Working moms don’t just provide for their children when they’re young. Deciding to work instead of stay home actually gives your kiddos a lifelong advantage. Did you know that the daughters of working moms go on to become more successful as adults? If you’re looking for ways to make money as a stay-at-home mom or the best side hustles for women, you’re making a great investment in your family’s future. Learn more about how the best jobs for moms also benefit children throughout their life.
Working Moms Set An Example
As a mom, you are your children’s first and most important teacher. Your kids learn from you starting before they’re even born. It’s no surprise that your decisions about whether or not to work makes an impression on your kids. What might be surprising is that going to work has a good impact on your children, especially your daughters.
Harvard researchers found that the daughters of working moms are more successful in their own careers as adults. Women whose moms worked outside the home have several advantages over women whose moms stayed home, including:
- Being more likely to work outside the home
- Earning more money
- Having more responsibilities at work
- Spending more time at work
- Gaining more education
- Spending less time on housework and household chores
This research studied more than 100,000 adults across 29 countries, including the United States. The trends are true for American women. In fact, women who took the U.S. survey made almost $1,900 more every year if their moms worked when they were a kid.
How Working Moms Influence Their Kids
Why do working moms play such a big influence on their children’s careers? Your children are always learning from you. The decisions you make impact what your children think about the world. If you go to work, your children think it’s normal to have a mom who works.
Ask any working mom and she’ll tell you it’s complicated. Holding down a job and raising a family is a lot of work! No one’s pretending it’s easy. However, it is possible. When you juggle your job, your family, and your other responsibilities, you’re setting an example for your kids. Your daughters are learning how to live their own life as they watch you.
Your Kids Will Still Be Happy If You Go To Work
Working is good for both moms and kids, but we admit, some mornings will be harder than others. It’s not always easy to give your kids a hug and head to work. Special parent-child bonds encourage parents to stay close to young children and infants. Moms also face pressure to stay home with their children, whether or not this is what they want to do. It can feel unpleasant or painful to leave for work.
However, the research shows that children of working moms are happy. Babies, children, and teenagers can all be perfectly happy even when their mom works. This trend carries into adulthood as well. Adult men and women of working mothers all report that they’re happy as adults.
If you want or need to get a job, you don’t need to worry about your children’s happiness. They’ll adjust to your new routine and will be just as happy as if you’d stayed home with them.
How You Can Help Your Daughters As A Working Mom
Deciding to start working is a big decision, especially if you’ve taken some time to be home with your family. Spending time with your children is an amazing gift. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying that part of your life, missing it when it’s over—or deciding to make a change.
Going to work is an important step that will change your family’s future for the better.
You’ll see some benefits right away. Moms who work outside the home enjoy great perks such as:
- Adding to the family income
- Building friendships with coworkers
- Benefits like health insurance, vacation time, sick days, and retirement investments
- A sense of identity outside of motherhood
- Self-development
- Career growth
- And more
All of these benefits can help you be a better mother, right now. Health insurance, extra income, and time off give you more ways to provide for your family. Friendships, personal development, and career growth help your self-image, confidence, and identity stay strong. (These aren’t selfish concerns, either. You’re a better parent when you feel good about yourself!)
But working also helps your family in the long run. If you have daughters, your job sets the example for their own careers. You are your daughter’s best role model. Women whose moms worked outside the home are more successful than women whose moms stayed home.
(Don’t have a daughter of your own? Working moms set valuable examples for their sons, and for any other girls in the family. Your nieces, cousins, god-daughters, and all the other girls in your life will benefit from watching your career.)
Explore Careers For Moms
Deciding whether to work should be a personal choice. If you want to have a career outside the home, you’ll make powerful changes in your family’s life. You’ll also set up your daughters for lifelong success. Working moms raise daughters who are more successful than girls whose moms stayed home with them. Your career will help your kids during their entire lives! If you’re curious about starting a job, you should explore your options. Click here to learn about careers for working moms, how they’ll help your family, and how you can get started today.
References
Gerdeman, D. (2018, July 16). Kids of Working Moms Grow Into Happy Adults. Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/kids-of-working-moms-grow-into-happy-adults
Scatliffe, N., Casavant, S., Vittner, D., & Cong, X. (2019). Oxytocin and early parent-infant interactions: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 6(4), 445–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2019.09.009