This is not "all mothers should stay home with small children" at all.
NB: "Leach insisted her findings should not be interpreted as a demand that mothers stay at home. Instead, she described it is as supporting a demand for 'developmentally appropriate high quality childcare'."
"She described the numbers of mothers not taking up references for child carers as 'staggering' and added 'there were mothers happy to leave a baby with an au pair, after one phone call conducted through an interpreter'."
"In addition, as part of their survey, Leach and her team observed nurseries in both areas. What they found raises further questions about the quality of care, she said.
'For example, a ratio of one member of staff to three toddlers may mean ... one employee on a break and another preparing lunch. This leaves one adult trying to cope with a large group of toddlers. And we are not talking about one bad nursery but a pattern across the country.'
By contrast, a childminder will have a maximum of three children under five in his or her care. Gill Haynes, of the National Childminders' Association, argued that the highly responsive care that the very young require is better delivered by childminders who are, often mature, have 'life skills' and are parents themselves. They also often provide one-to-one care which is thought to be better for children."
Also "Leach said the study indicates that not all babies and toddlers do well at home. Children of mothers suffering depression or having other priorities than motherhood fared better with childminders and nurseries. 'Mummy care isn't necessarily the gold standard,' said Leach."
She is arguing for improved childcare, not criticising mothers who don't stay at home.