My name is Amanda Huff, and I am conducting research on employment, care work, justice, and gender through the strides and struggles of working women. I am carrying out this research for my JUS 420: Woman, Work, & Justice Class where I will be analyzing a working mother’s struggle in-between her family life and her work life. For this analysis of juggling work and family I have thought long and hard about who exactly I would want to interview. When thinking about this process I thought of my own mother. I know interviewing one’s own mother might be biased, but on the contrary I think this would be beneficial because I would learn a great deal about women in general and on a personal level learn more about her struggle.

I will be interviewing my mother Chris Menapace. She was not always Christine Menapace, before she was Christine Huff and before that she was Christine Rene Kroft. My mother, a strong and hard working mother, women, and friend all around has a beautiful life story and this is why I will be telling it. She has gone through divorce of her parents, raising two girls, moving away from her family, starting over in the work force, a divorce of her own, going back to college, getting re-married, taking on two more step-daughters, and re-starting in a new working field. This is a life of perseverance, struggle, hardship, strength, love, and fighting to make life what you want and what you deserve out of it. This interview will be based on her past, how she managed and struggled life and work, and how it affected her.

Draft of Interview Questions:
The child care, the child, and the mother.



1. Growing up what were your father and mother’s occupations?
2. What was a typical day in your household like?
3. Did you have child care growing up? What was it like?
4. At what age did you get married?
5. Did your husband work? What hours?
6. How many children did you have?
7. Did you go back to work after they were born? When? Was it the same job and same pay?
8. How long were you at work everyday?
9. What was your children’s childcare situation while you were at work? How many different child care arrangements, facilities did you use and for how long?
10. When did you start using child care?
11. How long were they in child care?
12. How did your family, friends, etc help out with child care?
13. How did you pay for child care? How much was it?
14. Who took care of this child on the weekends? Did you or the husband have to work?


The Child:

1. How many children do you have:
2. Names?
3. Birthdates:
4. Gender:
5. Did the children associate with one parent more than the other?
How so? Which one? Explain.
6. Did the children display A-typical gender roles? Did the fact that you worked change the way that you wanted them to view the working force?
7. How long did the children live with you?
8. What was it like raising your children?
9. Was it hard juggling work and home?
How so? Explain the obstacles
10. What, who could have helped or made this situation easier?
11. Did your work accommodate if you had care giving situations with the children?
How so, explain?
12. What characteristics would you say are needed to have a good family life?
13. What sacrifices did you make in work for your home?
14. Did you have to sacrifice home for work? Work longer than you wanted to?

The Mother:

1.What is your job right now?
2. How much do you make?
3. What field are you in?
4. How many hours do you work?
5. What was your occupation when you had your children at home? Work history from child was born to present.
6. How many hours did you work?
7. How much did you make?
8. Did you have to sacrifice education for family?
9. What scarifies did you make for home?
At times when you were a single parent, was it harder? Physically, financially, etc. explain.
10. Were you happy with your job when your children were living at home?
If not, what did you do about this?
11. What are the key characteristics for juggling home and work?
12. What advice would you give a first time mother who wants to work?