ABSTRACT
The study examine
the assessment of roles of a working mother in child health in Ikeja local government area of Lagos State. A total 100
questionnaire were administered among working mothers of 10 banks in Ikeja
local government area Lagos state.
The variable
examined include: academic performance, moral development, social development
of the child. Data analysis was simple percentage distributions, while the
hypotheses were tested with chi-square statistical were used to test the
hypotheses. All the three hypotheses was accepted that is a significant
relationship moral development, academic development and social development of
the working mothers and those of the non- working mothers.
It was concluded
that working mothers should do their home work very well by employing good
helper who will be assisting them at home to train their children ,morally,
academically and socially before their arrival from office and makes sure that they look at every
alternative available to gives their
child or wards good moral, academic and social support to better their
upbringing.
Mothers should
take a work that are less demanding, they should find schools for their
children in their environment to reduce mothers dis-attachment from their
children and government should implement a policy that would recognize women of
child bearing age and put them on a pay role, if it can work in developed
countries, it can also work in Nigeria to reduce their stress by giving them
pay leave doing rearing and nurturing of babies and children combining.
TABLE
OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGES
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledge
iv
Abstract
v
Table
of content vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem 8
1.3 Objective of the Study 9
1.4 Research
Questions 9
1.5 Research Hypotheses 9
1.6 Significance
of the study 10
1.8 Definition of Terms 10
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW
OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
11
2.2 Brief History of Role Of Women In The
Society 11
2.3
Mothers Versus Stay At Home Mothers 14
2.4 Working Mothers and the Effects On
Children 15
2.5 Negative Impacts of Working Mothers. 16
2.6 Positive Impacts of A Working Mothers 17
2.7 Negative Impacts of Non-Working Mothers 18
2.8 Positive Impact of Non-Working Mothers 19
2.9 Responsibility 21
2.10 Financial Savvy 22
2.11 Role Model 22
2.12 Working Mother Stress 23
2.13 Gap in Literature 24
References 26
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction 28
3.2 The research design 28
3.3 Population 28
3.4 Research instruments 29
3.5 Sample and Sampling techniques 29
3.6 Validity of instrument 29
3.7 Reliability of instrument 30
3.8 Procedure for data collection 30
3.9 Procedure for data analysis 30
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
4.1
Introduction 31
4.2 Presentation of Data
31
4.3Testing of Hypotheses and Discussion of
Findings 38
References
42
CHAPTER FIVE:
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary 44
5.2 Conclusion 45
5.3 Recommendation 45
BIBLIOGRAPHY 51
APPENDIX 54
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
A mother can be
described as “the female parent of a child” while a working mother combines the
family care with her career either in private or public service; they can as
well be define as a woman with the ability to combine a career with the added
responsibility of raising a child, material aspirations and the necessities of
daily life often compel both parents to work. A qualified woman may insist on
working to maintain an effective career and be financially independent. The
single working mother is a combination of these entities, working not only to
run the family, but also maintaining her position as a financially independent
head of the family. Mena & Sana, (2002) Mothers work as Teachers, Lawyers,
Nurses and other types of occupation.
The role of a mother is to take care of her home;
children, husband and immediate family. As mother the children rely on them for
everything. The mother is a teacher, a
mother that you are, a friend e.t.c. while your husband too will be looking
forward to seeing a good wife in you. He wants you to be his friend, companion,
assistant and even to serve the role of his mother whether that one is still
living or not. You are expected to be a prayer partner for them all. With your
children in school; your husband at work and yet they are all looking forward
to your prayers and support in every area of life. It is also expected of you
to assist your children in their home work when they come back from school, not
minding how busy you might have been before their arrival from school. Melissa
& Milkie (2009) associate professor of sociology at the university of
Maryland, college perk- believes that many factors such as family demands,
number of kids, age of the youngest child and time constraints prevent many of
today’s mothers from entering or staying in the workforce even if they want to
remain on the job. The American Academy of pediatrics [1999] observed that more
than half of the population of women are working mothers compared with 30% in
the 1970’s. Women find themselves entering the work force before they have
children and choosing to stay after they have children, others find out that
their family requires two incomes; they may even be the sole source. Abimbola
(2009) reported that in the Roman times, women were regarded as “property” that
is, things that could be bought. Researchers from the university of North
Carolina analyzed more than 10 years of data, starting in 1991 with interviews
of 1364 mothers shortly after their child’s birth and following them over a decade.
