Cultural Models, Parent Behavior, and Young Child Experience in Working American Families

Abstract

SYNOPSIS Objective . We evaluated the resolution of conflicts between cultural models of parenting related to child security and child enrichment in the daily scheduling practices of families with young children, given the competing pressures of work and family. Design . Parents in 35 families provided 7 days of detailed prospective daily schedule data for themselves and their preschool-aged focal child using the Daily Life Architecture method. Interviewers probed cultural models for regulation of the child's daily activity, child enrichment and opportunity for development, and household gender ethos. The frequency of transitions between physical activity settings was used as an index of the density of the daily schedule. Results . Parents viewed themselves as responsible for providing their children with security, stimulating experience/enrichment, and continuous supervision, while avoiding schedule overload. Children's schedules were less dense than either parents', a gap that increased with denser parent schedules. Mothers' and children's schedule densities were correlated, but father's and children's schedules were not, except on weekends. Neither single parent status nor maternal employment moderated these relations. Conclusions . Mothers, employed or not, were the principal logistical agents of the household and were “tethered” to their children's schedules. During weekend enrichment activities, “family time” was used to resolve conflicts between ideals of security and enrichment and reestablish egalitarian parenting, with heavy paternal involvement. Children were buffered from the complexity of their parents' schedules and maintained within an implicit, parent perceived target zone of activity for optimal child development.