Working Moms and Dads

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The world is a very different place than it was when I was growing up.  My mom was a stay at  home mom, and because of that I pretty much expected to do the same when I grew up.  However, not everyone has the luxury or desire to do that, and the children are the ones left in the wake of those decisions or circumstances.  So what's a parent to do?  How do those of you who need to work to survive make your children understand you're doing it to make a better life for them?  Or, if you're working because you have that desire -- how do you explain that to the little ones you still love them more than anything, but you love working too?


When parent's walk out the door, children don't always understand why.  Kids, like most people fear the unknown....they worry, they imagine all sorts of things when all the pieces of the puzzle aren't there (remember that boogie man under your bed or in your closet when you were little?).  As adults we can usually reason our way through, but how do children resolve those fears (I'm not telling how old I was before I got rid of the boogie man!)?

In today's world with so many parents working, you would think there would be an abundance of literature to help parents explain this, but sadly there is not.  Jennifer Pereyra, a young mother in New Jersey, found herself in that very situation.  At one point, her then, six-year old daughter wanted to know why Jennifer always had to go to work.  After searching, and not finding anything suitable to help explain, Jennifer sat down at her kitchen table and wrote her own book.

The result is a beautifully written lyrical prose, that can not only help your little ones understand why you go to work every day, but open doors for lots of new conversations about life and the world.  It will give you the opportunity after reading it, to talk about the kind of work you do -- which could then lead to getting your little ones to talk about what they think they want to do when they grow up.  Just imagine the kinds of conversations you can have after reading this book with them! We all know that there is a much greater comfort level when we understand what is happening in our lives.  

Another aspect that is particularly appealing about this book (aside from the awesome illustrations) is that it's said simply, so a child can understand.  Jennifer knew her little girl needed simple straight forward answers to her questions, and through her book she was able to achieve just that. 


You can now buy her book at Borders, and online.  Jennifer will even autograph a book for you!  If you're a parent, or grandparent of grown children who are dealing with this, this book would make a wonderful gift.  You owe it to your children (or grandchildren) to buy this book to help them understand, that mommy and daddy love them, but sometimes they have to go to work.