Successful Women in the Baby-Sitters Club Series
Balancing Work and Family in a Popular Children's Serial
Jun 29, 2009
There are many examples of adult women in the Baby-sitters Club series, written by Ann M. Martin, who serve as positive role models for the teenage and child characters. These women excel in various kinds of careers, showing that women can be mothers and have occupations as well, and thus so can the girls of Stoneybrook upon adulthood.
Corporate Ladder
Elizabeth Thomas Brewer is Kristy’s mother (who is the president of the Baby-sitters Club). She is a prime example of how a woman can be motherly and businesslike all at once. Abandoned by her first husband just after giving birth to their fourth child, she found a good job at a “big company in Stamford, and she likes the fact that she can support us so well,” according to Kristy (Kristy’s Great Idea, p. 15).
She works long hours yet still manages to make time for her children, and they are well cared for. Certainly she has to rely on baby-sitters—that is the point of the series—but her daughter Kristy states that her mother always has time for her and her brothers: “[S]he tries to spend a little time alone with each of us kids every day” (p. 14).
Scientific Attributes
Janine Kishi will go far. She is only sixteen. But her intelligence and common sense proves that she will be very successful one day. Though she is only a junior in high school, she already attends classes at Stoneybrook University. She is mostly interested in science and computers, and spends many hours a day studying and working. Sister Claudia comments: “They expect her to become a physicist or something” (Claudia and Mean Janine, p. 2).
She shows she is good with children, as Claudia (vice-president of the Baby-sitters Club) asks her to watch a young charge for her once (Kristy and the Haunted Mansion, p. 69), and Janine takes on sitting jobs for the club when the other baby-sitters are busy. She also bonds with two charges of the club, Rosie Wilder and Emily Michelle Brewer (Claudia and the Great Search, p.110). She proves capable of balancing children and work.
Head Librarian
Janine’s and Claudia’s mother, Rioko Kishi, no doubt inspired a sense of hard work and discipline in her daughter. Not only does she care for and cook for her two children and her husband, she also is head librarian of the Stoneybrook Public Library (Claudia and Mean Janine, p.5). She has a busy schedule, often in meetings and foreseeing everything that is done at the library, but she always makes time for her family.
Librarians need to have master’s degrees, which proves how dedicated and studious Rioko Kishi is. Libraries also demand heavy schedules. Claudia notes that her mother conducts staff meetings every week (Claudia and the Great Search, p. 86). Mrs. Kishi blends the family and work roles together with ease.
Doctor in the House
Dr. Johanssen is a respected doctor in Stoneybrook. Baby-sitter Stacey often confides in her, as Stacey is diabetic. Dr. Johanssen once helped Stacey talk to her parents when they were dragging her to quacks to find a cure for her diabetes (The Truth About Stacey, p. 134-35). She is often on call, yet always makes time for her daughter. She is calm, confident and respectful, and has a great relationship with Charlotte, who adores her
Numerous examples in the Baby-Sitters Club books show women balancing work and family. The women described above are only a few of the examples available throughout the series. These books show girls and any other readers that there is not just one option for them when they grow up. They can have careers, have children, both, or any other combination. The women described above prove that they have everything it takes to succeed in life.
Sources
Martin, Ann M. Kristy’s Great Idea (London: Hippo Books, 1988).
The Truth About Stacey (London: Hippo Books, 1988).
Claudia and Mean Janine (London: Hippo Books, 1990).
Claudia and the Great Search (London: Hippo Books, 1993).
Kristy and the Haunted Mansion (London: Hippo Books, 1995).
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