Working moms tend to feel immense guilt about their time spent away from their children, which is why there have been so many recent scientific studies researching the long-term effects of a mother’s career on her kids’ development.
Findings over the past few years have concluded that there are countless benefits to being raised by working women, namely that daughters in particular complete more education, have more employment growth, and earn higher incomes. But success isn’t everything, and often moms worry about, to put it simply, “is my child happy? ”
A recent study is now giving these working moms – of both girls and boys – some very good news. The study, published in the journal Work, Employment, and Society, analyzed data on more than 100,000 men and women across 29 countries to determine if having a working mom was linked to certain lifestyle outcomes.
“These findings add to a growing body of research providing a counterpoint to persistent beliefs and rhetoric that employed women are negatively affecting their families. ”
Turns out, the research showed no significant associations between a mother’s employment status and whether her children grew up to be happy adults. It bears repeating: children of working moms are reportedly just as happy in adulthood as children of stay-at-home moms.
Certainly, this isn’t to say that moms should work for the betterment of their child – the findings do not suggest whatsoever that there aren’t other benefits for children of stay-at-home parents. What is reaffirming, however, is that if you choose to work, or if – more likely – you have to work to support your family, your child won’t be any less happy because of it.
As the study’s authors wrote: “These findings add to a growing body of research providing a counterpoint to persistent beliefs and rhetoric that employed women are negatively affecting their families and society. ”
So, whether or not working moms can “have it all,” it certainly seems their children will one day be able to!
