Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171

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Women's Studies International Forum

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wsif

‘Putting family first’: Shifting discourses of motherhood and

childhood in representations of mothers' employment and
child care
Glenda Wall
Department of Sociology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o s y n o p s i s

Available online 13 August 2013 Drawing on previous feminist and poststructuralist work in the areas of motherhood,
childhood, and risk, this study examines changing cultural representations of motherhood and
children's needs in articles on child care and mothers' employment in Canada's top parenting
magazine. A comparative thematic analysis of articles on child care and mother's employment
from two distinct time periods (1984–1989 and 2007–2010) was completed. Findings suggest
that although mothers' employment is now more taken-for-granted than in the 1980s, there is less
discursive space for women to lay claim to good motherhood while devoting themselves to
careers. This occurred as discourses of intensive, child-centered mothering, neoliberal
self-responsibility, and risk converged to position children as more needy, vulnerable and
dependent, and mothers' employment as more opposed to child well-being. The implications of
this include decreased legitimacy for mothers' own needs and desires, and for gender equity
claims regarding women's employment and child care.
© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction motherhood; the idea that women are naturally suited to

motherhood and the belief that the best child care is “exclusively
The 1980s marked the decade when mothers of pre-school maternal” (Ranson, 1999:58) have long been part of the debates
children began entering the workforce in Canada in large about mothers' paid work and non-maternal childcare. Other
numbers. This trend has continued and currently in Canada, discourses, though, have come together in Western industrial-
about two thirds of women with pre-school children work in ized countries since the 1980s to further influence understand-
paid employment (Statistics Canada, 2011). Childcare policies ings of these issues. These include the shift in political rationality
have not kept pace with these changing demographics, however. towards individualism and risk management that accompanied
Despite three decades of political promises for a national neoliberalism, an expansion in what are understood as children's
childcare program, responsibility for child care in English needs, and increasing expectations and responsibilities for
Canada remains highly individualized and the availability of mothers as the influence of child-centered intensive parent-
high-quality affordable child care, while varying from province ing grew.
to province, remains woefully inadequate (Bushnik, 2006; The ways then, in which motherhood and children's needs
Mahon & Jenson, 2006; Mahon & Phillips, 2002; Prentice, are culturally understood, have important implications for
2009). This situation is paralleled in the U.S. and other liberal childcare policy possibilities and for women's equity in employ-
welfare states such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and ment. It is the cultural framings of motherhood and children's
New Zealand (Prentice, 2009). needs in representations of mothers paid employment and
The cultural context that forms the backdrop for policy childcare issues, and the extent to which they have changed or
decisions and public support of childcare draws on partic- progressed over time, that are the focus of this study.
ular understandings of motherhood and children's needs. Making use of previous feminist and poststructuralist
Deeply embedded cultural notions of natural and exclusive work in the areas of intensive and exclusive motherhood,

0277-5395/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2013.07.006
 G. Wall / Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171 163

