Sociology of Family: Are parents spending less time with their children?

The movement of middle-class White women with small children into the labor market has, at various times, generated a lot of public concern over whether children are receiving proper care. Specifically, concerns have been raised about the amount of time that parents and spending with their children and the quality of the care children receive outside the home.

Using course materials, discuss whether there is reason for concern. Given the evidence: 1) Are parents spending less time with their children? 2) Should we be concerned about children in daycare? (You should also provide some sort of context in which to place this discussion by outlining the history of women’s labor force participation.)