Confused? You will be.
Dear children,
I'm sorry to tell you that research published today shows that the children of working mothers are less active and less likely to eat healthy food. You are therefore more likely to be obese. In the last year, I should also warn you I've learned that the children of working mothers are more likely to have problems with reading, more likely to become teenage mothers/parents themselves and are damaged for life because they find it harder to socialise.
I should tell you as well that there've been studies in the past year that show mothers who work compensate by buying their children healthier food than most and use the time they have together far more intensively to encourage social and emotional development.
All in all kids, I wish you luck.
Your (working) mother.
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~13~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
You have the neglect of working parents, and their latchkey kids, and the neglect of yob parents, with their latchkey kids. It doesn't matter whether you're working or not, have money or not, some people just have no parenting skills. Why would they? They were probably latchkey kids themselves.
Complain about this comment
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
2,
OK, so Mr Robinson has a Tory background, but there are many Labour jouralists out there so let's give him a break.
Getting back to the issue, I believe this whole story to be very sexist. What about working dads? Both my wife and I work full time to afford a house and the cost of bringing up 2 small children. The whole economy is driven around owning a property and working to pay for it, so being slagged off for doing so is pathetic.
It is a fact of life for both patents to work in most households and I find such surveys as statistically insulting.
If it came to my wife or I giving up work to look after the kids, then it would be me, becuase I earn less.
Complain about this comment
3.What comes first material wealth and status or the well being of the child? We should all look at ourselves and the political correct world
we have created home/bed/car/school/school/car/home/sofa/bed.where is the
most important element play.Play not work is the key and until we give back that freedom we will always have obese,lazy and worldly naive offspring.
Complain about this comment
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I worked outside the home when my sons were still at school and, with apologies to OFSTED, had them looked after by a friend and neighbour until I got home. They were regularly involved in school sports activities and joined local rugby, soccer, cricket and tennis clubs.
They have grown up to be honest, harworking, law abiding citizens who contribute to the economy and respect other people and their property.
Why was the report you mention carried out in the first place? Why was it limited to children aged 5? How is it going to be used?
And what bearing does it have on real life anyway?
In my opinion the best start you can give your child is a happy, loving home and a good education at a school where teachers are not bogged down in red tape and bureaucracy but are free to do what they do best - teach!
I think the decision makers in this country lost their way years ago and reports like this just enforce my opinion.
Complain about this comment
message 6....
A very astute summation, with the absolute accurate 'sting in the tail'
"....I think the decision makers in this country lost their way years ago and reports like this just enforce my opinion....."
Complain about this comment
Betsan, Take a chill pill, dear..
These studies are a bit like those saying that people drinking a glass of wine every day live longer. So people think 'I will drink a glass of wine every day'. But they don't live longer. Because the people in the original survey who drank a glass of wine daily were also healthier, wealthier and did more exercise and probably had a diet consisting of more vegetables and olive oil...
Likewise when you see these tables of which towns have the best health, one doesn't think "I will move to Budleigh Salterton from my Glasgow flat" as one would probably take one's lifestyle and diet with one.
Whether one is working or not working is not going to change you from being like the AVERAGE working mum to be the AVERAGE non-working mum overnight. Although castigating either for the life choices they make is unlikely to be helpful.
I think I was molly-coddled a bit because my mum 'stayed-at-home' but I was chivvied to do my homework, although I don't remember huge numbers of 'bedtime stories' not least because I liked reading enough to pursue that by myself.
But the worst thing you can be as a mum [or indeed as a human being..] is a worrier, so lead by example and keep reminding your children frequently that they have a super-hero for a mother. How many youngsters can say that they have that as a parent and 'role-model' ?
Complain about this comment
Funny how this comes out at the same time as our esteemed Prime minister says, he is going to clamp down on, did I hear someone say on the radio 'Ferrel Kids' (wow!) and their parents.
Complain about this comment
mesage 9...
So what would you have him do?
... stop all mothers from working maybe?
"Come in Mrs Jones, I hear you are expecting?"
"Yes Mr Brown I am".
"Well then, your cards will be ready at five o'clock. Nice to have had you working for us, Mrs Jones. Don't slam the door on your way out!"
Th truth is, it is only an estimated 2 or 3% of kids who are so far out of control' as to be named 'feral', and most of those are only 'out of control' for a very short period of time.
Its just another newspaper, usually 'red tops' at that, which make great issue of such patterns of bad behaviour, of course, rubbish policing and failures in social services departments do not help.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS