Like a lot of families, Steve and Rebecca Trefz of Piedmont and their 19-month-old son, Brady, spend Sunday mornings in church.
But for the Trefzes, that means Steve and Rebecca - both ministers - are at two different churches, and Brady is in the church nursery or sitting with a member of the congregation.
"What's really challenging for us is that our schedule is not a typical 8-to-5 schedule," Rebecca Trefz said. "We have to shuffle around."
The Trefzes are not the only family doing that shuffle.
South Dakota leads the nation in the percentage of young children with both parents in the work force, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.
The national average is 62 percent. In South Dakota, 74 percent of children younger than 6 have both parents in the work force.
Rebecca is an associate pastor at Canyon Lake United Methodist church in Rapid City.
For her, the decision to work as a minister is a calling.
"It sort of chooses us," she said.
Steve is a minister at Grace United Methodist church in Piedmont.
Rebecca said her husband has decided to take family leave beginning in July to be a stay-at-home dad.
She said that after almost two years of juggling the schedule and discussing having more children, it seemed like the best choice.
"It's a tough decision always to go to one income," she said. "But we've decided this is our priority, so we'll make the necessary changes in our lives that need to be made."
Most Midwestern states are higher than the national average of 62 percent for children younger than 6 who have both parents in the work force.
One reason given for both parents working in the Midwest is that its workers tend to be highly educated and are coveted by employers.
On the flip side, many families need two incomes to make ends meet.
Terree Matson-McCoy, a Rapid City engineer, said she falls into both categories.
"I enjoy my job, and I am fortunate enough to work part time, so I have the balance and am still able to do the things and be with my kids," Matson-McCoy said. "On the same hand, you need two incomes in order to pay your bills."
Matson-McCoy and her husband, Alan McCoy, are engineers, she at Sanmina-SCI in Rapid City and he at Lehman Trikes in Spearfish.
They have three daughters: Saidee, 9, and Sidnee, 7, Alan's from a previous marriage, and, Silvee, 3, theirs together.
"We have a very worked-out schedule," Matson-McCoy said.
She said working part-time allows her to pick up her children from school and day care and drop them off at music lessons.
She said she often turns on the computer at home after the children are asleep and works then so she can maximize her time spent with the girls.
"My kids are number one," Matson-McCoy said. "They come first, before anything else."
Kayla Raterman of Black Hawk said she enjoys her job at Staple & Spice in downtown Rapid City, and it helps pay the bills.
Her husband, Chad, is a police officer at Fort Meade. He works from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., making the task of getting together for family time a little challenging.
"He makes the money," she said. "We can provide better for our child if I work, too."
Their daughter, Hailie, who is almost 4, goes to day care from about 8 a.m. to just after 5 p.m. while Raterman is at work.
She recently took the job at Staple & Spice. She is expecting her second child in June and said she plans to return to work after taking maternity leave.
Chris Hupke, president of the South Dakota Family Policy Council, said it is important for parents, whether or not they work outside the home, to spend quality time with their children.
"So much of who we are as individuals we get from our parents," he said. "Children look at time as validation. If a child doesn't get that time, it can really lead to behavioral challenges."
Hupke said that quality time can come in the form of simple activities like playing catch or reading together.
"There's no question, studies show children fair best when there's a mom and dad in the home and when at least one of them stays home with the children all day, every day," Hupke said.
But he said he knows that is not always a possibility.
Hupke said the most important thing parents can do for their children is maintain a strong and healthy marriage.
"We know that both spouses working adds a strain to that," Hupke said.
Hupke said if one parent stays at home, it is still critical that the parent who works makes time to have quality interaction with his or her children.
"I know that's a challenge personally," he said. "It's so important that I spend time with my children. That affirms who they are in so many different ways."
Top five states in which the percentage of children younger than 6 have both parents in the work force.
State Percentage
South Dakota 74
North Dakota 73
Iowa 72
Nebraska 71
Minnesota 70
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Contact Katie Brown at 394-8318 or katie.brown@rapidcityjournal.com
