Mothers who work do NOT harm children
CHILDREN of working mothers are not likely to do worse at school, research has revealed.
A study of 2,200 children found there is little difference in youngsters’ vocabulary or reasoning ability if their mother is not at home.
Previous research suggested that women who return to work may harm their children’s development by staying away in the day – and then by being too tired to spend quality time with them in the evenings.
But a British study found little impact on five-year-olds who grew up with their mother in full-time work.
Researchers cite evidence that working mothers try to compensate for time away by spending more time on educational activities with their children.
The authors of the study – Strathclyde University’s Dr Markus Klein and Dr Michael Kühhirt, from the University of Cologne in Germany – describe working mothers as a ‘hot potato’ subject, in an article on the website The Conversation.
They state: ‘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.
‘We found mothers manage to combine their careers with careful consideration of their children’s development – and that being in employment itself is not a major driver of differences in children’s outcomes.’
The study looked at children born in Scotland in 2005 and 2006, following them from the age of ten months until around their fifth birthday. Their moth ers’ employment was recorded in yearly surveys, with the children’s development tested.
To measure vocabulary at age five, children were asked to identify and name various objects from a picture booklet.
Reasoning ability was established by asking them to find similarities between an image and objects in a picture book.
The study found neither a significantly positive nor negative effect from mothers working.
The authors state: ‘As policies designed to bring mothers into the workforce are on the increase – and pressure on from all sides continues to mount – it is important to know how the children of working mothers are faring.’
Long working hours and stress could affect interactions vital for language development.
The study, published in the journal Child Development, states: ‘Due to regular separation and fatigue, working mothers may be less thoughtful of, and perceptive to, children’s requirements, which may decrease cognitive stimulation for children.’
Small changes in children’s development noted by the researchers appear to be driven not by their mothers’ employment, but by her education and how many siblings they have.
They state: ‘By bringing in money and raising the overall family income, working mothers may be able to provide a more stimulating and safer environment for their children.
‘This isn’t just a matter of more expensive toys or learning material but also better living conditions, better nutrition and reduced family stress.’
In conclusion, they add: ‘All policies that enable women to choose whether they go back into work or not should be encouraged. Pressure on women one way or the other is not going to improve the development of their children.’
‘Stimulating environment’