Abstract:

The caregiving realities that many modern mother face may be preventing them from experiencing the personal, professional and social rewards enjoyed by other Americans. Personal narratives describing contemporary needs and challenges faced by mothers of young children have been collected in order to contribute to an emerging political and social movement that seeks to enhance the lives of American mothers. Detailing the motherhood experience is fundamental to empower a population that appears underrepresented in public policy and disrespected culturally.

The rationale for the study is this: Mothers' stories are the basis for scrutinizing whether American expectations of freedom, opportunity, and independence are truly accessible for mothers or if too few social programs, outmoded workplace policies and deeply-rooted cultural expectations keep this group - and their children - from their democratic entitlement. Narrative inquiry as a methodology has been employed for its recognition of the elusive and subjective nature of "Truth" in the analysis of personal stories and for acknowledgment and welcoming of new questions and avenues of inquiry.

The personal stories were scrutinized for shared themes and patterns. The analysis suggests mothers in this study are invisible in public policy and social networks. They live with a critical lack of time and energy, without a supporting "tribe" or "village", with workplace/childcare burdens, with cultural ambiguity toward mothers, and under policies that disproportionately disadvantage single and divorced mothers.

Possible applications for early childhood educators may involve becoming aware of new challenges facing families with young children and adapting accordingly in classrooms. Implications and political actions are suggested at the study's conclusion.