by Shaheen Darr

Created on: July 27, 2011

Over the years, women have become as ambitious as men when following their chosen career paths. Some women prefer to wait before having children to lessen the impact on their jobs but those who want to have a career and enjoy motherhood face issues that can make it difficult for them to enjoy the best of both those worlds.

Childminding Options

One of the most important decisions a working mother will have to face is finding a suitable childminder. Not only can this be an expensive option which necessitates weighing the opportunity costs involved but the safety aspect of it also becomes paramount. Childminders should be vetted by a credentialed agency so that their employment history adequately proves their capabilities and experience. Getting references from previous employers is another way of finding out more about childminders or au pairs so that you are aware of the kind of person in whose care you are leaving your child.  Getting to know the person for some time by watching how he behaves with your child can also give an indication of how he will cope when left alone. For some people it is difficult to take this step so they prefer to leave their children with family or friends who they know personally. This can take out the stress and worry involved and the carer can also benefit financially if paid for the service that they are providing. 

Extra Responsibilities

Apart from couples who agree on shared parenting duties before the child is born and stick to them when the child does arrive the reality can sometimes turn out to be quite different. In her book In her book Shattered  Rebecca Asher says that “for all the current talk of shared parenting, women still find themselves bearing primary responsibility for bringing up their children, to the detriment of everything else in their lives”. Men instinctively feel that they are the main earners in the family and work longer hours to make up for loss of earnings leaving the care of the child solely to the woman. This was substantiated by a speech by the UK Deputy Prime Minister; Nick Clegg in January 2011 in which he labelled the British system of parental leave as “Edwardian” which had “no place in 21st-century Britain.” By 2015 reforms are planned to the current two week paternity leave given to new fathers that will allow both parents to share in their parental duties equally without losing out on financial benefits or the joy of caring for their new born

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