Working Mothers Negative Effects On Young Children Social Work Essay

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

Working mothers have negative effects on their young children. This paper is used to show that why mothers who usually working outside have bad effects on their young children and what are the effects. It explores a series of articles, journals and experiments on the websites to show the bad effects of working mothers to their children by the following four main points, early developmental effects, mother-child barriers, psychological damage for children and mother's over-indulging cause children lack of self-control. In conclusion, the effect of working mothers is still a controversial topic for nowadays, but both the common thinking of people and the reports show that working mothers have further negative effects to children.

Mother is the person who gives a child life and love, so she is the most important person for a child. Children cannot live without their mother during infancy which is based on human's instinct. Mothers can give breast milk for children to make them alive. And mothers can satisfy every little ask from children because of mother's love which is the basic human's instinct exist on every part of human's culture and society. If people living in the way of against the human's instinct, such as mother usually outside so that do not have enough time to stay with her child, it will cause problems. Therefore, working mothers may have negative effects on their young children.

First of all, working mothers may causing bad early developmental effects. The children will have slower emotional development and score less well in reading and math's tests, if their mothers return to work full time in the years before they start school (Carvel, 2003). In this article, it talks about the working mother's bad effects to their children who show on the children's ability of education. By the research, Prof Francesconi said that "Even the children of highly educated mothers who go back to full-time work early will have lower educational attainment. But the disadvantage will not be as much as it is for less educated mums". This statement supports the idea of mother who working outside really has negative effect on her children. Parents are the first teacher of a child, especially the mother. Imitate others' action is the basic instinct of learning. In addition, a research study that received national attention in Britain found that "children whose mothers worked fill-time were twice as likely to fail their high school leaving exams as those whose mothers stayed home to raise them" (Anonymous, 1999). This example also shows that working mothers have negative effects to their children on education. As a result, if mothers working outside for long time, then the child will has nobody to imitate so that has less chances to learn abilities. This is the basic reason of why the children with working mothers have low early education level. As a result, early education is a very important step to influence people's IQ and EQ for their whole life. Nowadays, intensifying competition between people becomes harder and harder, so children cannot lose from the starting line. Therefore, mothers should not work outside for long time during the childhood of their children.

Secondly, working mothers will easily cause mother-child barriers. In most of eastern countries especially in china, most of people believe that only the people with the relationship of blood ties can really trust each other, and the relationship between mother and children is the closest one. However, if the mother is working outside during her children's childhood, there must be some estrangement being created. This will cause barriers the communication between mother and children, so that may form domestic contradictions and become a hidden trouble in future. A research study that received national attention in China a couple of years ago shows that "bring up sons to support parents in their old age" is a common thinking around people in low welfare, so, if there is a problem between mother and children on their family love, that will cause a huge trouble in a family, even the whole society. Pure close relationship usually built from childhood. When people get older, the relationship will become complicated. Therefore, if people want to keep the relationship of blood ties more believable, then this relationship should be built as early as possible. If people cannot trust in the mother's love, they will have few chances to receive others' love. Love is the force of help from others and no one can get a successful result without any help. The mothers who always work outside will make their children start to disbelieve in love and cause mother-child barriers even the barriers with the whole world (Wax, 2004). "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only achieved by understanding" is a well-known saying by Albert Einstein, but the understanding between people needs time and patience. Working mothers do not have enough time to communicate with their children and build this understanding, so barriers may easily be created. People cannot succeed with barriers in their family and the mothers who always work outside is one of the reasons to cause this happened. Therefore, working mothers have negative effect to young children.

Thirdly, working mothers has the effects of psychological damage for children. Young child is very weak on both their body and mind, and mother is the dearest person of her children. There was an experiment for a long time ago shows that when people is facing huge problems, especially the problem is threating to life, the first person they think is always their mum. This is an expression of human's instinct of belong to and trust in mother's love. Therefore, if mother always working outside and do not have time to stay with her children, this will easily causing children feeling helpless and become unsociable, eccentric and have an inferior mentality. There are many examples around me, such as some classmates with single parent family, or, some classmates whose parents always very busy, usually have less confidence and less communicates with others. This is the immediate consequence of children with less of love. In this case, the children with less mother's cares will show different problems in their behavior (Brindle, 2000). People may also have psychological illness or make light of their own life (Wax, 2004). People cannot succeed without self-confidence and courage, but these two important identities are the expressions of people in love, especially in the great mother's love. Therefore, the children with working mothers will get much less love than the children whose mother can always stay with them. This will influence the whole life of a child.

Fourthly, Working mothers may causes mothers' over-indulging and makes their children lack of self-control because of if the mother work outside for long times, they will try their best to make their children happy in the limited time of stay together and with less control. For example, many people who had has less care because of their parents are too busy during their childhood, after they leave their home and begin to live by their own, such as overseas students, they usually weak to face any seducement, and easily be addicted to take drugs, gambles, and alcohol. They become to spend the money from their family lavishly, then, finally broken up the whole family and forfeit their career. There is a report shows that working mothers usually have fatter children. The working mothers has less attention to take care every single parts of their children's daily live, and they may use whatever the way which can make their children happy to fill their guilty of did not spend enough time with children (Hawkes, 2007). If hardworking can help people to successful, then the spirit of unremitting and never give up is the key to succeed. However, if people cannot control themselves, they will never fully succeed. Therefore, young children need their mothers to stay with them and the mothers who always work outside will have negative effect on their personality.

Last but not least, people usually think that working mothers may have negative effects to their children as an instinct. There was an experiment has shown that about 60% of men and 70% of women agreed that "a woman's need for self-fulfillment through work is just as important as her children's need for the best childcare", and this report represent that in most of people's mind, especially in working mothers' mind, they want to spend more time with their children and give a best childhood to them ("WORKING MOTHERS: EFFECT ON CHILDREN", 1983). Mothers want to stay with their children and children want to stay with their mothers is the instinct of human being or animals. If people live in the way which is against their instinct, then it has to be at least a very little influence to their life. However, for many reasons, there are so many reports try to show the opposite result of people's common thinking that there is no difference between the children with working mothers or not, but few of them has supported that the working mothers can help their children to grow up. Therefore, these articles may create by the governments or the people who want women continue to work so that keeps the social productivity not decreasing. This is just a brave conjecture, but still seems possible and reasonable.

In conclusion, In conclusion, based on the methods of above, working mothers may have the following negative effects to their children, such as early developmental effects, mother-child barriers, psychological damage for children and mother's over-indulging cause children lack of self-control. Therefore, mothers are better to spend more time with their children rather than working outside for long-term.