Preschoolers' Perceptions of Parental Roles in Single-Earner and Dual-Earner Families

Preschoolers were interviewed and parents were surveyed to examine the division of labor for household management and caregiving tasks in single-earner and dual-earner families. Children with nonemployed mothers underestimated mother's responsibilities both in home management and in child care. They also believed their parents shared more caregiving tasks than their parents reported sharing. Children in both family types believed parents shared more housework responsibilities than parents acknowledged sharing. Daughters in dual-earner families believed their fathers engaged in more caregiving than parental reports indicated.