social constructions of childhood, and risk, this study examines Neoliberalism, social investment, risk and planning
changing cultural constructions of motherhood and children's
needs in articles on child care and mothers' paid work in The expansion of children's needs and the development of
Today's Parent, Canada's most widely read parenting magazine. the discourse of child-centered, intensive mothering oc-
Following a brief examination of relevant literature and curred alongside, and is tied up with, the rise of neoliberal
methodology, the results of a comparative thematic and political rationality with its emphasis on risk management
discursive analysis of 48 articles from two distinct time periods, and, more recently, social investment. Several authors argue
the mid to late 1980s and the mid to late 2000s, are examined. that in the wake of the dismantling of the welfare state and
The implications that the shifting understandings of mothers' the neoliberal politics of the 1980s and 90s, the direction of
paid work and child care have for the experience of employed social spending underwent a significant shift away from a
mothers and the future of childcare provision are discussed in focus on service provision to a focus on investment. In this
the conclusion of the paper. political climate ‘risk groups’ were increasingly targeted as
potential investment opportunities, while social equality
Intensive, child-centered parenting was re-cast in political rhetoric as “equality of opportunity”
(Dobrowolsky & Jenson, 2004; Jensen & Saint-Martin, 2003;
Child rearing advice, as several authors have pointed out, Jenson, 2001). Instead of a social safety net which protects
became more child-centered over the course of the 20th people “from the market,” a social investment perspective
century and the expectations and tasks associated with good “facilitates the integration of people into the market” through
motherhood expanded as mothers became more responsible investment in education, training, and other social programs
for children's emotional and psychological well-being (Hays, (Jensen & Saint-Martin, 2003: 83). Children, given their
1996; Weiss, 1978). Sharon Hays (1996: 8) coined the term potential to become either good citizens or future risks to
“intensive mothering” to described the “emotionally absorbing, society are understood in this perspective as good invest-
labor-intensive, and financially expensive” undertaking that ment opportunities (Jenson, 2001; Lupton, 2012a). As issues
motherhood had become by the mid 1990s. While mothers' of inequality were re-defined as issues of inopportunity, and
responsibilities grew over the course of the century, children social investment became more targeted toward children,
were increasingly represented as lacking in control, agency, however, issues of gender equality became less visible in political
and autonomy in the public sphere, and as more vulnerable rhetoric and policy (Brodie, 2008; Jenson, 2008, 2009).
than in the past (Caputo, 2007; Hoffman, 2010; Lareau, 2003; Neoliberalism is also connected to a cultural pre-occupation
Rosier & Kinney, 2005; Rutherford, 2009). Children's needs with uncertainty, risk management and individual control, and
today have not only expanded and become elevated above this too influences social constructions of children's needs and
mothers' needs and desires, but they are also increasingly mothers' responsibilities. As many authors have noted, we live
opposed to those of mothers' (Armstrong, 2003; Lupton, 2012a; in a world where risk and uncertainty dominate political and
Weiss, 1978). Indeed, as Lee, Macvarish, and Bristow (2010) popular rhetoric and individual self-scrutiny, responsibility and
point out, parents are now commonly positioned as one of the adaptability are seen as key to success (Beck-Gernsheim, 1996;
greatest risks to their children, especially those parents who do Lupton, 1999, 2012b). In this uncertain, individualistic climate,
not meet middle class ideals. life becomes a planning project that involves anticipating and
The expectations associated with intensive motherhood managing risk, and making the ‘right’ choices based on expert
over the 20th century have grown with the more recent focus knowledge in order to ensure future success (Beck-Gernsheim,
in child-rearing advice on maximizing brain development 1996). Here, planning for and protecting children from risk, as
potential in young children (Nadesan, 2002; Wall, 2004). well as maximizing their potential, becomes part of the project
Parents now face increasing pressure to ensure their children's of middle-class parenting (Beck-Gernsheim, 1996; Caputo,
future intelligence and success by providing ample one-on-one 2007; Lareau, 2003; Lupton, 2012b; Nadesan, 2002). Added to
stimulation and cultural opportunities (Caputo, 2007; Lareau, the pressure parents are under in this regard is the fact that the
2003; Wall, 2010). It is no longer enough, as Nadesan (2002) threshold of what is an “acceptable” risk in terms of children's
points out, to meet standards of ‘normality’ when raising safety has decreased dramatically in recent years (Furedi,
children, parents must also work to ensure their children 2008).
“exceed the norm” intellectually and gain a competitive edge. It should also be noted that the logic of risk discourse
The development of childcare policy in Canada and other assumes a great deal of control on the part of parents (and
industrialized countries has been influenced by intensive mothers especially) over child outcomes (Lee et al., 2010;
child-centered parenting ideology. As Jenson and Sineau (2001) Lupton, 2011; Wall, 2010). Within a cultural perspective that
note there are two major ideological frameworks which have emphasizes risk and planning, outcomes become viewed as
shaped childcare policy. The first was associated with the success achievements that result from proper management (Scamell
of second wave feminism that framed child care as a women's & Alaszewski, 2012). As Lupton (2011: 638) notes:
issue linked to employment equity. The second, more recent and
notably more child-centered framework positions child care as a Motherhood, once taken-for-granted and relatively
form of early learning. This latter framework has ties to the shift unreflective, has … become imbued with the meanings
in child-rearing advice to focus on early brain development in of risk, danger, responsibility and constant reflexivity
children as well as to a shift in government policy towards upon how well one cares for one's children. Mothers … are
investment in children as a path to economic prosperity as now held accountable for many of the ills and misfortunes
discussed in more detail below (Dobrowolsky & Jenson, 2004; which affect children that once were considered bad luck or
Jenson, 2001; Luccisano & Wall, 2009; Prentice, 2009). the result of fate.
164 G. Wall / Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171

