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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1987)
5 HH mm Motherly advice for the working INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —For women with children who need to find extra time in their busy lives, Irvina Siegel Lew, herself a working woman and mother of three, has one word of advice: organize. A mother’s life doesn’t have to be chaotic, claims Lew, author of the paperback book, “You Can’t Do It All: Ideas That Work for Mothers Who Work,” as well as numerous articles on organization techniques for magazines. Now, she has produced the “Moms’ Survival Guide,” in conjunction with the makers of Ziploc storage bags, a booklet filled with tips, advice and answers to make life easier for mothers. Any mother, whether she works outside the home or not, has to organize three key things: her time, her home and her children, Lew points out. A major part of her strategy is to organize the children — starting early. / “Routine is the key,” she explains. “By establishing routines and supervising them carefully, you can encourage independence and responsibility in your youngsters.” She suggests making them feel that they work as important members of a team, rather than just “helping mommy.” Among the tips she offers for saving time: • Make a game of choosing chores by writing down different duties on index cards, including cards with prizes on them, such as an extra hour of television. The children can reach into a bag to pick a job at random. ' • Help children learn to dress themselves by color coordinating their wardrobes. Buy their clothing in one color scheme, according to their preference, so almost any top will match any bottom. • Organize outfits in jumbo zipper-top bags, putting a matching top, bottom and pair of socks in each bag, to create a ready-to-go wardrobe. • Put low hooks in children’s rooms so they can hang up their own clothes. • Let your children decide how they want to arrange their toys. Give them recloseable bags for organizing puzzle and game pieces, crayons and small toys. •Teach your children to set and clear the table, keeping eating utensils and napkins in low drawers, but keep sharp knives out of their reach. • If your children don’t yet read, place pictures on drawers and cabinets so they will know what belongs where. • Store youngsters’ snack foods on a low shelf in the refrigerator or a low cabinet so they can get them themselves. • Wash the dishes with a different child each night. Both you and your child will look forward to your special time alone together. ??????????????????????????????? Aggienizing Answers How do you feel about women in the work force? by Melisa Hohlt The lack of conviction among students on this campus about an issue that will eventually affect us all is depressing to say the least. Most students were less than enthusiastic when asked this week how they feel about the increasing numbers of women entering the job market. The most common response was, “I really haven’t thought about it. ” Perhaps this answer was given so frequently because underclassmen haven’t looked that far ahead. Those who actually have thought about it say the increase is a good step in the right direction. One student is in favor of women going to work because he says they are an asset on the job. “I think it’s good because they can offer more opinions and be more creative, ” says sophomore mechanical engineering major David Paradis. Another male student who is happy with the increase is freshman chemistry major Walter Ripple. “I think it’s great, ” he says. “That’s what women like to do, and I think they want to be bread winners too. ” Of course the responding women say they are happy about the increase in the number of working women, because, after all, no females here are working on their M.R.S. degrees, right? Mary Jones, a senior management major from College Station, sums up her beliefs on working women in just one sentence. “That’s what we’re all going to college for, ” she says. Although he says he is really indifferent about his feelings, freshman business major Eric Ruppert says that he is unbiased toward women because the best prepared person should get the job. This attitude seems to exist among several A&M students. Many of you say color, race and sex should have nothing to do with obtaining a job. “Although I am for equal rights and opportunities, I don’t think it’s right or fair for businesses to force equal rights, ” says Judy Webb, a senior chemical engineering major from San Angelo. Melissa Glover, a junior chemistry major from Dallas, says she thinks that an increasing number of working women is good, but that the equal rights wheels are slow to move. She adds that although job opportunities are getting better for women, the dominant males are still talking more than they are doing. Dan Fellows, a senior finance major from Dallas, says he thinks a woman has just as much right to a job as a man has as long as she is qualified. Stacey Shaeffer, a senior psychology major from San Antonio says everyone should have a fair chance in life regardless of sex, but that doesn’t always seem to happen. “I think everyone is equal, but I think there is a definite male dominance in society, ” she says. Shaeffer says she believes that men in some businesses still see attractive women as a distraction, and that these same men don’t take such women seriously. Although she is happy about the increase of women who are choosing to work, Shaeffer says that women who elect to stay home have just as much right to do that. “I think everyone in a family has to contribute, ” she says, “and if you’re happy staying at home and raising children, more power to you. What you want out of life is what’s important. ” It seems, however, that not everyone has come to terms with the fact that women can vote, offer valuable advice and even walk while chewing gum. Junior poultry science major Gary Tiller is tentative in his acceptance of the working women of America. “I think it’s a fact that’s going to have to be gotten used to, ” he says. “Women can’t afford to stay at home partly because this is a materialistic society. I also think women are not satisfied to stay at home. ”