With kids out of school, family vacations, and increased demands on parents, work life balance is a bigger issue for both employees and organizations. So we looked at how working moms are portrayed on TV as they try to handle the challenges of career and family. Some are realistic, some are aspirational, and some just make you wonder who writes this stuff. Who does it best? Let’s take a look at five TV moms today.
1. Alicia Florrick, The Good Wife
Alicia was a stay-at-home mom with a law degree rotting in the closet. But when her politician husband landed in jail, she had to go back to work. She dusted off her law degree and landed at Lockhart Gardner, working for an old friend. She balances work and life by realizing she can’t do it on her own.
To keep reading, click here: 5 Television Moms That Achieve Work-Life Balance
The most amazing thing about Alicia Florrick to me is that she wears beautiful, lightweight coats and beautiful, expensive high heels in the Chicago winter. Apparently, nobody on that show has ever been in an upper midwest winter. There is no pretty, lightweight anything about what you wear in the winter.
There is not a single thing that is realistic about that show.
I remember one episode where I think the admins were talking about unionizing so they could get paid overtime. I wanted to shout at the writers, “You get overtime based on your job classification, not as a union benefit!”
Ha, ha, I did the same thing! So dumb. The admins and the parallegals were all eligible for overtime.
But none of those lawyers would know the actual law even it it bit them in the behind.
And I love how they do criminal, employment, civil, and constitutional law all at the same time! Only David what’s his name just did family law.
Watched the whole series, though. I did not expect that ending!
Yeah , it was great to see TV present women able to to have a career and take care of home with seemingly little problem dealing with all the stress But, you have to admit they made it look so much more easier than real life.
Taking the Good Wife, most working moms don’t have that spare cash to have such a beautiful wardrobe as she had especially if she’s taking care of a household. (Remember most women make only 75% of same salary as a man in same position). So to add cost of housing alone leaves very little extra .
She also had children old enough to be left with keys to come home and take care of themselves when she was working late. Most working women forced back to work by economic need don’t have these luxuries. But show was great to watch.
Frankie Heck is the most relateable to me by far. Just a mom trying to hold it all together with totally crazy kids: sometimes she fails, most of the time she manages to succeed, and as far as I know, none of the kids are in any kind of major trouble (I haven’t been keeping up with the show).
I kinda hate to say, but of all TV moms, Roseanne has had a little too much influence, even though I could have been one of her kids when the show originally aired.