The Washington herald., 1922-06-11
CHILDREN SUFFER
If MOTHERS WORK,
REPORT DECLARES
Study Shows Youngsters
Receive Inadequate
Care.
CAUSES ILL HEALTH
Measures Recommended to
Make Fathers Earnings
More Adequate.

Gainful employment of mothers
Of young children frequently means
that the chiluren receive inadequate
care during the day, or no care at
all. accord'r~ to report ~"+'''of.
Children of Wage Fern ng Mother,
A study of a Selected Group in Lni-
cago." just made public by toe L.
s. Department Of Labor through the
Children's, Bureau. Other conditions
found Include retarded school prog
ress of the children, over-fatigue
and ill-health of the mothers-with
consequent loss to the children
and in some instances overwork by
children who had the responsibility
for household tasks beyond their
strength.
The report presents the results
of study Of S43 fsmilies OF work
ing mothers, in which were 2,066
children under the age of II years.
The group included families known
to the Chicago United Charities and
to the day nurseries, and included
also a special group of 212 colored
families. 1t was found that the
problem of the employment Of
mothers had to do with both normal
and broken families. Where the
father was a member of the family
group and worked regularly, his
earnings were, in the great majority
of cases, inadequate for the family
support.
standards Not Uniform.
The As day nurseries in Chicago
at the time of study did not main
tain uniformly high standards with
respect to sanitation and child care
training: many of them had MT
provided adequately for the care and
training of the older children. Only
two nurseries. with C capacity of 90
each. were available to colored chill
dren. OF the 1928 children who
were not cared for in day nurseries,
at least q fourth were left with no
precision for their care aside from
tna- made in the schools.
The school attendance records of
group of 742 children were OBJ
tained. and these compared unfavor-
ably with the attendance of all
the children enrolled in nine Sc
lected schols in workers neighbor-
hoods. A large amount of retarda-
tion was found among the children
of wage earning mothers, over one
third of whom were below the
standard grade for their age.
The report emphasizes the skill
in planning and management shown
by many of the women in carrying
the triple burden of wage-earner,
housekeeper and mother, and states
that a large proportion were doing
their housework without assistance.
More than half of $50 mothers whose
household arrangements were
known were doing all the washing
and the cooking; the mothers in
general showed a tendency to sacri-
fee themselves in order to save
the children from tasks toe, heavy
for their years. .r.- 81. .- .s-s
Measures Recommended.
Measures for reducing the neces-
sity for wage earning by mothers
of young children, the report states.
include improved economic condi-
tions that will make the fathers
earnings more adequate: training of
| mothers in household management
and the care of children; preserv-
ing the normal family group
| through movements for the preven-
| ton of accident and the promotion
of health: and providing substitutes
for the fathers support when he is
dead or incapacitated, by means of
mothers pensions and aid from So
cial agencies.
Special protection needed by chill
dren OF wage-earning mothers, the
report points out, include mo-e ade-
uate provision, Though the nurseries
or through the schools, for the
care of school children outside
school hours: higher standards of
sanitation and care on the part Of
the nurseries; and the protection
of the mother from over-fatigue ann
ill health. "Case-work agencies
which include in their plans for
certain families under care the gain
full employment of the mother" the
report states, clearly have the re-
sponsibilty for making such ar
rangements that the mother will not
lave to carry in addition to full
tine employment. all the burden of
housek old management"