This study suggests that certain types of non-standard work schedules, which create an unstable environment for their children, can negatively impact a child’s development. To the extent this is true, it suggests that a parent, or the co-parent, may need to add extra parenting skills targeted to address the potential challenges for their children. Increasing stability through routines, consistent parenting, attachment parenting, consistently engaging children in SNACCMS activities, and using positive discipline (and not harsh or dismissing discipline, such as “time in’ instead of “time out” (see the Whole Brain Child and No Drama Discipline, by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson)). Talk to your attorney or parenting coach about how to implement and maximize these parenting skills.
Christine Leibbrand
First Published December 28, 2017; Research Article
ABSTRACT:
Approximately 17.7% of the U.S. workforce is employed in a nonstandard schedule. Research thus far indicates that these schedules negatively influence children’s behavioral development. However, few studies examine the roles of the child’s gender and age. To broaden understanding of the relationships between nonstandard schedules and child behavior, and how these relationships may depend on the gender and age of the child, I analyze data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 and its Child Supplement from 1992 to 2006. My findings show that some types of parental nonstandard shifts, such as evening and night shifts, are associated with fewer behavioral problems among children, though these results depend on the gender and age of the child. In contrast, parents’ rotating and split shifts are associated with more behavior problems among children, indicating that it is relatively unstable and unpredictable work schedules that may have the most harmful associations with children’s outcomes.