The convergence of discourses of intensive mothering and Today's Parent provides one site of media representation
child-centeredness on one hand and the neoliberal focus on of mothering and childhood in Canada. These representations
social investment, individual responsibility, risk, and plan- were no doubt shaped, in part, by the particular views of the
ning on the other, create particular boundaries within which authors and the magazine's editors. They were also shaped,
children's care and mothers' responsibilities are likely to be however, by common-sense understandings of motherhood
culturally framed. After a brief description of the study design and childhood that authors and editors must draw on in order
and methodology, I examine the particular ways in which to make sense, and be of interest, to readers (Hall, 1985). It is
cultural representations of motherhood and childhood in these common-sense understandings that are the focus of this
Today's Parent's articles on mothers' paid work and childcare study. Following a Foucauldian perspective, a comparative and
have changed as these convergent discourses have evolved. critical discourse analysis was undertaken which involved
paying attention to how issues were framed, what was not
Method asked or stated, and what could go without saying (Feldman,
1995; Sunderland, 2000). This type of analysis cannot make
The aim of this analysis was to examine cultural represen- claims about the strategies and motivations of writers as would
tations of motherhood and childhood found in discussions of a social movement study of claims-making, nor does it provide
mothers' paid work and non-maternal child care in Today's information about particular ways in which audiences take up
Parent during two time periods; November 1984, when the and interpret the text. Rather it concerns itself with what
magazine published its first issue, to the end of 1989, and questions and issues are focused on, how questions are asked,
January 2007 to the end of 2010. Articles from the 1980s how issues are framed, and what common-sense assumptions
provided a look at representations of women's work and child are drawn on in order to resonate with readers' understandings
care at a time when women with very young children had of the world. In Sunderland's (2000: 254) words this type of
just begun entering the workforce in earnest in Canada and analysis aims to provide a “description of the kind of world
both child care and mothers' employment were becoming the texts assume.” In so doing it can provide an indication of
salient pubic issues. In 1976, only 27.7% of married mothers the some of the cultural taken-for-granted assumptions about
with children under 3 years of age were in the paid work proper motherhood and childhood that contribute to the
force in Canada, but by 1986 that number had risen to 51.2% discursive boundaries within which mothers and children
(Statistics Canada, 2011). This study allows for contrast are positioned.
between cultural representations of working motherhood in I approached the data asking what was being said, and
the 1980s, when child care was just beginning to become an assumed, about non-maternal childcare, mothers' responsi-
important public issue, with those of recent years when bilities, children's needs, and women's paid work in each
working mothers of young children have long been the time period. While cognizant of previous work that outlined
norm, but child care remains an issue and discourses of ways in which ideas and expectations of motherhood and
intensive motherhood and risk have emerged. One of the childhood had changed over time, I was also open to new
major considerations for the actual time span examined in themes that emerged from the data. Actual analysis involved
each case was the achievement of an adequate sample size taking detailed notes while reading each article and creating
to allow for comparison. a synopsis for each which summarized the assumptions
I examined the tables of contents for all issues within the drawn on, the ways issues were framed, and the common-
two time periods in order to identify all articles dealing with sense understandings of motherhood and childhood implied.
issues of maternal employment or child care/daycare. This Emerging themes were coded using techniques associated with
search yielded 48 articles, 24 of which were from the earlier grounded theory that involved initial broad coding and then
time period and 24 of which were from the later one. Articles further collapsing and synthesizing of codes as analysis
ranged in length from one to six pages. The authors and titles proceeded and patterns emerged (Birks & Mills, 2011). It is
of most of these articles can be found in the list of cited the major themes and patterns that emerged in this process
source articles at the end of the paper. that are detailed below and the attempt is made to provide
Today's Parent is Canada's longest running and most ample textual material in support of the interpretations
widely read parenting magazine. It has a current readership presented.
of just under 1.7 million (Rogers Publishing Limited, 2013).
With over 70% of the readership being female, Today's Parent Results
estimates that each issue is read by 3 in 10 mothers with
children under 12 years (Rogers Publishing Limited, 2013). Like This research was focused on the ways in which motherhood
its American counterpart, Parents, it is aimed primarily at a and children needs were represented in discussions of mothers'
middle-class audience (Rutherford, 2009), but given its ubiqui- paid work and childcare and thus the themes that emerged with
tous presence in doctor's offices, clinics, parenting centers, and respect to this question are described below under these
libraries, it is likely more widely read. It is also quite obviously categories. Within the category of children's needs, increasing
aimed at mothers as a primary audience despite the ubiquitous emphasis on children's vulnerability, innocence, dependence,
use of the words ‘parents’ and ‘parenting’. Although fathers and cognitive development were evident, while representations
were sometimes interviewed and discussed in the articles on of mothers evidenced a declining emphasis on mothers' and
working parents and childcare that were analyzed here, couple's needs, increasing responsibilities for children, and an
mothers were much more likely than fathers to be quoted, increasing emphasis on motherhood as the major source of
represented, and assumed to be the primary parent during both satisfaction in women's lives. Given the predominance of risk
of the time periods examined. talk and the focus on parental planning that became evident as
 G. Wall / Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171 165

