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COLUMBIA, USA, July 17, 2002: Three researchers from Columbia University have co-authored a report that indicates children whose mothers return to full-time work, exceeding 30 hours per week, have lower cognitive and verbal development scores by the time they reach three years of age. This was in comparison to children whose mothers were stay-at-home mothers. Two factors reduced the effect for working mothers; namely better child care and sensitive mothering. Researcher Jeanne Brooks Gunn says, “By sensitivity we mean being responsive to the baby. If the baby needs comforting, the mother is comforting. If the baby’s active, she’s talking and playing with him. It means responding to where the child is. Also, get the best child care you can afford.” Published in the July-August issue of the Journal of Child Development, the article enters a plea to American businesses and the government to have family policies in place that allow women to delay returning to work during these first crucial nine months.

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