When mothers of young children decide to stay in the work force or stay at home, their beliefs about the appropriate roles for mothers can be as important as economic factors in the decision, says Angela Hattery, assistant professor of sociology at Wake Forest University. Sage Publications published the book in January 2001. A lot of women feel that they are the only ones doing it this way. So this is a way of validating multiple options for balancing work and family.
Conformists believe that the only way to be a good mother is to stay at home.
This model of intensive mothering developed in the late 1940s in post-World War II America, Hattery said. Although moms were often home with their children before then, they were not able to devote themselves primarily to childrearing. The conformists are likely to stay at home even when this requires tremendous financial sacrifice. The non-conformists reject the intensive motherhood ideology, believing that they can work and still be good mothers. They feel a responsibility to provide economically for the family, feel entitled to pursue their own career interests and believe professional childcare benefits their children.