analysis proceeded, themes related to risk and planning are stay at pre-school? … buddy him up with another child”
categorized under their own heading. (McKay, 1988).
There are a couple of points that are important to take Related to this representation of children is the notion
note of prior to outlining the results. First of all, a thematic that it is beneficial for children to learn that their needs do
presentation of material such as the one provided here can not always come first. This is especially evident in Sandra
give the impression that the changes that occurred over time Bernstein's regular column entitled “The Working Parent”
were sharp and distinct ones. In most cases what was evident that appeared during the first two years of the magazine. She
here, though, were changes in discursive emphasis rather notes that when both parents work “children will grow up
than stark differences, and I have attempted to convey this with the good examples of two parents who contribute to
through the use of qualifying words and phrases. These changes society… they'll have a better sense of their place in the
in discursive emphasis taken together, however, did have world when parents have other obligations besides catering
significant implications for the ways in which women's work, to their children's wishes” (1984). The ability of children to
mothers' responsibilities, children's needs, and child care were meet their own needs and get what they want is also evident
socially positioned in the articles examined. in Bernstein's (1985b) description of the difficulties that
The second point I wish to acknowledge is that while this first-born children can pose when returning to daycare after
study focused on the ways in which motherhood and childhood their mother has been home on a maternity leave. She notes
were framed in accounts of mother's paid employment and that while a mother's return to work will be “accepted by the
childcare, another important factor contributing to cultural infant as the normal course of events, just another new
understandings of mothers' paid work are assumptions about experience of hundreds,” the older child “may react badly when
the structure of work itself. Other authors have pointed out that you go back to work.” She goes on to state that
workplaces continue to subscribe to a breadwinner/homemaker
cultural model where family responsibilities are not expected at this age even if you gave the child 24 hours a day of
to impinge on worker availability or career goals (Gerson, your time, he would ask for 25. Isn't it amazing that
2010; Williams, Blair-Loy, & Berdahl, 2013). This model too, someone so young can lay on the guilt in such an adult
seems to be taken for granted in media stories about work/ fashion? But don't let it get to you, hard as this may be. It's
family balance, many of which implicitly blame feminism for crucial that children don't learn that manipulative
misleading women about the ability to “have it all.” (Williams, behavior is not only acceptable, but a successful way to
Manvell, & Bornstein, 2006). While not examined in this study, operate in life.
it should be kept in mind that taken for granted understandings
about the structure of work are also part of the common sense The above descriptions of children as quite capable and
understandings that reporters draw on. resilient contrast with one of children as more innocent and
vulnerable in the later articles. For example, parents are told by
an expert in a 2010 article entitled “I Don't Want to go to
Changing understandings of children and children's needs Daycare” (Spicer, 2010a) that if children are suddenly resistant
to going to daycare that it “usually means that something has
As many researchers have pointed out, within the current changed” and parents “often need to go back and try to
context of intensive parenting, children are positioned as figure out what it is.” They are advised to “try to see the
vulnerable, passive, and lacking in agency and autonomy in the behavior not as manipulation … but as a genuine struggle to
public sphere (Caputo, 2007; Hoffman, 2010; Lareau, 2003; let go.” Similarly, in a 2008 article on pre-schools, parents are
Rosier & Kinney, 2005; Rutherford, 2009). While this cultural advised to “consider how much school your child can handle”
understanding of children was certainly evident in the articles (Button, 2008).
from 2007 to 2010, a somewhat different conceptualization of Children are also conceptualized as requiring notably
children's needs and capabilities exists in the articles from the more direction, supervision, and individual attention in the
1980s. Here we find a portrayal of children as relatively more articles from the 2000s, and their needs take a far more
resilient and independent. This conceptualization of children is prominent place than mothers' or couples' needs in these
evident in positive stories of children well-adjusted to outside articles. One indicator of this is the numerous articles with titles
care (Fearnley, 1987; Carson, 1987) and in assurances to parents or subtitles such as “Daycare Decisions” (Chappell, 2008), “How
that children benefit from social interaction with other children, to Choose a Preschool” (Button, 2008), and “What to Look for in
and from the opportunity to be more responsible and self- an End-of-day Program” (Bedal, 2008) that lay out the relative
sufficient, when mothers work and children attend day care merits of different types of child care, allowing readers to
(Bernstein, 1984, 1985a; McKay, 1988; Irving, 1989, Barrington, educate themselves so as to make the best decisions for their
1989). In a 1988 article about pre-school for instance, readers child. In these articles, it is suggested or implied that it is
are told that “the main function of pre-school is to provide important that parents carefully consider what type of care
children with a social experience,” and that a pre-school setting would suit their children's individual needs. For instance,
“also allows children to share, communicate and experience Button (2008) notes “this guide to some of the most popular
independence” (McKay, 1988). While it is acknowledged in types of pre-schools will help you choose one that works for
some articles that some children may be anxious about being left your child's personality and learning style.” Here, after each
in a new situation, parents are advised not to be discouraged, but description of pre-school type is a description of the type of
to persevere and “after a few visits, they will respond happily” childhood personality and interests it is best matched with that
(Fabian, 1986) or, in another instance, to explain clearly begins with the words “may be right for your child if she (or he)
when they will be back and “if Tommy still doesn't want to is ….” Assumptions about both the attention paid to children's
166 G. Wall / Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171

needs and the lengths that parents would reasonably go to are advised to consider health and safety considerations such as
illustrated in this quote from an article providing advice for nutrition and the physical environment, as well as how warm
what to do when childcare plans fall apart (Vermond 2007): and welcoming the home seems. While passing reference is
made in this article to the daycare program, the author qualifies
Some kids just aren't ready for daycare (one mother its importance: “Program seems like a rather grand name for
noted). … She found out the hard way when her one year the activities of a pre-schooler, but that's the term the experts
old daughter, Aisha, toddled off to her cubby – well before use. So find out about the program” (Fearnley, 1987).
pickup time – grabbed her shoes and backpack and waited The importance of nutritious meals, a safe childcare
patiently by the door. … Sommerfeld and her husband environment, and children's enjoyment are also highlighted
juggled their work schedules … but quickly realized it was in articles two decades later. There is, however, much more of
too stressful juggling odd hours and never seeing one a focus than in the 1980s on the importance of developmental
another. Sommerfeld took on an extra half time position opportunities, learning experiences, and “stimulating activities”
and her husband stayed home. By the time Aisha was when discussing what makes for good child care (Button, 2008;
18 months old she was ready for daycare. Sommerfeld Chappell, 2008; Hoffman, 2010; Spicer, 2010b). As is noted in
went back to working saner hours — and this time it stuck. one article, “you want to know that your child is safe and well
cared for, and that she's having a day full of good learning
The increasing pressure middle-class parents feel to experiences and happy play” (Spicer, 2010b). Parents are
supervise, guide and direct children's activities and learning also more commonly urged in the later articles to take the
rather than letting children take responsibility for themselves educational qualifications of staff and the programming into
(Caputo, 2007; Chin, 2000; Lareau, 2003; Wall, 2010) was account when choosing child care. Child care itself is re-branded
also evident in the contrast between the two time periods. For as “early childhood learning and care” and childcare workers are
instance, a 2009 article outlines some of the summer-time able to describe themselves as “educators more than caregivers”
options for parents whose pre-teens are no longer satisfied with (Hoffman 2008a; Hoffman 2008b; Spicer 2010b). The charac-
traditional childcare arrangements. “Arranging the summer” terization of children as more vulnerable and dependent and as
according to this article is like “putting together a jigsaw while having greater cognitive needs is combined with an increasing
juggling several priorities” (Pitman, 2009). Much research and focus on risk and planning that was also much more evident in
planning on the part of parents is assumed to be needed here in the later articles examined.
order to piece together camps and activities for children that
will keep them stimulated, interested, and learning new skills Risk, planning, and choice
while school is out. Another example can be found in the
articles on babysitting from both time periods. While articles on The influence of risk rationality, while still being relatively
babysitting in the 1980s focus on finding responsible teens who muted in the 1980s articles, looms large in the representa-
will keep your children safe (McKay, 1987; Hauprich, 1989) the tions of child care found in the latter half of the 2000s. The
articles on babysitting found in the 2000s are addressed to the emphasis on risk manifested itself in several different ways.
parents of teens. Here readers are told how to assess whether or First of all, while articles from both periods rely heavily on
not their children are ready to babysit and how to prepare them expert advice, there is a notable difference in tone between
for the job if they are. Preparation, in these articles, includes the two, with articles from the 1980s tending to offer more
such things as assembling (or working together with your teen reassurance to mothers than can be found in the later articles.
to assemble) a babysitting kit of activities and information to Articles geared toward educating parents about the search for
make the job “more fun” and to “make sure kids are well- good child care in the 1980s emphasize, as noted above, the
prepared” (Pitman, 2010; Spicer, 2010c). importance of children's safety. They also, however, provide
Finally, the shift toward an increased focus on children's quite positive pictures of regulated child care. For example, in
brain development and their need for cognitive stimulation is “How Safe is Daycare” the author, a lawyer, spends much of the
evident in the contrasting understandings of what makes for article describing the “comprehensive government regulatory
good child care in the two time periods. Quirke (2006), in her system” that oversees licensed daycare in Ontario (Lister, 1985).
analysis of changes in parenting magazines from the mid She tells parents that they can also “feel secure that the service
1970s to 2001, notes that article content shifted from advice on (offered in temporary stopgap family daycare) is regulated to
how keep children occupied to advice on how to cognitively the same extent as other licensed daycare services.” She notes
stimulate children, and a similar shift is evident here. Most of the that when she used such a service in an emergency situation,
articles from the 1980s that address child care characterize good “within 1-1/2 h Jason was being pampered in a nearby home by
care as that which keeps children safe, nurtured, occupied, and a care-provider and I was relieved of all but the smallest qualms
happy. For example, the 1988 article on pre-school mentioned of being a working parent.” Similar reassuring examples are
above describes Tommy at the end as being “happy in his found in another article on family daycare where readers are
wonderfully safe pre-school surrounded by … kind staff told that “Julie is secure and happy in her home away from
members” (McKay, 1988). The main things parents are told to home.” She enjoys her daycare so much that she “runs like the
look for in a good pre-school in this article include “happy and wind” to get there after Kindergarten, and arrives “breathless
ongoing interaction between children and staff,” and several and excited, full of stories from school” to tell her caregiver
indicators of safety such as “solid fencing around the play- (Fearnley, 1987). Parents, in the 1980s articles, are advised to
ground.” Similarly, a 1987 article on family daycare describes “do their homework” and assess their options when searching
the day care operator as someone who “doesn't child mind, she for child care, but they are also often assured directly, or by
child cares” (Fearnley, 1987). In this article, parents are also implication, that the government and the system have their
 G. Wall / Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171 167

