Bi

TWO HUNDRED or so years
ago, dad's role as guardian of his
flock was almost absolute. His re-
sponsibitity embraced the guid-
ance, and sometimes the rearing,
of his offspring.

But that was -efore the Indus-
trial Revoluiion. After the beginn-
ing of centralized production and
the advent of gigantic factories,
lifestyles changed radically. Dad
now had to trek off to the fac-
tory, often miles from his heme.

While dad was away, mom
suddenly had much move to do.
She now had the added respon-
sibilities of keeping law and order

-in the household as resident

disciplinarian; of supervising
elemental lessons in reading, writ-
ing and arithmetic; of basic
religious training.

Dad had been elevated, or rele-
gated, to the moral and ethical
leader, the threat of coming
punishment if behavior patterns
weren't altered —~ ‘‘Just wait until
your father comes home."’

But in recent years, dads have

Trevenen

Apparel Led.

Wednesday, June 12, 1991 - North Shore News - 29

’ Father’s role changin
in contemporary life

begun to rebel. They have been
resisting the demands of corporate
careers in favor of the satisfac-
tions of participating in family
development.

They are opting to shorten
working days, maybe by taking
some “thomework" to finish up
after the kids have been hustled
off to bed. And with the ready
availability of computers, fax
machines, home office copiers,
etc., it’s not so hard to get more
accomplished in the friendly en-
virons of home than in the imper-
sonal structure of so many offices.

Then, the working mom places
new responsibilities on dad. If
mom is paying for her share of
the household expenses, dad’s go-
ing to feel that it’s up to him to
pitch in with chores around the
house — everything from washing
dishes to diapering, from dusting
table taps to teaching multiplica-
tion tables.

Today, fully 75% of mothers
with children under 18 are in the
workforce — to fulfil themselves

by using the skills they’ve ac-

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quired, to help achieve a higher
standard of living for their
children and for themselves.

And it’s highly unlikely we will
ever go back to the days when
mom's domain was the children
and the kitchen. Modern mothers
want more and they give more to
get what they want.

So dad has been getting more
and more domestic, partially in
tesponse to his own urge to be
closer to the family, partially in
response to the aspirations of the
two-income family. And the hope
of hiring good hands to help
around the house has evaporated.
Mast parents simply cannos afford
it.

And though it’s great to have a
man around the house, a iot of
the work dad has taken over was
once done by the kids, so the net
effect on mom’s work load could
be nil!

It’s still mother who does most
of the shopping, cleaning, book-
keeping and cooking. Maybe the
more things change, the more they
stay the same.

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