WASHINGTON -- Working conditions in the United States place enormous pressure on parents. Frequently, both parents must work, due to the high cost of living. Divorce, which is prevalent in the United States, at around 50 percent, adds economic strain. in addition:

- The workday is getting longer. Americans are now putting in a full week's worth more work per year than they were 10 years ago, according to a 2001 report by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Only Czechs and South Koreans work longer hours, the report says.

- While most U.S. school systems have three-month summer vacations, American workers receive, on average, two weeks of vacation after one year of employment, and accrue just four weeks of vacation after 20 years of continual service.

- Only six percent of private industry employees receive employer assistance for child care, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

- Some 10 million American preschoolers spend part of the day in some form of day care, according to Ann Crittenden, author of "The Price of Motherhood: Why the most important job in the world is still the least valued." But the day care industry is virtually unregulated, and many states do not require providers to have prior experience or training. Care givers are at the bottom of the wage scale, often earning less than parking attendants or fast-food cashiers, despite the societal importance of the service they provide.

- Of 145 countries surveyed by the ILO in 1998, the United States was one of just six that did not mandate paid maternity leave. Under U.S. federal law, workers in U.S. companies with 50 or more employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave.

- In 1999, 60 percent of U.S. mothers with children under six chose to work part time, according to the bureau of labor statistics. Most part time workers are ineligible for disability and other benefits, and they often have less access to health care -- directly affecting the welfare of their children, especially if they are single mothers, AFP reported.