Preview

Should Both Parents Work

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1070 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Both Parents Work
Should Both Parents Work
If you are married it is likely that both you and your spouse work outside the home. Dual income with no kids would be the norm. But, what happens when you and your spouse start having children? Realistically is it necessary for both parents to work while raising young children? This debate has stirred up much conflict in today and time. There are two very conflicting answers. The first answer states the cost of raising and supporting a family is so high that in order to survive financially, it is necessary for both parents to work. The other answer states that having both parents work while having to deal with emotional and stress related issues are so great that it is better for one person to stay home.
Why Both Parents Should Not Work
The cost to raise children is very high and it is getting even higher as time goes on. According to the federal government, "It take about $5,490 to $11,320 dollars to support a child in the first year alone. Unreimbursed medical bills for the obstetrician and hospital alone will be about $1200; maternity clothes, nursery furniture, baby related equipment, clothes and other expenses constitute the rest" (Edelman 2002). With both parent working this mean daycare for the kids which can add another $7000 to this bill. The price of a home and the mortgage rate is also high and steady raising, and if both husband and wife work then you also have two vehicles, which mean two-car payment. Even though most insurance company offer you a multiple car discount, it still don't off set the cost that it take to fuel a second vehicle and the maintenance on it. This have many couple pressure into believing that both parent have to work and if one is not working before, then the pressure to get a job is high. But is this the right conclusion?
Let's look at Mary and John family of four who have a combined income of $60,000 dollars, each making about $30,000. Let take half of their income annually and break it down

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Parents often try to balance their role in the family as well as their role in the workforce. After the birth of the child parents are to make decisions about staying home or returning to work.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Keller Econ 545 Project

    • 4023 Words
    • 13 Pages

    if a family income increases from $45,000 per year to $50,000 per year between 2015 to 2016, that…

    • 4023 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Winkler, A. (1998, April). Earnings of husbands and wives in dual-earner families. Monthly Labor Review Online, 121(4). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1998/04/art4exc.htm…

    • 4009 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loan and Home Income

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages

    His annually income includes $65000 from self-employed business and $20000 from part-time job totally worth $85000. After contributing to superannuation, the taxable income is $80000; there is no Medicare levy since they have private health insurance. So the total tax is $17550, his take home income is $62450. Her take home pay is $601*52 equals $31252 per year, which is after tax amount. So their total take home income is $93702 per year ($7808.5 monthly)…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phase 3 Argument Analysis

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages

    While researching one parent choosing to stay home and raising children, I found supporting and opposing information. I found articles and books on money being a focus for both parents working.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dunkin Research Paper

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In today’s society it has become more inevitable to see both parents in the workforce,…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Family Analysis Project

    • 1477 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Both Jane and John are working full time during the days, while Tom is responsible for household chores and is searching and applying to get into med school. They can be considered to be at the working middle class in the socioeconomic scale. The family is very…

    • 1477 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The cost of child care, and college tuition alone is significant for a double income home, let alone a single. Despite this, welfare reform has historically put single mothers at a further disadvantage. The government spends 500 billion to fix child poverty, which could easily be decreased by the expanding the limits of the welform reform benefits specifically for single income families. Full time child care can cost upwards of 20,000 dollars in some states. Also almost every other well developed country gives paid leave to new parents. The reform of TANF ( Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ) in 1996 added limitations to welfare availability. This included a 5 year limit and a 30 hour minimum work week. This might sound like a good thing, but for single mothers and fathers balancing fifty things at once, it made receiving aid almost impossible. Coverage for single income homes plummeted to an all time low. Roughly one in four single…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Such accusations from society are ludicrous; millions of women maintain a balance between work and nurturing their family, but they do so with difficulty. However, with birth rates only increasing annually, it is difficult to prove that working women are not doing their part as mothers. Unfortunately, women have hardly advanced in their fight for equality since "Backlash" was published. Though federal law now requires that all women receive at least eight weeks of maternity leave , mothers are still plagued by the problems of child care affordability. The article points out that the availability of affordable child care for the average working in women is fairly scarce. In 1993, it cost an average of $215-$329 a month to put one preschool-age child into child care. With the need for more child care facilities rising,…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The lack of support of parental leave in America is not helping to achieve a more balanced lifestyle. A study showed that among forty-one nations, the U.S. is the only one that does not mandate paid parental leave (Livingston). This may cause a woman to feel as if she must put off having a family or quit her job to have a family. It’s also important to endorse parental leave as a family thing for dual-income homes. Both partners should feel comfortable taking time off to spend with their new child. How much time each person takes off is up to the individual, but the option should be on the table. Speaking of the table, each gender must fight for their way to the head. Nothing in life is free. Male or female, to make it, you must keep pushing forward and not be afraid to speak up. We should support the mothers and fathers of the workforce to ensure them, and someday me, a balanced life at work and at home, but we have to choose what path would make that goal the easiest. Find careers that line up most with the life we want. No one can have it all, but we can make the most of…

    • 1294 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Minimum Wage Cons

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages

    line in 2002 an income range (less than $29,000 for a family of three in 2002) in which…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Single Mothers in Poverty

    • 1811 Words
    • 8 Pages

    After doing the exercise of creating a budget for a single mother with two kids who is trying to “make ends meet” on a minimum-wage job, I have come to have so much compassion for those struggling with this dilemma. The odds are highly against a poor woman trying to do her best raising her children on a low-income job, some might even say that it would be impossible to do alone. The hurdles of expensive daycare, the rising cost of housing, the low-availability of welfare for women already working, the demanding natures of jobs which don’t allow for paid medical leave, and the skyrocketing costs of health care, all contribute to the poverty of single mothers. While I was taking a deeper look into this problem, it became abundantly clear to me that this is definitely a big “public issue” that needs to be addressed from a social policy standpoint.…

    • 1811 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Finances are a very important key in caring for children. Single parents have to face many challenges related to finances. Sometimes single parents have to work multiple jobs to make payment deadlines. Also most single parents have to depend on government assistance to cover basic necessities like food and clothing. Depending on the government for assistance is not how a parent planned on raising his or her child. Parents believe in working to provide for their children and not to feel like a failure. It is not easy when only one income is coming into the home. In a two parent home when both parents are working money is not a big issue. There is always a source of income steadily flowing into the home. Families with both parents do not have to apply for any type of government assistance and worry about the children’s food or clothing needs. Not only are food and clothing are issues, but also making bill deadlines are a struggle. Single parents have to apply for extensions from the gas company because a check is late. Sometimes they even have to sacrifice some things for the kids to pay bills. Finances in a two parent home are much greater than a single parent home with only…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Gender Pay Gap

    • 1714 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Many dual income families must subtract the cost of child care, and a second car. They only add an addition 14% to the families income. So more than likely they are working for job benefits.…

    • 1714 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Different strategies of working in partnership in parents are very important in child care and education settings. The chosen setting is in a family setting. This essay covers recognition of valuing parents/carers and analysis of the factors that contribute to good communication.…

    • 2765 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics