Today’s family can look quite different from previous generations. Mother’s who work outside the home, fathers who take on more household duties, parents who are taking care of their parents, kids who have more demands on their time and the financial implications of all these factors make for complex daily lives for millions of Americans. Today’s family is different and constantly evolving.
One of the biggest changes we have seen in today’s family is the increase of women in the workforce. Today, a mother is much more likely to be in the workforce. According to the US Department of Labor, 70% of women with children under 18 participate in the labor force. In 1970 half of families relied solely on the father’s income. Today, two-thirds of families are dual-earner families.
Father’s are taking a more active role in caregiving. With dual income families on the rise, and mother’s increasingly in the workforce, fathers are becoming more active in the day to day care of their families. According to Pew Research, “fathers have taken on more housework and child care duties – they’ve more than doubled time spent doing household chores and nearly tripled time spent with children since 1965.”
BabyCenter, a website many mothers obsess over tells us “The average cost of center-based daycare in the United States is $11,666 per year ($972 a month), but prices range from $3,582 to $18,773 a year ($300 to $1,564 monthly), according to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).” This can be quite burdensome on the household finances especially those with more than one child.
Telecommuting is becoming more common due to advances in technology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “On the days they worked, 82 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at their workplace and 24 percent did some or all of their work at home.” Most studies indicate that workers are actually more productive and satisfied when they can work from home.
Today’s families are extremely busy. Americans are working more than ever. Throw in everyday anxieties and parents can feel overwhelmed by it all. In addition to pressures at work and at home, we are inundated with articles online and on social media about how our marriage should look or what we should never say to our kids. Studies are showing that we are passing that anxiety to our children. So how can you keep the worry at bay?