back, and that their children will be safe and happy in regulated the waiting list lotto” for a good daycare spot. Suggestions for
child care. getting your name bumped up on the list include “name-drop,”
While there are some positive accounts of children's and “plead your case,” and “be persistent.” Another article dedicated
parents' experiences with daycare in the articles from the to the issue of work/life balance follows a similar format of
2000s, these articles are also much more likely to allude to individual scenarios, but at the end of each scenario in this case is
the risks associated with child care, and advise parents on a section entitled “Make it Work for you” that details individual
the need to stay vigilant and plan the best course for their actions that can help you achieve a “new balance” that “lets you
children. Article titles such as “Daycare Dashed,” “Daycare put family first” through such things as job-sharing, finding a
dilemmas,” and “Daycare Decisions” reflect anxiety about the more family-friendly workplace or starting your own business
potential problems and risks associated non-maternal child (Pachner, 2007). In this article readers are advised that finding
care (Vermond, 2007; Van den Broek, 2007; Chappell, 2008). the right job means “starting early” and considering “before you
As readers are told in one 2007 article, “whether you use get pregnant whether your current employer is the right fit for a
home or center-based daycare, hand-wringing over daycare long term” (Pachner, 2007). A 2008 article entitled “A Change for
decisions doesn't end once you find the perfect spot for your the Better” is also dedicated to ways in which parents can make
little one” (Van den Broek, 2007). In this article, 5 common their own job more family-friendly (Pachner, 2008). Here, a
“dilemmas” that face parents of children in daycare such as remarkable amount of research and careful planning on the
issues surrounding discipline, food, napping, moving up, and part of parents is described as being necessary. Parents are
parental monitoring of children's activities, are described and told, for instance, that “if (their) company has no formal
advice is provided on ways for parents to deal with them. The policies on flexible work arrangements, (they'll) need to
message to parents in many of these articles is that they need present a well-reasoned argument to the right person in the
to be on the look-out for problems and plan for ways to deal right light.” One of the steps involves “investigating whether
with conflicts that may arise with their child's caregivers. In other companies in your industry offer flexible schedules or
describing the pros and cons of different forms of child care, leaves” so that you can better make your case. When presenting
one article for instance, outlines the options parents have for their argument parents are told that preparation is key and that
dealing with conflicts in each case (Chappell, 2008): they should “have an answer for every objection.”
The articles in the late 2000s in Today's Parent reflect and
If you have a concern about a policy or staff member you have contribute to an uncertain and individualistic cultural climate
options (in a daycare center). … If you run into problems where parents are responsible for anticipating and managing
with your unlicensed home care situation, it is up to you to risks that threaten their child's optimal development. This
work the issue out, or pull your child from the home. … climate, in conjunction with an expanded view of children's
(With a nanny) the trust factor is huge — you have to feel needs, and an increase in intensive mothering expectations,
secure in your nanny's word on how the day has been spent. results in the relative displacement of women as subjects in
their own right in discussions of women's work and child
Inherent in neoliberal risk discourse is the assumption of care in the contemporary articles.
individual responsibility for risk mitigation, and the assump-
tion that individuals, if they educate themselves and plan Changing understandings of motherhood: The disappearance of
accordingly, can anticipate and control situations, and influ- women
ence outcomes. In other words, good outcomes are not simply
the result of luck, or other factors beyond parental control, Nancy Weiss (1978), in comparing child rearing advice in
they are achieved through proper planning and management Britain before and after World War II, describes the ways in
(Lupton, 2011; Scamell & Alaszewski, 2012). This understand- which mothers' needs lost legitimacy and became displaced
ing of individualized responsibility and control is illustrated in beneath the needs of children in post WW II advice. A similar
the numerous articles in the 2000s that detail lists of potential shift can be seen in discussions of women's work and child
problems parents may encounter with child care or work/life care over the two time periods examined in this study.
balance, and provide advice for ways to plan for and manage Second wave feminists were successful in at least partially
each. (Vermond, 2007; Pachner, 2007; Van den Broek, 2007; framing women's paid work, and thus child care, as equity issues
Pachner, 2008; Shiffman, 2009). To address the “countless for women in the 1970s and the influence of this understanding
conundrums” that can “crop up” in daycares, for instance, one is still evident in many of the 1980s articles examined here
article “picked five of the most common and asked childcare (Prentice, 2009), In an article entitled “The Day Care Crisis,”
experts … for their advice in dealing with them” (Van den which focused on the shortage of affordable, high quality child-
Broek, 2007) In another 2007 article “center catastrophes”, care spaces for instance, the conservative pro-family organiza-
“home care headaches,” and “caregiver catastrophes” are all tion R.E.A.L. Women is described as not accepting the idea that
illustrated with individual scenarios that all begin with the “day care is a fundamental right if women are to achieve their
words “Panic time!” (Vermond, 2007). Included in each scenario maximum potential” (McEwan, 1987). Here, and in other
is the way in which the problem was successfully managed, and articles from the 1980s, it seems apparent that although the
the “take away” message for parents is summarized at the end of issue of universal daycare was clearly under debate, a feminist
each. Such “take aways” include “consider juggling schedules,” understanding of child care was an accepted part of the debate.
“plan for problems,” “don't be afraid to explore all possibilities,” As mentioned above, the mid 1980s in Canada were also a
“ask for help and don't be afraid to take it when it is offered,” and time when women of very young pre-school children were
“sometimes it just makes sense to quit (daycare).” Parents are beginning to move into the workforce in dramatic numbers.
also advised in this article on ways to “beat the odds” and “win The fact that Today's Parent had a regular column entitled “The
168 G. Wall / Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171

