Of course, mothers who stay home with their kids will get guilt-tripped as well. Now they're being told to forget the studies telling them to pull out the flash cards and pump up the Mozart. It's more playtime and less structure that children need, according to the latest expert advice. Here's where common sense comes in. But that's in short supply, particularly in this most recent revelation from the federal government.
Mothers are confused, and guilt-ridden.
That's not the way it's supposed to be. Mothers are supposed to inculcate guilt in their children as a civilizing force, not receive guilt from them or about them. We'd call for a study of the effects of guilt on child-raising, but that would probably just make women feel worse. Cokie Roberts and Steven V. Roberts are syndicated columnists. The information you receive online from The Mercury News is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.