Working Moms & Their Children

I read over this story on Today Moms.

"A new study that tracked nearly 19,000 British children found that little girls with stay-at-home mothers were twice as likely to develop emotional or behavioral problems by age 5 as girls with working moms."


McMunn and her colleagues determined that the healthiest kids, in terms of emotional and behavioral development, were those with two parents in the household, both of whom worked. And that was regardless of maternal education level and household income.


Mom’s job wasn’t always good news. Boys from households where the mom was the sole breadwinner were more likely to display emotional and behavioral problems such as aggressiveness, hyperactivity or withdrawn behavior.


But in cases where the dad was employed, boys with stay-at-home moms were twice as likely to develop behavior and emotional as those with working moms. That difference was greatly diminished, however, once the researchers accounted for maternal depression.


Sounds like work makes moms happier, which leads to more well adjusted kids. 
*I would add that work makes moms happier if they want to be working. I have definitely found this true for me. I also find that I need a balance of work and life at home- like about 10 hours of class/work a week. Seriously, I come home excited and rejuvenated. It's great for me.

“There may be something that is very important for girls about seeing their mother participating in society outside the home.”


I think this study is kind of cool. Probably because it's supportive of what I do and I like the idea of women being well-rounded and being able to perform well inside and outside of the home.