Creating the optimal schedule as a working mom

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Creating the optimal schedule as a working mom

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We're in a time in our history where it is inevitable that many, many mothers are working. In fact, less than 25 percent of American kids in elementary school age have a stay-at-home parent. So the question is what kind of work schedule is best for young children. I like to look at our hunter-gatherer past. What did those gatherers do? Well, they did leave the encampment. They all worked. They were all working mothers as they were out gathering, foraging the countryside for roots and nuts and berries, but they worked only about 20 hours a week. Now, keep in mind that all workplaces were baby-friendly and they wore their babies to work, but as soon as their baby became a toddler, they had to leave it in the encampment, or the village if you will, with sisters, aunties, nannies, grandmothers, and then they were off. And they were off for about 20 hours a week. In today's times where we have a schedule that's more like 40 to 50 hours a week, it can be very dangerous for young, young, small children if they don't have another consistent attachment figure home with them, and that, of course, could be a paid-for attachment figure called a nanny who hopefully doesn't leave. Very important. So, is it possible, though, to maintain a part-time schedule? Nowadays, women are doing it all over the place. They're doing job sharing, they're doing work from home. they're building whole businesses on the internet. Mothers are really creative. They found great ways to extract resources from the environment and still attend to their children.

View Wendy Walsh, PhD's video on Creating the optimal schedule as a working mom...

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Wendy Walsh, PhD

Relationship & Parenting Expert

Dr. Wendy Walsh was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work as co-host on The Dr. Phil spinoff, The Doctors TV show. She also hosts Investigation Discovery Network’s “Happily NEVER After,” as well as being part of Dr. Drew’s Behavior Bureau on HLN Network. On CNN and 9 Network, Australia, she breaks down the psychology of sex, love, gender roles, divorce, parenting and other human behaviors. Dr. Wendy is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at California State University, Channel Islands. She holds a B.A. in Journalism, a Masters degree in Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, and is the author of three books and numerous publications, including The 30-Day Love Detox. She appears regularly on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, The Steve Harvey Show, The O’Reilly Factor, Inside Edition, The Katie Couric Show, Jane Velez-Mitchell, and The View.

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