Hi my name is Jamia Davis and the topic I chose is Women’s work inside and outside of the home. I chose this picture specifically, because it represents women attempting to balance both work and childcare on their own. The video down below gives insight on a few women and the challenges and sacrifices that comes with being a single mother. This topic appeals to me because it reveals a lot of problems that not everyone can see behind closed doors. Through this topic, I hope to learn about the different ways that women could succeed in both parenthood and work and also how to overcome obstacles such as sick children, loss of transportation, and increased bill payments. By the end of the semester I believe that I will better understand the undeniable mental and physical strengths that women have and how much more everyone should appreciate these women for being able to overcome these problems and issues on their own.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob9oGBbOQl0

The article that I found is called ” Taking care of the kids; Resources are more widely available, but managing work and children is still difficult and costly”. I found this article going through the Durham Tech website and then by clicking current students and then the library tab. This article discusses how there aren’t many spaces available for many children in certain areas and there are often many parents who would be left to risk missing work to take care of their children. According to Jones’s article ” In Lake County, 60% of children under age 6 have working parents, according to a study by Abbott Laboratories. Yet there are only 17 licensed child care spaces in the county for every 100 children.”. While it sounds like a bad thing, not having spaces in daycare could be a good thing. In her article, Jones states “ More women leave corporations to start their own business because child care issues than any other  reason, including the glass ceiling, according to catalyst, a New York- based advocacy group for working women.”. While most parents believe it’s the end of the world not having a daycare, many parents get inspired to start their own businesses which could be very beneficial in the end. The article I chose was produced by Sandra Jones as an article under the Gale in Context database. The audience would be working parents who have a hard time managing both work and parenthood. It could also go for single working parents as well. The article doesn’t have responses that I can find, but I think that it would have many positive comments due to the relation of the topic of being a parent and working which is a thing for many parents today. I believe that this article would lead many people to have a better understanding of what the struggles are that the parents are facing everyday and how they are all trying to maintain them both. This article goes more in depth with the costs and of daycare and also how the structure is changing for them today. Many daycares today are being more lenient with some parents and their work schedules and just finding ways to make it easier for the parent. I personally believe that Jones’s article could help the reader to learn the rights and benefits that working parents have and should take advantage of.  Heres the link https://go-gale-com.proxy055.nclive.org/ps/i.do?p=BIC&u=durham_tccl&id=GALE%7CA75405524&v=2.1&it=r&sid=sum

      I found this meme while scrolling on Facebook. This meme reveals that working moms do more than just go to work and take care of their children. Many of these moms have to go above and beyond to make sure that everything is in order and that everyone is happy. In order to give moms a little free time, they often enroll their children in extracurricular activities. By doing this, it not only makes the kids happy, but it gives moms time to clean up and relax in a quiet environment. Because it is kind of expensive to enroll children into sports and clubs, it means many parents cannot afford to send them off for a for a few hours every week. The only way to make sure moms have time to do household work or whatever it is they need to be done; they have to find activities for the children to do. Parents have to create and find different tasks for their children that will keep them busy and allow them to progress and grow both physically and mentally. 

      Besides creating and finding activities for the children, one thing every mom has to do is feed and clean their children’s clothes. Everyday at least twice a day, parents have to prepare and serve food to their children. In my opinion this is one of the hardest tasks due to the fact that many children are picky eaters. If the food is prepared the wrong way, it could cause many of the children to reject the food that they are given and ultimately lead them to throw a fit and cause a whole disruption in the routine. And when it comes to cleaning their clothes, children go through a lot of clothes throughout the day and night.  Children get dirty while playing outside, eating food, and by having accidents. These things are normal in childhood and it is pretty much a daily thing for them.

      When it comes to the topic of shopping, this is really the most difficult task. Moms have to bring the kids along with them, and make sure that they are not running around and pulling things off of the shelves. As a parent her duty is to make sure that her children are with her the whole time and also make sure that they grab everything on the grocery list that they need to make sure that their kids maintain a healthy nutritious diet. Because of the grocery store setup, it often leads children to beg their parents for the unhealthy snacks and treats that are appealing to their eyes. When the children are denied the treats, they will cry and scream very loud which could potentially embarrass the mother and put an early stop to the grocery shopping.

