THE WORK OF CARING FOR CHILDREN - CONTRADICTORY THEMES IN AMERICAN CHILD-CARE POLICY DEBATES

In this article I present a textual analysis of the child care policy debates that took place in the United States during the late 1980s. I identify and illustrate two themes that emerged in these debates. The first expressed a commitment to the ''traditional'' nuclear family and a belief in the importance of full-time motherhood for children's wel l-being. The second expressed a devaluation of two aspects of women's caregiving: the mother-work of welfare recipients and the work perform ed by child care providers. I argue that the views comprising these tw o themes contributed to the limitations of the federal child care legi slation that was adopted in 1990.