Third of mums want to leave work
Filed under: Sex, Work & money
Far from a desire for the best of both worlds, more than a third of working mums would rather quit their jobs to look after their kids, new research suggests.
While the Government insists that women would prefer to go to work given decent childcare, six out of ten mothers wished to reduce their hours.Jill Kirby, director of the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, told the Daily Mail: "Once again a survey is telling us that the Government's got it wrong.
"Continuing to push for more childcare and getting women to work more and longer hours is just no what women want.
"It's neither in the interests of children, nor indeed in the interest of women."
The survey was commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and questioned in the region of 7,000 parents with children under 14.
With financial pressures meaning around two-thirds of respondents had to work, 16 per cent of mothers with partners and 12 per cent of single mums were concerned that their career would suffer if they took time off to care for their children.
At the time the survey was conducted last year, almost two in three mothers were in employment with 29 per cent of those with partners and 23 per cent of single mothers working full-time.
As single mothers struggled to pay for childcare, a third said they would feel "useless without a job".
The reports authors said: "This probably reflects the findings from other research, which has shown that some lone mothers feel it is less socially acceptable for them not to work as they would need to rely on state benefits."
But with nursery fees currently around £80 a week for a day nursery and £102 for a nursery, one in seven parents said they were unable to used childcare due to the expense.
The problems of raising children are getting harder and pressure from the Government is certainly not making the family/career balance any easier.
Sally Russell, founder of website Netmums, said: "In many ways we have gone backwards, because women don't have the choice – they have to go back to work."
Let us know what you think? Are you a mum who is having to work and concerned that you are not able to care for your children?
