Children absolutely need parental involvement, love, care, time, and attention.
孩子的成长需要父母的参与、关爱、照料、陪伴以及注意力的倾注,
But parents who work outside the home are still capable of giving their children a loving and secure childhood.
但上班族父母也完全能够给予孩子一个充满爱与安全感的童年。
Some data even suggest that having two parents working outside the home can be advantageous to a child's development, particularly for girls.
有些数据甚至表明,父母都是上班族,对孩子尤其是女孩的成长是有益的。
Although I know the data and understand intellectually that my career is not harming my children, there are times when I still feel anxious about my choices.
尽管我掌握着这些数据,也很清楚我的事业没有危及孩子,但有时候我还是会对自己的选择感到焦虑。
A friend of mine felt the same way, so she discussed it with her therapist and, later, shared this insight:
我的一个朋友也有同样的感觉,所以她和心理医生进行了讨论,并与我分享了以下心得:
"My therapist told me that when I was worrying about how much I was leaving my girls,
“心理医生告诉我,当我开始因为不在孩子身边而感到焦虑时,
that separation anxiety is actually more about the mom than the kids.
这种分离焦虑感事实上更多地源自母亲而非孩子。
We talk about it as though it is a problem for children, but actually it can be more of an issue for the mom."
我们谈论这件事貌似是孩子的问题,但实际上这主要与母亲有关。”
I always want to do more for my children.
我总是想抽出更多时间与孩子们相处。
Because of work obligations, I've missed doctor's appointments and parent-teacher conferences and have had to travel when my kids were sick.
由于工作原因,比如没能如约带他们去看医生,没能参加他们的家长会,甚至在他们生病的时候也会出差。
I have also missed a level of detail about their lives.
我曾错过了很多生活中的点点滴滴。
I once asked a mother at our school if she knew any of the other kids in the first-grade class, hoping for a familiar name or two.
我曾问一位孩子同学的母亲,是否认识一年级的其他孩子,心想她应该能说出一两个名字吧。