Children of working mums ‘don’t fall behind those whose parents stay home’

THE children of working mothers do not fall behind those whose parents stay at home, a study found. According to researchers, there is little difference in the vocabulary or reasoning of youngsters whose mothers go back to full employment. This is despite previous claims that women may harm their child’s development by being away in the day and too tired for quality time in the evening. A team found that working mothers try to compensate for time spent apart by dedicating more hours to educational activities with their children. They followed some 2,200 babies born in Scotland a decade ago until around their fifth birthday. Their mothers’ employment was recorded in yearly surveys, with their children’s development tested. Study authors Dr Markus Klein, from Strathclyde University, and Dr Michael Kuhhirt, from the University of Cologne in Germany, said: ‘The exaggerated claims of benefits and the harmful effects of working mothers on their children are not supported by our research, at least when it comes to early language acquisition and reasoning ability.’ The study, published in the journal Child Development, added that small changes in a child’s development appear to be driven not by their mother’s employment, but her education and the number of siblings. The results show neither a significantly positive nor negative effect of mothers going out to work. The researchers added: ‘By bringing in money and raising the family income, working mothers may be able to provide a more stimulating and safer environment for their children. This is a matter of better living conditions. ‘All policies that enable women to choose whether they go back to work or not should be encouraged. Pressure on women one way or the other is not going to improve their child’s development.’