Parenting while both parents work is a challenging situation that takes out effective parenting which needs both parents to sacrifice their efforts, dedication and time. However, with the contemporary times of high living standards which pose strenuous economic conditions that require parents to pay for the accumulating bills, situations, where both parents should equally assume financial responsibilities in raising children, gets prompted. With such inflation, it is essential that people comprehend the cons of both parents working to sustain the needs of the family and raising their kids. The subconscious worry that parents develop concerning paying of bills, working in time-consuming jobs and equally providing financially to raise their kids leads to depression and anxieties. The fact that working also requires monetary reinforcements adds up to their expenses and the time-consuming jobs which ensures that less time is spent with children leading to lack of parental supervision hence causing the development of anti-social behavior by children.

The first reason as to why parents should not feel obligated to assume financial responsibility is due to the subconscious element of worry that eventually leads to depression and anxieties. The situation places both parents in a confused state as they are required to strike balance between paying of the bills, managing the time-consuming jobs and raising their children right. Public discourse pertaining to the issue of parents’ ability to strike balance between their roles of not only family commitment but also work commitment proves that it largely causes them stress (Jacqueline, 22).  Also, the element of anxiety is drawn from the anticipation that in case one of them gets strapped from employment, which will lead the family to bankruptcy. In a study by the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services that involved 69 parents and 71 kids, some of the older children purported that their parents work too much-expressing concern on how stressed or exhausted the parents were (Jacqueline, 23). The expression by these children is clear evidence that both parents working definitely raises concern on their well-being to deliver effectively in balancing their roles.

The same study indicated that the perceptions that children and parents have concerning their work habits differed. Opinions aired ranged from children whose parents either worked full-time or part-time. The satisfaction patterns by these children differed in that some of those whose parents worked full-time registered that they were fully satisfied with the amount of time they spend with their parents while some of those whose parents worked part-time felt like they needed more time to spend with their parents (Jacqueline, 24). Some of the parents in the study expressed that their absence during particular events that are significant to family life proved their inadequacy to strike an equilibrium between work commitments and family-related commitments. Long working hours also cause parenting stress due to fatigue and to worse extents sleep deprivation. Parenting stress, therefore, proves that the time and energy dedicated to parenting cripples effective parenting roles especially in homes where both parents work.

The second reason behind why it not such a great idea for both parents to equally assume financial responsibility in nurturing their children is that working also requires financial reinforcement. Working itself requires the parent to financially invest in work-related elements such as transportation, buying of work clothes and paying for childcare. Therefore, both parents working does not really cut out on costs and instead piles the bills and techniques such as saving and budgeting are more effective in translating financial responsibility. Notably, this situation eventually either drags these homes to poverty or strenuous financial instability that promotes parents to only get left with less money to cover their bills. The link between economic resources, economic expenses and poverty got established by various researches linking them to parental behavior (Gutman et al., 427). These financial conditions shape parental priorities which in turn affects child-rearing objectives and parental behaviors (Johnson & Mortimer, 90). The fact that parents get to divide their cash to cater for different expenses not forgetting the work-related expenses shows that instead of them cutting out on expenses they incur them.

The primary essence of both parents working in time-consuming jobs is to prevent their families from suffering due to issues such as bankruptcy. However, with the demand placed on them to financially invest in the same work which is supposed to help them eradicate poverty makes it more questionable if both parents working eliminates high bills. The amount of money spent due to such incurring expenses renders very little saving and too much spending. Hence this goes against the best possible interventions to money management within families. With lots of adult workers set with parental roles, the change in social structures such as both parents working does not effectively raise the living standards of these families facing such situations. Statistics show that in relation to women aged between 25 and 29, 85% of them work, and 65% of women who are married work (Chi &Xu, 1). Therefore, this shows that for such numbers to register, these work expenses are prevalent to most families which instead of cutting out on costs they incur to establish a good flow of committing to work.

The cons associated with both parents working also affects the children due to reasons such as the lack of parental supervision and guidance, poor development of mental health and the lack of family foundation. Furthermore, families which both parents workplaces the constraint of proper allocation of both energy and time to child-rearing by the parents due to long working hours. Children require parental supervision to curb them from involving themselves in anti-social behavior such as taking drugs, involvement in premarital sex which leads to unplanned pregnancies and bad eating behaviors that lead to child obesity which all are undesired outcomes.

Another great liability brought about by both parents working is the children end up missing out on a fundamental aspect of life which is the foundation of a family. The relationship between parents and children and the family interactions during events forms this foundation and brings the essence of family.

Besides children need both their parents to prevent them from developing an ultra-independent attitude during their young years. The security attached to having these deep interactions between parents and children lacks in households with both parents working as it snatches the opportunity for the development of such a vital element for mental well-being. Thus, this requires parents to pack full their weekends to cover up for the time lost during official work days. Children also face stressful situations in their day to day lives which require the skills of their parents to decipher this and assist them in how to deal with such situations. Kids feel neglected, develop a sense of insecurity, they miss out on the love and attention from parents and even feel detached due to the absence of their parents. Some children would enjoy the presence of their parents especially during school events which sometimes parents miss due to work (Jacquline, 25). All these ensure the poor mental health and well-being of children from such households. Conclusively, it is therefore important for parents to understand if they both work to assume equal financial responsibilities in bringing up their children, there are consequences involved.

Work-Cited

Jacquline, Virginia Lewis. “Family And Work-The Family’s Perspective”. Family Matters, vol 59, 2001, pp. 22-27., https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/vl.pdf.

Chi, Lam Ching, and Hu Xiao Xu. “Parenting Stress And Its Associated Factors Among Parents Working In Hospitality And Services Industries Of Macau”. Journal Of Tourism & Hospitality, vol 07, no. 03, 2018. OMICS Publishing Group, doi:10.4172/2167-0269.1000362.

Morrison Gutman, Leslie et al. “Financial Strain, Neighborhood Stress, Parenting Behaviors, And Adolescent Adjustment In Urban African American Families”. Journal Of Research On Adolescence, vol 15, no. 4, 2005, pp. 425-449. Wiley, doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2005.00106.x.

Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick, and Jeylan T. Mortimer. “Reinforcement Or Compensation? The Effects Of Parents’ Work And Financial Conditions On Adolescents’ Work Values During The Great Recession”. Journal Of Vocational Behavior, vol 87, 2015, pp. 89-100. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2014.12.005.