Ingrid at Crooked Timber writes a blog post about the book, What Children Need. The author, Jane Waldfogel, discusses the needs of children with two working parents. I'm not sure if the author compares children with two working parents and children with one working parent. I'll have to check the book out.

I also need to check the book out, because I also can't figure out how she created a valid study. There are so many variables to consider — how much both parents work, how stressful their jobs are, the quality of childcare, the availability of help from the extended family, how crazy the parents are, the amount of commute time. I also can't figure out how does she determine the well-being of the child — grades in school, aggression levels, overall happiness levels, future success.

Over the years, I've observed hundreds of families. I've watched nannies with babies at the playground. I've watched kids at various types of daycare, because my kids have sampled many. While there are a gazillion variables, I think I can make some very unscientific observations. 

The mental status of the parents is more important than their work status. Family A has two working parents. They work locally and can get their kids from Aftercare fairly quickly. However, the parents fight all the time. The fight in front of the kids about details of the husband's infidelities. One of the kids is so freaked out about this fighting that he isn't sleeping at night. He's been pouring out his heart to Jonah, who's a caretaking soul, and had to leave the classroom last week, because he couldn't stop blinking. The kid is miserable, but the problem is the fighting not his parents' employment. In fact, it is probably good for him to spend lots of time away from his parents.

Kids who have attentive parents have a huge advantage. Family B has one tween daughter (having just one kid makes things easier, too). They both work, but their minds are always with their girl. The father is able to get home by 5:30, early enough to get her to soccer and to help her with homework. As soon as school is out, the mother texts the daughter to make sure she walks right home and does her homework. The mother texts the neighbors to make sure the daughter is indeed at home. If the girl gets anything less an A on a test, the mother is immediately e-mailing the teacher to get her extra help. The parents don't work or talk about work or worry about work when they get home. They turn it off. That girl is happy and well adjusted.

Work pressures vary, and two demanding jobs can mean trouble. Family C has two working parents who live and breathe their jobs. They don't have any extended family support. To save money, they put their son in an overcrowded unlicensed home daycare setting. He's in the daycare for fifty to sixty hours a week starting when he's six months old. The woman who watches him can't give him that much attention, because she's watching nine other children. The parents are stressed out messes when they pick him up, because they need to be spending even more time at their jobs to advance. They snap at the kid for being slow about getting his backpack and immediately get on e-mail when they get home.

I agree with many of the conclusions that Ingrid discusses in her blog post at Crooked Timber. Children need parents who are able to shut off work when they get home. They need parents who aren't constantly stressed out. They need stability. They need non-crazy parents who are involved even if they aren't there. They need good quality, affordable daycare. They need a network of people around them – smart babysitters, caring neighbors, doting grandmas. 

Smart public policy can address many of these needs. It's smart politics to frame these reforms in terms of children's needs, rather than work-family balance. That's why research like this is so important. I have to get my hands on the book.