working parent occupies an important exemplaryrole within the family. Working parents often commandconsiderable respect from their children, because theydemonstrate the worthy characteristics of industriousness,social compatibility, self reliance, maturity, intelligenceand responsibility. Because children identify with theirparents, the feedback from such positive influences tends tobe positive as well because many of these positivecharacteristics are imparted upon them. A child who observesthe competent coping abilities of a working parent learns inturn, how to cope with life’s problems. At first this maytranslate into an improved sense of self-reliance andindependence for the child as well as an improvement in theability to be socially compatible. As the child grows, itcan further render a child more emotionally mature and hencemore competent in dealing with responsibility and taskcompletion such as is needed for school work and extracurricu! lar activities. A study by Hoffman in 1974corroborates these observations and therefore one canconclude that, in general, the working parent provides avery positive role model for the child in a family whereboth parents are employed. (Hoffman 18) Attitudes of workingparents pertaining to achievement, responsibility andindependence affect both male and female offspring. Thereseems to be more beneficial effects felt by daughters ofworking women than by sons; however, this neither impliesnor concludes that males do not receive some positiveeffects due to maternal employment. (Spitz 606) Hoffman hasconcluded that daughters of employed mothers tend to be moreindependent. (Hoffman 73) This tendency may result from thefact that in the mother’s absence, a daughter is often leftto cope with caring for herself: This promotes herindependence and self-reliance. At the same time, thedaughter may also be left with the job of looking after ayounger sibling, helping to promote her sense ofresponsibil...
