DUAL CAREERS AND THE IMPACT OF CHILD‐CARE OPPORTUNITIES.

For many people, the word “family brings to mind the traditional stereotype—Dad goes off to work while Mom stays home to run the house and mind the children. However, in today's society less than ten per cent of all families fall into this category. The majority of families in the United States are composed of a dual‐income couple or dual‐income parents. While many books and articles glorify the new “super‐family”—Dad and Mom both work and manage the house, while the children troop angelically and obediently to day‐care or school, and everyone enjoys “quality time”—these superhuman figures do not exist in reality. In fact, many working parents suffer guilt and anxiety because they believe that the “super‐family” is an achievable goal. The average working parent is pulled by work and by family responsibilities, while struggling to maintain both sanity and a sense of self in the process.