Becoming a mother is a beautiful thing. Many mamas struggle with returning to work or getting jobs and leaving the kids with a sitter. Many of us feel we’re abandoning our babies for a buck when deep down, we know we need the money to pay bills and take care of our families.
While getting back to work is necessary, and we know it will benefit our little ones, we can’t help but feel guilty about it. We’re here to tell you that returning to work is a good thing, and we are helping our children grow and become happy grown-ups.
You can search for a study published in a journal called Work, Employment, and Society. A study included over 100 thousand men and women throughout 29 countries. The study was designed to seek out whether there was an impact on those who had working moms. Research showed no association between an adult's happiness with a stay-at-home mom or a working mom.
Can Being A Working Mom Benefit Our Kids?
Looking into the research, we discovered that adult daughters of working mothers were more likely to be employed and held supervisory responsibilities. These women also worked longer hours and earned more income. Sons of working moms were found to be far more caring towards their families.
Further research tells us that mamas that work have long-lasting positive effects on their little ones well into adulthood. A study in Denmark showed similar results, finding that working mothers positively influence their little girl’s careers, and it contributes to reducing the gender income gap that’s always been unfair.
3 Things Kids Growing Up With Working Moms Learn
Working moms bring extremely valuable lessons to kids. Let’s take a quick look.
- Valuable Work Skills: Sticking to schedules, organizational skills, prioritizing, and being productive are excellent life and work skills our little ones pick up from us.
- Responsibility: When our kids see us be responsible, it makes them want to be the same. Having to balance home and work life through responsible choices leads our kids down a similar path.
- Not Being The Center of The Universe: It might seem wrong, but it’s vital that our children learn that they aren’t the only priority in life; instead, they’re an extremely important part of it. Being number one every time can lead to a sense of entitlement, and that’s not good.
We are showing our kids that sometimes we have difficult choices to make, but we make them in the best interest of ourselves and our families. Our little ones learn so much from us on a regular basis.
Whether you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, your kids will pick up so much from you. One is no better than the other. However, everything and every choice we make will be pros and cons. Choosing to go back to work allows our children to see that dedication and hard work are essential parts of life. After all, the bills won’t pay themselves.