How Jobs Give Low-Income Mothers More Than a Financial Boost

Are young children better off when their mothers stay home or when they go to daycare? It’s a question that has been hotly debated for decades and will likely never be settled, but a new study by Boston College researchers suggests that low-income kids with working mothers perform better in kindergarten than their counterparts whose mothers stay home.
The study, published in the journal Developmental Psychology, followed 10,700 children born in 2001, and found that when low-income mothers returned to the workforce before their babies were nine months old, their children performed better in standardized tests of reading, math and vocabulary in kindergarten. When low-income mothers returned to work when their kids were between 9 months and two years old, their children had fewer behavioral problems in kindergarten, according to teacher surveys.
Meanwhile, children of middle-income women showed no significant difference in behavior or cognitive abilities whether their mothers stayed home or not, and the kids of high-income mothers showed a slight decrease in ability when their mothers worked. Prior studies of kids born in the 80s and 90s had suggested some negative effects of childcare across all income levels.
Caitlin McPherran Lombardi, lead author of the study, told the American Psychological Association: “Different cultural attitudes, more readily available and higher-quality child care and more fathers participating in childrearing are other possible reasons for the difference.”
She also noted that continued employment seems to make a big difference in the low-income mothers’ lives too—58 percent of mothers in the study returned to work by the time their child was 9 months old.
“Most mothers today return to full-time work soon after childbirth, and they are also likely to remain in the labor market five years later, suggesting the employment decisions soon after childbirth are pivotal to determining mothers’ long-term employment,” she said. “Our findings suggest that children from families with limited economic resources may benefit from paid maternal leave policies that have been found to encourage mothers’ employment after childbearing.”
MORE: A Safe Childcare Option for Low-Income Parents Working the Night Shift

A Safe Childcare Option for Low-Income Parents Working the Night Shift

It’s hard enough to find high-quality, affordable childcare. But when you work the night shift, as many low-income mothers and fathers do, it can be an insurmountable challenge.
Fortunately, for parents living in Chillicothe, Ohio, there’s an answer: An overnight childcare center.
The Carver Community Center is partnering with Goodwill Industries to expand its daycare services to offer childcare around the clock. Justine Smith, the director of the center, told Dominic Binkley of The Colombus Dispatch, “There are a lot of second- and third-shift jobs available in Columbus. (Parents) are more than happy to drive to Columbus for work, but when it comes to child care, they’re kind of stuck.”
As middle-class parents can attest, the cost of childcare isn’t cheap. (A recent report showed that childcare has become more expensive than college tuition in 31 states.) However, the Carver Community Center manages to keep prices low — most parents pay only $55 to $130 a week — through donations, grants, and support from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Some families that are especially needy only contribute a co-pay of a few dollars.
Still, even if the childcare is affordable, it has to be offered during the hours that parents can actually use it. The Carver Community Center’s rare nighttime hours will allow many parents keep their jobs and not depend on inconsistent or unsafe overnight care for their kids.
Currently there’s a waiting list for night care at the center. “I can honestly say I hate to turn a child away,” Smith told Binkley. “If somebody gave me $1 million, then I would have every kid in the world in this place, but I’ve got to look at the funding.”
For the families that the center is able to help, however, the security that comes with knowing their children are well cared for while they work is priceless.
MORE: Here’s Why We Should Be Investing in Single Moms