Chapter 11those whose mothers worked throughout their childhood
behaved worse. This effect is significant only for girls— with
a coefficient suggesting that, if their mother works through-
out (as opposed to never), their average behavior at 16 is
worse by 0.18 standard deviations.^7 Even this is not a huge
effect, and it is reduced when the effect of work on income
is allowed for (see Online Table A.11.1).
Mother’s Work and the Intellectual
Development of Her ChildSo much for effects on the well- being and the behavior
of the children. But what about the educator’s passion—
their intellectual performance? How is this affected if their
mother goes out to work?
And when is it affected? This question of when is crucial,
because learning is cumulative, and the only thing that mat-
ters ultimately is what a person has learned by the end of
their education. In this respect intellectual development is
quite different from well- being and behavior, which matter
every year— it is an outcome every year if a child is happy
Table 11.2. How children’s behavior is affected by mother’s work
(ALSPAC)Proportion of time
mother worked
Effect on standardized behavior at16 11 5In the 1st year −0.01 (.05) 0.03 (.04) 0.00 (.03)
Thereafter (up to
age shown)
−0.14 (.06) −0.11 (.04) 0.01 (.03)