MUNCIE, Ind. -- Whether or not mommy works strongly influences how the kids perceive the division of household work, a Ball State University study has found.

A study of 40 four-year-olds and their parents found that youngsters look at life differently when mother is at home all day as compared to when she is employed full-time, say husband and wife researchers James and Judith Stroud, both elementary education professors.

"Youngsters believe that stay-at-home mothers do less work than women who are employed," James Stroud said. "We believe it is because children at age four have a difficult time distinguishing between playtime and work.

Judith Stroud, who has since left the university to stay at home with their young child, conducted the study with her husband and Marcia Summers, an educational psychologist professor.

"A stay-at-home mom may have the child assist in the daily chores, such as laundry or cooking, by creating a game so it doesn't look like work," James Stroud said. "However, when a parent or parents come home from work at 6 p.m., the child sees a great deal of cooking, cleaning and other chores before bedtime at 8 p.m."

The study found:

• parents and children indicate that the mother does less household management when employed and the father assumes more responsibility.
  
• children of non-employed mothers tend to underestimate the woman's responsibility for home and children.
  
• fathers in single-earner families believe the mother does significantly less household chores than she reports.
  
• fathers in both family types report doing more household work than their wives or children report.
  
• families with employed mothers report about the same amount of shared housework and child care responsibilities as families with non-employed mothers.
  
• daughters in dual-income households perceive their fathers assume a much greater responsibility for care giving than their parents' reports would indicate.

Stroud believes that the study shows young children are seeing parents dividing the responsibility of raising a family.

"Fathers are taking more of a care-giving role in our society," Stroud said. "They and their children still overestimate the amount of time they spend doing such work, but they are doing more than a generation ago.

"Children see that it is okay for the father to cook, do the laundry and clean the house while mom takes out the trash and mows the lawn," he said. "They see families sharing the work, and in turn, will pass that along to their children."