向前一步:第187期 全能女人是个神话(20)

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Just as expectations for how many hours people will work have risen dramatically, 正如人们预期工作时间在大幅增长一样，

so have expectations for how many hours mothers will spend focused on their children. 人们预期母亲在孩子身上投入的时间也在增加。

In 1975, stay-at-home mothers spent an average of about eleven hours per week on primary child care 1975年，全职母亲平均每周花11个小时在家照顾孩子

(defined as routine caregiving and activities that foster a child's well-being¹, such as reading and fully² focused play). （包括日常照料以及培养孩子能力的各种活动，比如阅读和专注力游戏等），

Mothers employed outside the home in 1975 spent six hours doing these activities. 在外工作的母亲在这方面花费的时间是6个小时；

Today, stay-at-home mothers spend about seventeen hours per week on primary child care, on average, 今天，全职母亲平均每周在同样的事情上要花17个小时，

while mothers who work outside the home spend about eleven hours. 而上班族母亲则要花11个小时左右。

This means that an employed mother today spends about the same amount of time on primary child care activities as a nonemployed mother did in 1975. 这就意味着今天的上班族母亲在孩子身上投入的时间和1975年的全职母亲一样多。

My memory of being a kid is that my mother was available but rarely hovering³ or directing my activities. 我记得当自己还是个孩子时，母亲总在身边，但她不会总是围着我转，

My siblings⁴ and I did not have organized playdates. 我和弟弟妹妹也没有密密麻麻的活动时间表。

We rode our bikes around the neighborhood without adult supervision⁵. 我们三人每天都会骑着自行车四处乱转，没有成年人在旁边看护。

Our parents might have checked on our homework once in a while, but they rarely sat with us while we completed it. 我们的父母有时候会看看我们的作业，但很少会在我们做作业时守在旁边。

Today, a "good mother" is always around and always devoted⁶ to the needs of her children. 今天，一个“好妈妈”总是围绕在孩子身边，对孩子关怀得无微不至。

 

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