BY: JAMES WANG | MAY 11, 2014
Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Let us take pause and consider the sociological impact of our mothers on our lives. If you didn't get your mother something, quickly run out and grab a box of chocolates or sweets—then continue to read.
Even if it’s late, it’s fine. Your mother will factor in the fact that you are an absent-minded person in college/working. Seriously, RUN!
Mothers play multiple roles, fulfilling the parental role for their children and a partner role to their spouses. The role of the mother has changed multiple times throughout the past decades. According to Andrew Cherlin, as early as 1965, mothers began increasingly entering the labor market, resulting in a decline in their share of the housework. I say mothers, and not women, because it was indeed a greater proportion of mothers that were entering the labor market. Suzanna Bianchi, a UCLA sociologist who helped alter perceptions of working mothers in American family life, found a large part of the public felt that when mothers began working more, these employed mothers would have less time to spend with their children than unemployed mothers. While this may be true, Bianchi claims that this time difference is not as much as commonly thought. This is due to multiple reasons. One is that we—the children—just aren't home much of the time. Remember back to high school, middle school, and elementary school. We were at school from around 8am to 3pm Mondays through Fridays. So for approximately a third of the day, we were in a region outside of our mothers' and fathers' jurisdiction (unless your parent was one of your teachers, in which case you have my condolences). Either way, being unemployed or employed, a mother wouldn't be spending her time with her child during those time periods.
With the changing intellectual environment, there have also been shifts in the idea of what children need, and what being a good mother requires. Some may think that a parent needs to spend face to face time with their children. But what is really necessary is helping one’s children with their problems. Many businesswomen with children are increasingly using technology to communicate and aid their children with homework. If that doesn't work—and if they have the resources required—they hire a tutor to help their children. The point is, regardless of whatever is happening or changing, a good mother is still there for her children, whether physically, virtually, or both. For better or worse, mothers socialize us, molding and influencing our behavior, teaching us to say please and thank you, as well as being reasonable moral citizens. Mothers and fathers dress their children and get them to understand the importance of an education. That is the sort of stuff that is passed from parent to child.
Don’t forget, Father’s Day is June 15th this year (a Sunday)—fathers tend to get jealous if you only remember Mother’s Day. Plan your presents ahead of time, or else you’ll spend hours wandering around looking for something. I suggest a nice tie or bags of Cheetos. Or a bag of Cheetos tied with a tie. Dads apparently love Cheetos.
With the changing intellectual environment, there have also been shifts in the idea of what children need, and what being a good mother requires. Some may think that a parent needs to spend face to face time with their children. But what is really necessary is helping one’s children with their problems. Many businesswomen with children are increasingly using technology to communicate and aid their children with homework. If that doesn't work—and if they have the resources required—they hire a tutor to help their children. The point is, regardless of whatever is happening or changing, a good mother is still there for her children, whether physically, virtually, or both. For better or worse, mothers socialize us, molding and influencing our behavior, teaching us to say please and thank you, as well as being reasonable moral citizens. Mothers and fathers dress their children and get them to understand the importance of an education. That is the sort of stuff that is passed from parent to child.
Don’t forget, Father’s Day is June 15th this year (a Sunday)—fathers tend to get jealous if you only remember Mother’s Day. Plan your presents ahead of time, or else you’ll spend hours wandering around looking for something. I suggest a nice tie or bags of Cheetos. Or a bag of Cheetos tied with a tie. Dads apparently love Cheetos.
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