Parental Nonstandard Schedules and Child Academic Outcomes

• In Event: 153 - Section on Children and Youth Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 09. Family and Work

Abstract

Approximately 1 in 5 working Americans are now employed in a nonstandard schedule that falls outside of the typical 7am to 7pm work day. Much of the work on these schedules indicates that they negatively influence children’s academic development. However, the majority of studies focus on infants and toddlers, with elementary school-age children relatively understudied. Likewise, the role of the child’s gender and of the father’s shift schedule has been neglected. To broaden understanding of the effects of parental nonstandard schedules on children, and how these effects may depend upon the gender of the child, I analyze data from the NLSY79 and its Child Supplement from 1990-2006. Overall, the findings indicate that mothers’ nonstandard schedules and fathers’ irregular schedules harm girls’ academic outcomes. For boys, fathers’ rotating shifts tend to be associated with worse academic outcomes, with little evidence that mothers’ nonstandard schedules are harmful for boys. In contrast, mothers’ irregular shifts are positively related to reading comprehension outcomes for both boys and girls, hinting at the potential benefits associated with these schedules. None of these relationships are explained by parental closeness or involvement in schooling, however.

Author

• Christine Leibbrand, University of Washington