Home is the point
of support around which the early years of a child revolve. The central figures in the home are the
parents, especially, the mother (Adeleke, 1990). Child-bearing and
child-rearing are inseparable. The type of child-rearing practice has
tremendous impact on the entire life of the child including his/her academic,
social and psychological, even moral life on his/her entire life or career.
As Adiele (1994)
puts it, the social climate or environment in which an indjvidual finds his/her
self, to a large extent, determines his/her behavior or personality
development, parental guidance and discipline he added, usually influence the
behavior of the child. At the apex of this parental influence is the mother.
Mothers’ love for
their children is undeniable. Their feminine nature makes them wholesome, soft,
passionate and sensitive to the plight of their children and a conducive
atmosphere for problem-solving involved (Odomene, 1995).
Chukwuka (1999)
opined that in this period of economic hardship, more women (wives or mothers)
take up paid employment due to the fact that more women are exposed to the
western education and their jobs or careers take them away from their
matrimonial home and duties of taking care of their children and wards and the proper
upbringing of these children.
In effect,
children are often left in the hands and care of the hired care-giver(s) and
maids who do not possess the requisite experience to train the child and
inculcate maternal-morality and good behavior in the child. In support of this
statement, Uzor (2000), points out that children of these days lack adjustment,
because, they are mostly brought up by others instead of their mothers. He went
ahead to claim that even when these children know the right thing to do, they
fail to do them because, their learning to do good from the family (especially
from their mothers) is faulty due to mothers’ absence to direct and inculcate
the right attitude of children from cradle.
Nkemdirim (2001)
states that, for the fact that mothers are absent from their natural duties of
upbringing of the child in the right way, the resultant effect is the moral
decadence that is prevalent in the society today. A situation where children no
longer respect and observe the norms and values expected of them. Elders are no
longer cherished and respected by the youths. The youth due to lack of proper
and adequate home upbringing by their mothers, are maladjusted to the extent of
upholding negative ideas and values such as fighting, drug abuse, examination
malpractices, fraud, stealing, lying, promiscuity, disobedience to laid down
rules and regulations and indiscriminate sexual relationships both at home, at
school and general indisciplinary behaviours perpetuated by youths and the
young ones in the society who lack mothers’ care and instructions.
Ayodele (2005),
opines that, women in the contemporary society especially mothers, miss out in
their daily routine and obligations to their families including the societal
adjustment of their children, due to gainful employment either to augment the
family’s income or to empower themselves economically in the society in order
to be independent of their husbands. Anyanwu (2002) opines that most women who
work usually leave very early in the morning and come back late at night,
thereby leaving the upbringing of the child in the hands of the immature and
inexperienced househelps in the home and in the day care centres. According to
Ayo (2003, children left in the cares and upbringing of the inexperienced
househelps tend to grow up misbehaviouring and upholding the wrong tenets or
values of the society due to non-inculcation of the basic motherly care,
directions and role-modelling.
Ikeofuonye (2000)
is of the opinion that the mother-child relationship has been weakened by the
prolonged absence of the mother from the home due to routine-employment or
career opportunity. He opined that mothers who are career women or who engage
in employment spend more time at workplaces than in the homes and the effect is
lack of motherly guidance and moral counseling. Furthermore, children grow up
to become wayward, mal-adjusted and delinquent in the society.
Amaonye (2004)
examined the effect of full time employment of wife, mother on husband and
children in the home. He found that mothers who are career women/wives, do not
rear, in most cases, good or well-behaved children in the community, and that
their husbands are not well taken care of due to intervention of employment or
career. Awoyinfa (2005) carried out a study on the influence of working mothers
on children’s social adjustment. His finding showed that mothers’ career
interferes with their home chores and children’s upbringing. Awoyinfa,
therefore concluded that full-time house wives make better homes than the
working mothers. According to him working mothers have more unstable homes,
more maladjusted children and more poor school achievement of idea than
non-working or career mothers.
Most adolescents
who are brought up by care-givers due to the absence of mothers who are in
search of golden fleece in terms of gainful employment or business, grow up to
lack etiquette and positive social adjustment (Uzodinma, 2006). No wonder, many
children these days, lack good morals and positive values that are upheld in
any given society. Most children these days have turned out to be disrespectful
to parents and elders in their communities; some of them do not even know the
cultures of their communities, not to talk of how to keep and respect them. And
the society is at the brink of collapse, because the norms and values that make
the society thick have been in constant disregard and violated due to lack of
motherly upbringing of children.
