She works/he works

Nostalgia for the idealized family of the 1950s is rampant in the news and on the campaign trail, but the modern family - with both parents fully employed outside the home - is here to stay. In fact, dual-income couples with children now make up the majority of American families and, according to a million-dollar study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, these families are really getting it right: men are sharing the burdens of parenting and housework, women are much happier when they balance careers and child-rearing, and daycare has become a truly positive option for both parents and children.

Exploring the results of the NIMH study and hundreds of others, Radcliffe psychologist Rosalind Barnett and journalist Caryl Rivers debunk the myth that modern families are walking time bombs by taking us inside the new American family. Tackling all the major issues facing families today, including stress, child-care, career problems, moral values, money, free time, and the quality of couples' relationships, Barnett and Rivers show how dual-income households create economic stability and a close-knit, cooperative family atmosphere.