      On top of everything on this list the most important thing is that the mother has to work. They have to work in order to be able to afford to feed their children, put them in extracurricular activities, nor wash their clothes. It’s because of their job that they are able to do all of these things on the list. Without money all of this would be nearly impossible and could cause many women to give a second thought about having children all together. Being a mother is an expensive and time taking task that not many women are ready to take on at certain parts of their lives.

      The audience of this meme is targeted towards working moms and non-mothers. To me this meme is representing the mothers that have single friends with no children who constantly ask the mothers if they have time to go and hang out. This meme is pretty much just highlighting some of the major tasks that many mothers have to do in order to take care of their children. It takes a lot of time management skills to be a mother and because of this meme I now have a better understanding of how much time and dedication is being put into these children on the daily. I have definitely come to the conclusion that I am nowhere near ready to be a mother at all simply because I am not willing to give up so much time for them at this point in my life. The viewers of this article get a glimpse of how responsible you would have to be in order to take care of children and from what I can see, that is not an easy task.

Jamia Davis

Marina Delveccio

HUM 150

April 25^th, 2020

E- Portfolio: 

The piece of media that I found is a TED Talk. I found this video by searching on google in hopes of finding a new idea for my E- portfolio. This Ted Talk is of a woman (Irene Mora) explaining her life journey with her mother being fully committed within her career and how she manages to still make her children feel loved, even though she is often away in another country. This video was produced by TED intuition and it was published as a TED Talk. I believe the audience is toward everyone, but mainly to those people who are in opposition to career focused moms. From what I can see, this video has received many positive responses, with many people in support of Irene Mora’s position.

This Ted Talk may inspire a lot of women to not be afraid to follow their career paths while being parents. While many mothers shame other mothers for constantly leaving their children to work in other countries and by constantly having them to move and switch schools, Mora is in support. According to Mora’s Ted Talk, she states that “Many of my teachers who never saw my mother found this unacceptable.’. This reveals that before they even knew their mother or even got to know the reason for her disappearance, they judge those parents for abandoning their children and for simply not caring enough.

When it comes to the topic of teachers and parents, I do believe that parents should at least notify the teachers about their circumstances. While I do not see anything wrong with choosing to do a full-time career, I feel like when it comes to their children, they should allow teachers to have some sort of communication with the teachers. That is an important factor so that parents can know their children’s progression academically. For Mora’s parents it is a good thing what they are doing, and it seems that the way they are handling things is great and also, they have a lot of trust in their children.

When it comes to the topic that mothers cannot manage both, Mora disagrees. According to her Ted Talk she states, “Many people believed, and still do believe that a woman can either have a career or be a good mother, that you can’t have both, but my mother is and has always been both things.”. This quote reveals that being a good mother and managing a career is possible. She then goes on to explain how although she does not get to see her mother every day, she is still connected to her and it is as if she never left. It also shows that many mothers and fathers do not believe that they are capable of doing both and that they are often left discouraged with no support.

When it comes to people managing both work and children, I feel like it could be a difficult task. When first starting with work and parenting it can be overwhelming at first and many people believe that is a task that they cannot complete. Many parents will often feel like they are being forced to choose between their children or their careers. I feel like if they would create a schedule or routine with work and children, they will be able to get more things done. If they were to do those simple tasks, they would cause things to be much easier to handle and it would overall be less stressful.

“When they were home, they took on other responsibilities together or interchangeably and as a result we never saw traditional gender roles in our house.” This quote reveals that not one single parent is responsible for one specific job, each parent can do whatever job that is needed around the house and it says a lot. Another quote that caught my eye was “What we did  see was two people working in careers that they loved while raising a family, so that as adults we have also taken on careers that we are truly passionate about.”. This quote shows how this type of lifestyle can affect their children when they get older. It also shows how the children can be more confident in doing the career they love while also spending time with their families.  

In this Ted talk I have learned that I can work and take care of my children and lead them down the right path in life. I believe that the audience can learn the same thing in despite of what others think. I more people were to listen to Mora’s life story, I believe it would be inspiring to many people who may have believed that they had to make a choice in life.

Works Cited

Mora, Irene. “For women in pursuit of motherhood and a career”. Ted Talk. January 8^th, 2018. Ted Talk Institution.

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