Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Mom brings home the bacon. (And the milk.)

My son was six weeks old when I returned to work. And I had the same thought every day when I dropped him off at day care:
This is crazy. Why am I working? I should be staying home with him. I mean, my salary covers our healthcare and the cost of his school and some other bills, but I think we could live without it.
Then, I would take a deep breath, remind myself that I liked my career, and went into the office. Later on in the day, as I sat in a spare room pumping breast milk, I would have different thoughts:
I am Super Mom. I am bringing home the bacon and the milk. Things will be OK.
And they have been OK. In fact, for a lot of children of working Moms, life might be better than OK. Researchers have found that children tended to be higher achievers in school and have less depression and anxiety in families where Mom works. (Thanks, Mom!)

And new research may indicate that the daughters of working Moms may be more likely to be employed, earn higher incomes and obtain supervisory roles later on in life. Granted, a lot of this research is new and many scientists are unsure if the data between Mothers and daughters is concrete, but all the combined research around working Moms and their children should start alleviating some of that often-felt working Mom guilt.

How do you feel about being a working Mom? Guilty or empowered? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

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