Whenever a child is born a mother has to make a decision; whether to stay at home or to return to work. New research shows that returning to work might be a good option for many mums.
New research has used data gathered from 1500 mothers who were interviewed after their child was born and then followed for more than ten years. Analysis of the data revealed that mothers who returned to part-time employment when their child was young experienced better overall health and less depression than stay-at-home mums. General health and depression were essentially the same for mothers working full-time or part-time.
Mothers employed part-time showed the highest level of sensitivity to their children and spent more time with them than full-time mothers.
The researchers concluded that part-time work is clearly beneficial for the family unit. Not only does it provide some income for the family, the speculation is that time away from the children in an adult environment makes working mothers more appreciative of the time that they do spend with their children.
The researchers noted that full-time caring for children can be very demanding and so time away from that will be healthy for all.
Based on this research it seems that part-time employment offers the best of both worlds. It allows some mental space for the parent but still provides some income and actually sharpens appreciation of the opportunity to parent. Of course, none of this is to say that there is one size that will fit all; parenting, like life, is an individual and unique endeavour.
However, one salient point made by the researchers given the trends that they have found is that most part-time work does not carry the same benefits in terms of superannuation and leave that full-time work does. Perhaps as a society this is an issue that needs to be addressed of the emotional and financial needs of the family unit are to be met.
