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Mother's employment is associated with slightly lower test scores, regardless of socioeconomic status. However, those whose working mother is a of higher socioeconomic status experience more disadvantages because they are being removed from a more enriching environment than a child care. Obviously, the quality of child care is a factor to be considered. Low income children tend to be cared for by grandparents or extended family[1] and therefore form strong bonds with family. High income children tend to be cared for in a child care setting or in home care such as a nanny. If the mother is highly educated, this can be a disadvantage to the child. Even with quality of care controlled for, studies still found a negative correlation between full time work within the first year and child development.[2] Children whose mothers work are also less likely to receive regular well-baby doctor visits and less likely to be breastfed[3], which has been proven to improve developmental factors. Effects are felt more strongly when women resume full time work within the first year of the child's life.[4][5]These effects may be due in part to pre-existing differences between mothers who return to work and those who do not such as differences in character or reason for returning to work.[2]

  1. ^ Ruhm, Christopher J. “Parental Employment and Child Cognitive Development.” National Bureau of Economic Research (2000): 1-33.
  2. ^ a b Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, Wen-Jui Han, Jane Waldfogel. “Maternal Employment and Child Cognitive Outcomes in the First Three Years of Life: The NICHD Study of Early Child Care.” Child Development 73 (2002): 1052-1072.
  3. ^ Berger, Lawrence M., Jennifer Hill, Jane Waldfogel. “Maternity Leave, Early Maternal Employment and Child Health and Development in the US.” The Economic Journal 115 (2005): 29-47.
  4. ^ Baum II, Charles L. “Does Early Maternal Employment Harm Child Development? An Analysis of the Potential Benefits of Leave Taking.” Journal of Labor Economics 21 (2003): 409-448.
  5. ^ Hill, Jennifer L., Jane Waldfogel, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Wen-Jui Han. “Maternal Employment and Child Development: A Fresh Look Using Newer Methods.” Developmental Psychology 41 (2005): 833-850.