A Mother’s Day Kiss-off; Critique Essay

â€Å"A Mother’s Day Kiss-off† was written by Leslie Bennetts to change the male view of everyday mothers. Bennetts wrote this because she has witnessed and studied these events. She wrote that mothers should not just be praised on one day a year versus the 365 days that she is doing it alone, well mostly. Not only is this problematic for the child but for the parents relationship as well. She wanted to make clear that women’s roles in parenting have been changing for several years now. They should be closely reviewed before assuming the roles will stay the same as they may have been in the past. Male parents too often expect mothers to maintain a household, work full time and take care of the children. Little do they understand the roles should take over for both parents not just one. Many mothers find their careers to be put on hold because they cannot go to school on top of everything else. This leads to disputes between income needs and family needs. This is commonly a call for divorce and other family members fear in anger that it could end a marriage. Father’s should want to take on family roles as the mother does. While most mothers make sure the needs of the child are fulfilled most fathers do not pay mind to things like; doctor visits, school sicknesses and playdates. They just expect a clean house, a warm meal, and a well maintained child. Mom’s are expected to drop everything including their jobs to take after the child, meaning having to leave work or be late to work, or having to stay home with a sick child. It all means the same, it’s not necessarily tradition of housewives but the role of mothers has simply changed. Too many families are failing to realize this drastic life style change that Bennett’s encounters. If roles were to ever switch fathers would understand the financial and emotional needs of a child, piled on to a full time job. One day Leslie hopes this will be an eye-opener for the opposing parent. Most mothers will continue to stay faithful to this lifestyle while others rush to find a way out. For some this role will change and others it will remain the same. Bennetts writes this article in hope that the father figure and other family members will  arrange changes in a life style to accommodate the mother, in my family this did not happen. In response to this article, I have a personal view of this very problem. My father expected my mom to clean and cook and do household chores, but also to work full time and take care of me. My dad drove truck so he wasn’t home often enough to see what my mother went through. He stayed within tradition like he thought it should be. This happens a lot and not just my family but many American families like my own. I do think she had a purpose to change a father’s lifestyle point of view, but not to change the person themselves. I agree that the roles have changed but for some families in the opposing argument, do not like the role switch and will continue in tradition to their previous generations. Bennetts is blind to the idea that some American housewives enjoy their lifestyle, not all families and mothers are miserable playing this role. She may assume so but it’s not a subject you can just assume upon, it is a serious issue that needs facts, not biased information written out of fear or anger. The family I was raised in relied on the father to take care of financial needs and the mother to take care of social and emotional needs of the family and the child. Some families are dependent on one income and cannot afford to make a change. Other families do not want to change and enjoy their outdated lifestyle.