Babies not suffering when Mums work

[NK5899edf4X1243ad95267]

Sun 01-Aug-10 09:16:54
I dont think you are overreacting at all, I have been back at work now for 6 wks and in all honesty it has been the hardest 6 wks of my life. The appreciation you are told you get for work over being a mother has yet to be bestowed upon me and my son has managed to pick up every bug going. The silver lining on this gloomy cloud however is that he has also picked up the art of waving, clapping, learnt to crawl and is definately more talkative at the age of 10 & 1/2 months than he was at 9! I am trying to find out more about this study headlined on the front page of The Observer today which refers to "Babies not suffering when Mums work" but of course the article doesnt really tell you anything and directs you to www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118539445/home but then asks you to pay for the article. as Siobhan Freegard (cofounder of Mumsnet) is interviewed in the Observers' article I was hoping we would be able to read more about it on this site - has anyone got any ideas?

I am sure there will be lots of posts about this.

i spotted that in the story on the guardian website, here it says siobhan is from mumsnet and then from netmums later in the article.

MN HQ might want to sort that one out!

There will be lots about this later on and through the week. there is plenty on MN about working parenthood, have you looked on the 'going back to work' board?

This research is of no use to anyone trying to decide whether or not to go out to work, because even if every single other baby in the whole wide world is perfectly happy when its parents are working - that's no guarantee that your particular infant will be!

I don't even feel I can advise my own daughter (who has just had a baby) in this regard.

What I have learnt from my 33 consecutive years of non-stop working and looking after children is that different combinations of work and home suit different families at different times. ( I've stayed at home, worked full- and part-time, as a married and a single parent).

One thing is certain: babies are likely to suffer when parents are stressed out, miserable and exhausted. It's not rocket science.

And the only piece of advice I shall be giving my daughter is: 'Ignore the research. Do what feels right and don't let yourself be coerced into making a decision that creates stress and unhappiness for you and your baby.'

Fabulous advice, granny!

Or even grannie