Tagesanzeiger from August 6, 2007
 “Egalitarian children” judge their model more positively than “traditional children” judge theirs. |
The conservative family model with the mother at home seems to be more popular again in Switzerland. But the children benefit more when parents share their roles as partners.
By Andrea Fischer When SVP President Ueli Maurer demanded in an interview that mothers should take more care of their children instead of working outside the home, he received violent protests. But now it seems that Maurer's point of view is finding more supporters than before. According to the latest SRG election barometer, 45 percent of those surveyed believe that raising children is the woman's responsibility.
Most children are happy
Given the ongoing debate about the right type of family, the question is what the children want. Which type of family would you prefer? A National Fund study provides answers in which children comment on this question for the first time. The sociologist Margret Bürgisser and co-author Diana Baumgarten interviewed a total of 70 boys and girls as well as young adults between the ages of 10 and 20. These included children from egalitarian families, where father and mother share work, care and housework, as well as those from traditionally organized families. The researchers wanted to know how the sons and daughters judge their parents' role model and what effects it has on them.
First of all: Children generally accept their parents' model; They don't criticize it, it's just normal for them. However, if you ask them what they think of the respective model, it becomes clear that the egalitarian model is a benefit for the children. The “egalitarian children” also judge their model more positively than the “traditional children” judge theirs.
Desire for “less mother”
Girls and boys particularly value the variety in the partnership-based parenting model; it also brings a more diverse relationship with parents. They emphasize being able to live a normal everyday life with their father as particularly positive. “In egalitarian families, the father is an understanding conversation partner for his children,” the study states. This is exactly what children from traditional families miss. Their relationship with their father is much less developed, as he plays a smaller role in their everyday life. Young people in particular experience the mother, who is almost constantly present, as controlling and inhibiting their independence. According to the study, “most traditional children have a desire for less mother.” The results are not surprising for the researchers. The children's survey largely confirms what was to be assumed based on similar studies on parents: the partnership model has numerous advantages. Disadvantages such as the “more unclear division of family roles” are hardly significant. It would also be expected that the children would adopt the role model of their parents for their own future. Young women and men from egalitarian families would have to prefer the partnership model. And vice versa. However, the answer to this question is not clear. In traditional families, the boys clearly tend to follow their parents' model; The girls, on the other hand, show sympathy for both ways of life. In the group of “egalitarian children” the girls are unequivocally committed to this family form. For them, the partnership model appears to be “particularly profitable,” say the researchers. However, the boys who grew up in an egalitarian manner express more traditional role ideas. Not because the egalitarian model ultimately doesn't suit them, explains study author Margret Bürgisser. Rather, they perceive the rewards that a professional career offers. It is difficult for young men to resist these temptations.
Clear obstacles
Ultimately, the decisive factor for Bürgisser is the finding that the “children are in favor of being able to live an active everyday life with both parents”.
Expectant parents need to be aware of this. In order for young adults to decide on the partnership model, the corresponding obstacles in the state and economy must be removed. Margret Bürgisser, Diana Baumgarten: Children in different family forms, Verlag Rüegger, Zurich/Chur, 2006
Expectant parents need to be aware of this. In order for young adults to decide on the partnership model, the corresponding obstacles in the state and economy must be removed. Margret Bürgisser, Diana Baumgarten: Children in different family forms, Verlag Rüegger, Zurich/Chur, 2006