WORKING MOTHERS STUNT CHILDREN’S DEVELOPMENT

NEW YORK CITY, July 18, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Mothers who go back to work before their baby reaches 9 months consign the child to poorer mental and verbal development by age three than those with stay-at-home mothers, according to findings from Columbia University reported in the July-August Child Development journal.  Researchers measured the cognitive and verbal development of children and found lower scores for three-year-olds whose mothers neglected them by working at least 30 hours a week. They also found that no matter how positive were other factors such as the quality of child care and the home itself, children with full-time working mothers were disadvantaged. Boys, and children of married parents, were found to be most affected by a working mother’s neglect.  Some tried to downplay the findings. “There are effects but they are not huge effects,” says Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, a co-author from Columbia Teachers College. “Your child’s life will not be ruined,” she said, adding that “sensitive” working mothers who show a greater interest in the baby can mitigate the effects. “The things I would say to [working] mothers are be highly sensitive when you are with the baby and get the best child care you can afford”—meaning one caregiver for one or two children.  To read the academic abstract of the article see:  https://www.blackwellpublishers.co.uk/asp/journal.asp?ref=0009-3920&src=ard&aid=457&iid=4&vid=73   To read a newswire report see:  https://www.salon.com/mwt/wire/2002/07/17/study_results/index.html?x