Source: BBC News >> Read full article and comment
By Clare Murphy
Health reporter, BBC News
A new study suggests the children of mothers who work part-time are healthier than those of their full-time or stay-at-home counterparts. Where does this take the debate on the effects of working mothers on the health and happiness of their offspring?
The study of 4,500 Australian pre-schoolers found those whose mothers worked some of the week were less likely to eat junk food, watch TV and over the course of the two-year research period were less likely to become overweight.
The authors suggested that mothers who worked part-time went to “considerable lengths” to ensure the time they did spend with their children was high quality.
“When mothers work part-time, there’s obviously something about the way the house is run, and the way parents are looking after their children that is protective,” said Jan Nicholson of Melbourne’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Mothers’ messages
Her study – Do working mothers raise couch potatoes? – concluded that apparently they do if they work more than 34 hours a week, struggling to find the time for family cooking and activities.
The reasons why mothers who do not work have children with less healthy habits are not fully understood, the study says, and requires a closer analysis of “household dynamics”… Continue reading
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