Working Parent” from 1984 to 1986 speaks to the newness and 2007 and 2010 on the need for more high quality and
salience of this issue at the time. In many of the 1980s articles affordable daycare in Canada, argues in an article entitled “Do
examined here, it is also evident that mothers' increasing entry It For The Parents” that “high-caliber child care supports and
into the workforce was an issue that feminism was seen as enhances good parenting” (Hoffman, 2010). He notes that
having a say in. One 1986 article, for instance, entitled “Snakes parents who are stressed and anxious about the quality of
and Ladders: A Look at the Gains and Losses of the Feminist care their child may be receiving “will have to dig deeper to
Movement and What it All Means to Our Children,” focuses find the emotional energy required for good parenting.”
heavily on women's equality in the workforce (Gould, 1986). Rather than any mention of mothers needing a break from
Here the author quotes prominent Canadian feminists of the their children or time to themselves in the contemporary
time to frame women's increasing participation in the workforce articles, are descriptions of mothers spending any extra time
as something which provides satisfaction and opportunity for they can take off work with their children, and assumptions
women and a better, more equal, world for their children to that mothers would naturally want to do so. For example, in
grow up in. As one such feminist notes, “we are making it an article on the pros and cons of different types of care, one
possible for boys and girls to choose how they wish to live … of the stated advantages of nannies is that some of them “cook
women should be able to choose to work at home or outside at and clean leaving you more time to spend with your child”
equal pay … this would provide more freedom for men as (Chappell, 2008). Likewise, in an article on motherhood
well.” Similarly, Bernstein (1984), in the first installment of her entrepreneurship the author notes, “there are nearly a million
Working Parent column, notes “your children will grow up self-employed women in Canada and many are mothers who
with the good example of two parents who contribute to opted out of the career rat race. … what mom wouldn't want to
society as a whole.” She goes on to state, “they will know that choose her own work hours and spend more time with her kids
masculinity is not equated with one narrow role.” while pursuing her passion…?” (Shiffman, 2009).
In the above quotes, the choice to work on the part of Contributing to the representation of mothers' needs as
mothers is presented as part of a movement which benefits secondary is the common implication that while mothers may
children by creating a more equal world where children will gain personal satisfaction from paid work, this satisfaction is
have better opportunities. Although this view was not common secondary to the satisfaction that they gain from motherhood. In
throughout all of the 1980s articles, its presence in the early an article entitled “Women's Work” (Kaye, 2009) for instance,
articles contrasts quite sharply with the consistent assumption the opening paragraph describes a rushed and hectic day in the
in articles two decades later that women's work detracts from life of a mother with full-time paid employment (Kaye, 2009).
children's well-being, as will be discussed in more detail below. The paragraph ends: “While mentally preparing tomorrow's
Contributing to a more women-centered view of child to-do list you finally collapse into bed. But underlying your
care in the 1980s was also the fact that both women's and exhaustion is a sense of satisfaction that you've helped your
children's needs were often acknowledged in discussions of family make it through another day.” Similarly in an article
mothers' paid work and child care. Bernstein (1985c), for on work/life balance, the author describes the rewards for a
instance, in an article on working from home stresses the mother who started her own business in order to achieve a
benefits for both women and children of maintaining clear better balance; “she feels she's a better mother and wife
boundaries between one another during work time. She states thanks to greater work satisfaction and more time at home”
“the more you can absent yourself, the easier it will be for all (Pachner, 2007).
concerned,” and suggests that “in good weather, encourage the A growing opposition of women's and children's needs is
sitter to take the children out to play … it's more stimulating for also evident in the later articles. Women's work in some of
the child and easier for you to get down to work.” In other the 1980s articles was presented as something that could
articles on work/life balance and childcare issues, women's need benefit children, by helping to create a world in which children
for “time to (themselves),” time to spend with their spouses, will have more opportunities in the future. By the late 2000s,
and “a break from kids” are mentioned along with children's women's time spent in paid employment is more often
need for high quality childcare and parental attention (McKay, presented as something which takes away from family time
1987; Barrington, 1989; Lips, 1987; Carson, 1987). In an article and thus detracts from children's well-being. In order to give
on the benefits of part-time work for time-stressed working children opportunities, it is implied that women need to carve
moms, for instance the benefits to children of having parents out enough time outside of work to ensure their children's
who are “not stretched too thin” is noted but so is a mother who needs for parental attention are met. In keeping with this, what
explains, “what I was most short of was time to myself” is often highlighted in stories is the extra time that mothers can
(Barrington, 1989). The author explains that this mother now spend with children and the activities they can provide for
“actually gets a day off — guilt-free time to read and rest, or them when they are able to get time away from work.
uninterrupted hours to work on a personal project.” The contrast in the different ways in which the notion of
In contrast, and in keeping with the increase in intensive work/family balance is treated in general in the two time
parenting expectations that characterized the last two periods is itself noteworthy. In the 1980s articles, combining
decades, mothers' needs are mentioned less frequently in paid work with childrearing is often presented as something that
the articles from 2007 to 2010, while the needs of children is difficult and exhausting, especially for women, but parents'
dominate discussions of work/life balance and child care. needs are clearly in the mix of things that require balancing. As
When mothers needs are mentioned it is often implied that one author (Bernstein, 1984) puts it:
those needs are secondary to the needs of children, or they
are couched in terms of what is best for children. For Working parents have tremendous demands on their time,
instance, John Hoffman who wrote several articles between and the difficulties of parenthood are often magnified for
 G. Wall / Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171 169

