number of full-time working mothers who said they would prefer to work part time decreased to 60% from 48%. -
Social data point
25% of stay-at-home mothers would prefer full-time work. -
Social data point
16% percent of stay-at-home mothers wanted to work full time. -
Demographic data point
64% of children under age 18 reside with two married parents.
The share of all mothers in the labor force rose to 71%. Among mothers of children younger than 3, 60% were in the labor force in 2008. -
Economic data point
Women compose 47% of the workforce. -
Social data point
A majority of adults age 18 to 29 favor a modern marriage, where both the husband and wife have jobs and both take care of the household and children, over the male breadwinner/female homemaker model. -
Demographic data point
More than half of American children will spend some part of their childhood living in a household that does not include two biological parents who are married to each other.