Work+&+Families



The definition of power is the ability to force a person to do something when he/she earns less. The definition of authority is acknowledged right to control and supervise other’s behavior. In traditional families, there are rules in which the father makes for the family. There is more power for those who work for a wage compared to those who work at home. People who work for a wage will often be given more respect and authority. Over the years, the roles of wives have changed drastically. Years ago, wives were expected to stay home, take care of the children, and do housework. Today, wives are often expected to not only take care of the children and house work, but they are also taking on jobs just as the men of the house are. As we get closer to the present year, research has shown that when both the man and the woman are working, the housework does not get finished. Instead, many parents will deal with having a mess or will hire outside help.
 * __Marital Power and Authority__**

Parents and professionals need to keep in mind the drastic changes that have occurred within the different ages in reference to marital power and authority. Women today often still make less money which causes several to take on a second job. Women are becoming the authority figure in the household more as we see more women working outside of the home as well as taking care of the children and housework. While working with families, we need to keep in mind the amount of work load that the woman has taken on in her household. Many times, the woman is taking on more than the husband is especially when there are children to be taken care of. Parents need to consider how they relate to this topic of power and authority in their own homes. For some older adults, they may not have adapted to or may not be aware of the changes that have occurred under this topic of marital power and authority. Parents should weigh all of the factors that they have to offer in the family and notice if the work load (including housework and children) are evenly weighed. Professionals and parents need to think of how their workloads affect the children. Children need to have positive connections with their parents in order to grow and maintain a life with little stress.  Cherlin, Andrew. (2008). //Public and Private Families: An Introduction. // New York, NY: McGraw-Hill


 * __Overloaded Parents__**

In today’s society it’s not uncommon to find that both parents in a family have full-time jobs. It is also not uncommon for these parents to also be involved in their own and their children’s activities. With multiple titles like Parent, Worker, Activity Leader, and sometimes even Caregiver, many of these individuals experience overload. Overload is the state of having too many roles with conflicting demands. (Cherlin, pg. 275) Are parents taking on too much? Or, is this healthy for families? Both realities have been seen, but it is important for parents to recognize when they’ve taken on too much. In order to be productive, well-rounded parents it is necessary that roles are clearly defined and maintained so as not to cause spillover.

The ability to recognize an overloaded parent and/or individual may be crucial in helping families. Going into any situation it is important to have knowledge of the different concepts out there that others may have not realized even had a name. An overloaded parent can lead to an overloaded family which may cause more issues for them than they had originally started with. As professionals working with families, if you’re able to identify families or individuals that are overloaded, you’ll have a better grasp on how you can help them. Making parents aware of the several roles they may possess can be helpful in itself. Often time parents or individuals may not be aware the multiple roles they’re in. Being aware of all the areas of their lives that they have responsibilities in can help parents to maintain a more organized life and be better at sharing themselves more proportionately among their multiple roles.

Cherlin, Andrew. (2008). //Public and Private Families: An Introduction.// New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

For many centuries, children have helped support their parents, caregivers, and other family members through work and labor. In the past most of this work may have been done agriculturally or young girls helping with household chores or outside the home such as selling newspapers, shining or buffering shoe, or sweeping chimneys. When the Industrial Revolution began children as young as four were working in factories that were hazardous and could have killed them. Many times small children were used in factories to crawl under machines to grab things that were dropped or fix equipment. Some young girls in extreme low poverty were used as prostitutes to make money for their families. Although child labor is put under more control in present day it still occurs. UNICEF reports that there are still 158 ages 5 to 14 are still providing labor. There are several disadvantages to working children too hard to support a family. These disadvantages may be fatigue, trouble in school or missing school, or social learning on how to be parents themselves
 * __Child Labor__**

From July 1, 2009 legislation has made more laws and regulations permitting children to work and produce labor. Other statistics:
 * People under the age of 16 are not allowed to hold a job unless the place or person of employment keeps a work permit.
 * Child must obtain a work permit.
 * Children 14 or 15 can only work outside school hours and no more than four hours per day and no more than 28 hours per week.
 * During the summer children can work up to eight hour per day.
 * Some children under 18 are not permitted to do certain jobs.

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 * Two-thirds of high school students have jobs.
 * 50% of these kids work an average of 15 hours a week, one in six works more than 25 hours.
 * 1950, less that 5%of high school students had jobs.
 * 57% of kids that have been interviewed have said they had a job at age14