A new study from the UK involving no fewer than 12,000 children shows that kids raised by working mothers tend to be less healthy than kids raised by non-working, stay-at-home mothers. I’m going to make the very safe prediction that this study will be quickly buried and forgotten, never to see the light of day again. Why? Because the finding is too inconvenient.
Government policy, here and in Britain, favours the working mother over the non-working mother. Feminists want all women to work because they believe this is the only way women can be independent and fulfilled. Business wants all women to work because it wants as many people as possible to work.
Governments tend to listen to the various feminist quangos, plus business, so the poor old stay-at-home mother doesn’t get a look in. In addition, stay-at-home mothers tend not to be organised into effective lobby groups. Also, by dint of the very fact that they are at home raising their children, they almost never come into contact with policy-makers and so have no opportunity to directly influence them.
Nonetheless, that study should form part of Government thinking. We are always hearing that Government-policy must put the child first. We are always hearing about the need to improve children’s health. If so, then surely the Government should be encouraging more stay-at-home mothers, rather than more working mothers?
In fact, what the Government really should be doing is promoting parental choice in this regard. It should not take sides in the so-called ‘Mommy wars’, especially as so many women work out of necessity, not choice. Policy should be aimed at enabling women (or men) to stay-at-home to raise their children, or to go out to work, or to work part-time, according to what best suits couples after they have judged how to balance this with what is best for their kids.
The fact that this isn’t Government policy, and that instead we have tax individualisation, only goes to demonstrate once again the power of the feminist and business lobbies both in this country and in the UK.
