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The Timing and Intensity of Maternal Employment in Early Childhood: Implications for Canadian Children

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Abstract

This study focused on the associations between timing and intensity of maternal employment in early childhood and the developmental outcomes of young Canadian children. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth using multiple linear regression. We tested the associations between mothers’ employment in the first four years of children’s lives and motor and social development of zero to 4-year-old-children and receptive language of 4 and 5-year-old-children. We also examined the association between working more than 20 h a week during the first 2 years of children’s lives and children’s outcomes. We found that mothers who returned to work when their children were between 0 and 4 years old had enhanced motor and social development in comparison to children of mothers who did not work during this time. Additionally, findings showed that relative to children of mothers who worked 20 h or less a week in the first 2 years of their children’s lives, in particular between 12 and 17 months, children of mothers who worked more than 20 h had lower receptive language scores at 4 and 5 years of age. These findings have implications for maternity and parental leave policy in Canada.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funds to the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) from the Social Science and Humanities research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and Statistics Canada. Although the research and analysis are based on data from Statistics Canada, the opinions expressed do not represent the views of Statistics Canada or the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children, Youth and Families—Addiction and Mental Health, #2020, Northgate Health Centre, 9499-137 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5E 5R8, Canada

    Teresa Katherine Lightbody

  2. Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, 302, Human Ecology Building, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2N1, Canada

    Deanna Lynn Williamson

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  1. Teresa Katherine Lightbody
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Correspondence to Teresa Katherine Lightbody.

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Lightbody, T.K., Williamson, D.L. The Timing and Intensity of Maternal Employment in Early Childhood: Implications for Canadian Children. J Child Fam Stud 26, 1409–1421 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0668-x

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