As Amakor (2005)
put it parents especially, mothers these days, do have the knowledge of child
upbringing, but lack the time and opportunities in bringing these children up
in proper ways. A situation where a mother wakes up early in the morning and
leaves for work while the child is fast asleep and returns very late at night
when the child has gone to bed, will cause most children not to even know their
mothers, not to talk of having the mother-child bonds or relationships that
transpires naturally between mother and child. Parents need to bring up their
children and wards in a proper way, teaching them to observe the laid down
cultures and traditions of the communities; instructing them to respect and
value the societal norms and values, ethics and good moral behaviours that a
child needs to imbibe in order to grow into acceptable adolescence and adulthood
in the society. (Mumonye, 2003).
Science daily {July 21,2011)- parent
struggling to combine paid work with child development now have positive news
thanks to a new study funded by the
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) on maternal employment and
socio-emotional behavior in the UK. The researcher fined that there are no
significant detrimental effects on a child’s social or emotional development if
their mothers work during their early years. If women are forced to forgo
income- earning opportunity this can result in lower nutritional status in
their children (Engle 1991). Some studies have shown that income earned by
women has more of a positive effect on a child’s nutritional status than does
income earned by men (Kennedy & Cogill 1987; Johnson 1988, Buvinic 1992).
Science daily (January 23,2012)-Working
mothers may be busy, but they like it that way, A recent study of employed Moms
finds that most would work even if they didn’t have to, but they’re also
looking for new ways to negotiate the demands of mothering and the new
pressures to be an “ideal” employee.
Nutritional
relationship may be neglected in the quest to complete and meet all targets at
home as well as at work (Finn, 2000). These women, whom Finn calls Everyday
Heroes, use everything from the dashboard to the desktop as a dinning table.
The result is an amazing variety of nutritional deficiencies, ranging from Iron
and vitamins to proteins. Despite confiding in their physicians many just do
not get the support they need. Moreover
the nutritional status of pre-schoolers may be compromised when older siblings
are the alternate care providers, which is of great concern since one pattern
emerging from the literature is the widespread use of older siblings primarily
girls, as child caretakers (Engle 1991;
Leslie & Paolisso, 1989). In Brazil, 13% of pre- school children in poor
families with working mothers are taken care of by siblings age 7-13, or they
are left alone. (Levison, 1990) Some studies have suggested that whether or not
mothers work in the first year of a child’s life can be particularly important
for later outcomes-Dr Anne Mcmumm.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Right from the day of conception, the mother has always
been the closest parent to the child. It is a thing of joy to her to see her
child blossom normally, not just physically, but also emotionally and socially.
In most modern societies, the help of qualified medical personnel has helped
mothers in the health appraisal of their children, very importantly, from the
early stages of childbirth. However, as the child develops, far away from the
four walls of a hospital, a major part of the health responsibilities of the
child falls on the parent. The question then, is – Are mothers living up to
their obligations in this regard? Are they rising up to the occasion? These and
more are what this study aims to find out – to assess the roles of a mother in
child health.
1.3 Objectives
of the study
The specific
objectives of this study are:
i.
Assess whether mother’s career affects the
moral development of the child.
ii.
Examine whether there is a difference
between the academic performance of children brought up by non-working mothers.
iii.
Compare the social development of children
of the working mother and those of the non-working mothers.
1.4 Research
Question
i.
Whether mother’s career affects the moral
development of the child.
ii.
Will there be a differences in academic
performance of children brought up by non-working mothers and working mothers.
iii.
Would you compare social development of
children of the working mothers and those of the non-working mothers.
1.5 Research
hypotheses
i.
There is no significant relationship
between moral development of the children of working mothers and those of the
non-working mothers.
ii.
There is no significant relationship
between the academic achievement of the children of the working mother and
those of the non-working mothers.
iii.
There is no significant relationship
between the social development of the children of the working mothers and those
of the non-working mothers.
1.6 Significance
of the study
The findings of this study may help to Educate, Transform
and to inform mothers, husband of working mothers, relatives of working mother
and the world at large to know the effect of working on child health. It has
been observed that many marriages have crumbled for lack of care from parents
to children especially working mother. [ Tolutope, 2012].
1.7 Definition of Terms
Working mothers: any woman who has children and works outside
the home.
Non-working mothers: any woman who has children, but is not in
the work force.
Microscope: Being studied very closely.
Dwindled: Becomes weaker.
ESRC: Economic Social Research Council
Pre-school: children that have not started school
Child caretakers: anybody that is looking after the child
apart from the parents
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