Citation Access ***Australian Journal of Social Issues, The
Volume 39 Issue 2 (May 2004)
Single Parents and Paid Work
I’m in agreement with the above author in some respects, but what is wrong with raising our children by their own mothers and elevating that job to the level it deserves? There is no job more deserving of prestige than child-rearing, no job which has such impact on society, environment and our future.
With all the depressing statistics surrounding us, failed banks, failed economy, failed car dealers, and a jobless rate to depress even the most educated among us. I would like to offer a tiny spark of hope into this mix that just may light up the country. I would like to offer women in this country a way to make a difference that only they can make. I’m speaking of women who are in the trenches of this country, impoverished, unappreciated, and ignored. Some of these women are on “the system” of welfare and trying to raise children who are the seed crop of this nation while others may be treading close to it. I am suggesting we support the role of these women to raise their children as a high level job with the importance it deserves.
Our system at present has single moms working two or more jobs to support their children leaving their children to raise themselves or be left in shoddy day care. I’m not knocking day care, but we all know that the better day care is afforded by those who can best pay for it. Some mothers are on welfare, living at the lowest income level, a hand to mouth existence, with not much hope for their future or their children’s. This is not productive to the future of our country.
I’m no expert, but common sense tells me a country is only as strong as its people and its families. I believe women are the heart and soul of this country – I also believe raising confident, healthy, compassionate, intelligent children is one of the most important contributions we make to this world. Single moms need to be allowed to do this without the world upon their shoulders and no hope or help. A handout does not elevate or educate; it moves you to tomorrow bringing the same problems and fears.
Let’s have a program which is a paid salary for single moms (not welfare) to raise their children and stay home. AND do it in such a way that will bring forth young, respectful, educated, mannerly, and considerate young people into the world. A two week paid vacation in the summer could be afforded to mothers just as in any job, and allowing them to rest and refresh themselves. When their last child leaves home from high school, the mother will be heading to college paid for by the government for a job making her a productive cog in the wheel of the economy.
I would go a little bit further and install many classes, at the local level of government, on important skills such as nutrition, health, shopping, financial skill in pertinent areas, child rearing, cooking healthy and locally, first aid, and this could go on. Some women may think this is a step backward when we have been moving more towards careers and away from homemaking skills. However, in so doing, we have left out some of the most important nuggets of knowledge handed down to us through the ages. Think, if people knew how to budget, save, conserve, recycle, cook, shop wisely, eat healthy, navigate their children through the school systems so they get the most from it, make wise decisions in their children’s health, honestly, would that not make our country stronger? There were many illegal and dishonest actions on behalf of financial institutions and government that brought about our recession, but we citizens also need to take responsibility for poor choices in living and financial planning.
All this would be done at local levels. This is no place for federal government control. The state and county levels would be best knowing what each area needs and its resources. Basic foundations for the program but flexibility for different states with various needs and available resources. I would draw on skilled educators from all levels of walk: home economic teachers, grandmothers, mothers, financial planners, business teachers, various chefs, assemblymen and women, librarians, nurses, and doctors, elementary teachers, high school and college educators. Learning to live with health, wisdom, frugality, common sense and joy is lacking today. These skills need to be taught because for the most part the ball was dropped by a generation or two ago regarding basic domestic skills. Care must be taken to look at the educational value of a grandmother who successfully raised five children and maybe never went to college or the successful farmer who has a wealth of information on gardening, local produce, and work ethic. These pearls of wisdom live in our communities but are untapped.
This is a program not to be man-handled by federal government officials anxious to put their hands into the pockets of funds or grants dedicated to vital grass-roots efforts to elevate the standard of living for the poor and bring forth pride and advancement for the underprivileged. This is a program to be run at local levels with integrity, morality and decency. When children’s lives and futures are at stake, no cost is too high. We have forgotten the strongest link in our country is the family and it begins with the mothers.
Families today are not the “traditional mom/pop variety. It is wonderful to have a strong two parent home with financial stability, but I think we all know that is the exception rather than the rule. That is no excuse to give up on the family, whatever form it may take. We need to tap back into the domestic wisdom and thrifty ideals from generations ago. The environment demands it and our children deserve it. We, as women, have the power to shape lives, futures, and the world simply by placing the value of raising our children to the level it deserves. “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world…” is more than just a poem, but a phrase with power and truth.****
There is an alternative to dead-end welfare, despair, and hopelessness for poor women struggling against all odds. Community support, respect for the position of mothering, utmost respect for our children, and programs to support, educate, and elevate our struggling women and their families. We have spent billions to save big business – let’s save our children through their moms instilling wisdom, values, and pride.
What do you say? I say, “Yes, we can”.
***To cite this article: Howe, Brian and Pidwell, Ruth. Single Parents and Paid Work [online]. Australian Journal of Social Issues, The, Vol. 39, No. 2, May 2004: 169-181. Availability: <http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=837892544476376;res=IELHSS> ISSN: 0157-6321. [cited 20 Apr 10].
****”The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World” is a poem by William Ross Wallace that praises motherhood as the preeminent force for change[clarification needed] in the world. The poem was first published in 1865 under the title “What Rules The World“.[1] The title of the poem is a commonly quoted phrase.[2]
