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10 develop such a ne1work of surro–
gale family from those in lhe local
neighborhood. since rea l family
rriay be scattered all across the
counlry. The morning
kaffeklatsch.
rather 1han being a mere gossip ses-
ion. is many times an informal at–
tempt to provide this type of
professional support. Adult educa–
tion parent-participation nursery
schools can serve the same function.
Time Off
Dr. Maslach's research has shown
that the one biggesl help in pre–
venting burnout is time off. time to
escape without feeling a burden of
guilt. "Time-offs" are possible in
well-staffed hospita ls and welfare
agencies. But how does a mother
take a time-off? She can'tjust call in
sick.
Of course it is a wife's and
From the Editor
mother's job to deal with her chil–
dren. and make her home a peace–
ful haven for her family. But she
needs peace too. She deeply needs
an occasional respite from her work.
just the same as her husband does–
and perhaps even more desperately.
Dr. James Dobson. well -known
Christian psychologist and author of
books on child and family problems,
agrees with this premise and recom–
mends two things: first of all. 1hat
domestic help for mothers of small
children should be available if at all
possible (he suggests hiring com–
peten! high school students if one
cannot afford adult helpers); and
secondly. that a wife "should get out
of lhe house complcte ly for one day
a week, doing something for sheer
enjoyment. This seems more impor–
tan! to the happiness of the home
than buying new drapes or a power
saw for Dad" (
What Wives Wish
Their Husbands Knew About
Women,
p.
53).
Another helpful alternative is for
the father to take a more active role
in parenting at critica! junclures
during the day. A recent sludy
showed that lhe average time spent
by middle-class fathers with their
small children was
thirty-seven sec–
onds per day!
Fathers directly inter–
acted with their chi ldren an average
of 2.7 times daily. each encounter
lasting only ten lo fifteen seconds!
This shocking. lragic si1ua1ion could
be avoided if more fathers were
aware of lheir wives' (and chil–
dren's) needs and took over parenl–
ing for a while each day as a break
for their battle-weary spouses. Stud–
ies have also shown that more home
accidents occur around 5 p.m.- the
(Cominued
011
page 35)
We thought our readers would enjoy this cartoon run recent/y in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1977
19