MOTHERS AT WORK

New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 888, 10 August 1956, Page 5

MOTHERS AT WORK

Sir,-Some questions arise out of the Wellington panel’s excellent discussion on "Why Do Women Work?" which could well be the subject of further discussions, It would appear that women work because of economic necessity; and this being ‘so, it ig only too obvious that those most in need of the extra wage are those least able to go out and earn it. I mean the mothers of large or young families. They, more than the mothers of grown families, or childless women, are the. ones most in need of labour-saving "devices for their homes which some women eatn by going out to work. And where these can be considered luxuries is debatable. An excellent subject for discussion if I might suggest is: "Whether it is desirable or not that mothers go out to work, what else can be done to lighten their burden?" If little else can be done for them, is this going out to work incompatible with a good emotional and spiritual background for their families? Personally, I think much could be done with regard to that economic burden. Why not, for instance, a rising scale for child allowances for each child over a certain number in the family? Children need .

more than food and clothing, even for material well being. Extra children in a family may mean extra rooms, extra rent, or extra building costs. Should parents solve their economic problems by birth control and family spacing? If so, is that regrettable from either a social or spiritual standpoint? Some recent discussions on leisure in Question Mark could be followed by Similar ones on luxury. What constitutes a luxurv? When is a luxurv not a

luxury?

E.

P.

(Maclennan). 5