them. How do you find acceptable child care? Deal with understanding, a focus on women's needs and women as
children's ailments and daytime appointments? Find time subjects in their own right diminished. Representations of
for yourselves as individuals or a couple? Juggle evening women's paid work as opportunity for women, and an
meetings and commitments? opportunity for a better, more equitable, society also diminished
to be replaced in the contemporary articles with a greater
Similarly, in an article entitled “Career and Family: Can portrayal of women's work as detracting from family. Mothers'
Couples Find a Balance?” readers are told that “families in paid employment, while acknowledged as something that most
which both parents work outside the home engage in a mothers do in the late 2000s, was also more likely to be cast in
constant juggling act as the partners try to maintain their opposition to children's needs. Work became a trade-off with
responsibilities to each other, their children, and their jobs” family where children suffered if the balance was not kept.
(Lips, 1987). As this author notes, “the rewards and the costs Furthermore, ‘keeping the balance’ moved from discussions of
are both high” and the article goes on to explore these from how to keep up with all of the work involved and still find time
the perspective of both spouses. for yourself, your spouse, your children, and your job, to
In the 2000s, discussions of balance are more often framed discussions of how to make sure you can both work and put
around the question of how to both have a career, and still be your family first.
able to “put your family first”. Articles on the issue of work/ The differing cultural contexts within each time period
family balance are structured to so as to address the various mean that to some extent different questions are being asked,
ways to reduce work time or provide extra flexibility so that different issues are being debated, and different choices are
mothers have enough time to devote to family, whether through presented. Child care in the 1980s is discussed more often
job sharing, working fewer hours, or starting their own business within a frame of reference of equality and women's rights.
(Pachner, 2007, 2008; Shiffman, 2009). As one such article Furthermore, during a time when large numbers of mothers
(Pachner, 2007) opens: of pre-school children were beginning to enter the labor
market, articles were more likely to be structured around the
Even if you loved your job before, time at home with a cultural question of whether or not women with pre-school
new baby often reshuffles career priorities. Instead of children should work. With the exception of one 1989 article
climbing the corporate ladder, suddenly your number one that warns parents about the risks of hiring babysitters for
goal is cutting back on work hours to focus more on infants (Hauprich, 1989), the answer to this question in
family. … Is it possible to find a job that's challenging and Today's Parent in the 1980s is by and large a reassuring one.
rewarding and still lets you put family first? Children, mothers are told, will do just fine in good regulated
daycare. Contributing to the message that mothers do not need
One mother in this article who was able to increase her to feel guilty about working at this time is an understanding of
time at home by starting her own business is quoted as saying children as more resilient and capable, and more likely to
that as a result she “truly (has) it all: A fantastic career (and) benefit by developing a sense of independence. Drawing on
the flexibility to take my daughter to morning play dates or discourses of gender equality, working mothers are also, at
afternoon dance classes.” The overall picture that emerges, times, cast as cultural vanguards who are preparing the way
then, is one that places motherhood ahead of career and for better opportunities for their children in the future.
positions time spent on work as time away from children. In the 2000s, the most prominent cultural question is no
longer whether or not mothers of pre-school children should
Discussion and conclusion work. By this time, about two thirds of mothers do work for
pay and the idea that mothers with young children work is
It is important to keep in mind in the analysis of these more taken-for-granted. At the same time, however, the social
results that Today's Parent is only one site of a much larger understandings of the consequences of women's work appear
discourse on mothering, childhood, and women's work, and to have changed. Women's work, rather than potentially
the interpretations provided here would benefit from similar contributing to children's well-being and future opportunities,
analyses of other sources of child rearing advice. The strength is more likely to be represented as detracting from them. Thus,
of this interpretive study also relies on similar findings in the questions being asked in the 2000s are about how to make
future research and readers' assessment of the extent to sure you child has enough of your time and attention, and how
which Today's Parent was indeed tapping into and building to ensure that your work does not interfere with this. This,
on common sense understandings of the time. combined with other research that suggests that fathers do not
In summary, there are several notable shifts in the represen- face the same cultural expectations to be parents first and
tations of motherhood and childhood when comparing articles workers second (Fox, 2009; Wall & Arnold, 2007), poses a
about child care and women's paid work from the 1980s with significant obstacle to women's equality in the work force.
those from the 2000s. Overall, both children's needs and Within the neoliberal risk rationality characteristic of the
mothers' responsibilities grew substantially as children were late 2000s, meeting children's needs and avoiding ubiquitous
portrayed as more vulnerable, dependent, and in need of more risks is understood to require a great deal of careful research
intensive mothering. Representations of child care shifted as and planning on the part of mothers. Thus, articles at this
well. It went from being represented as both a women's issue time are also focused on individual ways to plan for and avoid
and a children's issue in the 1980s to much more of a children's any of the problems or risks that can accompany mothers'
issue alone in the 2000s. The framing of child care in terms of employment and various childcare arrangements. The message
gender equity was replaced by a focus on children's (expanded) to mothers is that child outcomes are within their individual
needs and on investment in children. Along with these shifts in control, if they take responsibility to educate themselves,
170 G. Wall / Women's Studies International Forum 40 (2013) 162–171

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Caputo, Virginia (2007). She's from a ‘good family’: Performing childhood and
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in the later articles examined here, it is not surprising that Carson, Susan (1987, 07). The Lusthaus family: Two careers and four children.
researchers have found that working mothers continue to Today's Parent, 4(4), 32–36.
Chappell, Tracey (2008). Daycare decisions. Today's Parent, 25(4) (60-62,64).
experience a “child penalty” (Baker, 2010) and “flexibility Chin, Tiffany (2000). Sixth grade madness: Parental emotion work in the
stigma” (Williams et al., 2013) in the workforce, and engage private high school application process. Journal of Contemporary Ethnogra-
in “cognitive acrobatics” (Johnston & Swanson, 2007) and phy, 2(29), 124–163.
Christopher, Karen (2012). Extensive mothering: Employed mothers'
the reframing of good mothering (Christopher, 2012) when
constructions of the good mother. Gender and Society, 26(1), 73–96.
constructing their identities. The findings of this study Dobrowolsky, Alexandra, & Jenson, Jane (2004). Shifting representations of
suggest that the discursive space available for mothers to citizenship: Canadian policies of ‘women’ and ‘children’. Social Politics,
treat their own needs and aspirations as legitimate while 11(2), 154–180.
Fabian, Shelly (1986). Is your toddler too young for nursery school? A
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appears to be much smaller now than it was in the 1980s. Fearnley, Fran (1987). Stages: Family daycare from two to five. Today's
The neoliberal, risk rationality so prevalent in the later Parent, 4(1), 43.
Feldman, Martha (1995). Strategies for interpreting qualitative data. Thousand
articles also supports a highly individualistic understanding Oaks: Sage Publications.
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ment inaction in this regard more difficult. The findings here the transition to parenthood. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Furedi, Frank (2008). Paranoid parenting. London: Continuum.
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