{"id":3031,"date":"2016-12-13T14:05:57","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T14:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/?p=3031"},"modified":"2024-12-22T12:06:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T12:06:55","slug":"mothers-going-back-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/mothers-going-back-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Mothers going back to work early doesn\u2019t harm child development"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Research from three industrialised countries finds that early returns to work after childbearing do not pose a threat to the healthy development of children.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mothers\u2019 going back to work soon after childbirth poses no harm to children\u2019s development, according to our recent studies in the US, UK, and Australia.<\/p>\n

Studies of children born a generation earlier, in the 1970s, \u201980s, and early \u201990s, painted a more worrying picture. These studies found that when mothers returned to work in the first year or two after childbirth, children\u2019s early learning and behavioral skills suffered.<\/p>\n

Our findings were based on nationally representative panel studies of thousands of children born in the early 2000\u2019s in the US, UK, and Australia. The studies followed children and families from birth until they entered primary school.<\/p>\n

Mothers reported their employment experiences after childbirth; the children\u2019s cognitive and behavioral skills were directly assessed and rated by teachers in kindergarten or first grade. We used advanced statistical techniques to adjust for factors\u2014such as maternal education and prior work experience\u2014that could bias associations between early maternal employment and children\u2019s functioning. Doing so helped us isolate how mothers\u2019 employment specifically might support or harm children\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

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