Study Show Working Moms Are Less Depressed
Ever since women entered the workforce in droves during the 80s, women have wondered, will I be happier if I work? Or should I stay home with my kids? We may now have an answer. A new study published by Live Science reveals that women who work, either full time or part time, are healthier and have less depression than women who stay home with their young children. The study appears to be fairly extensive since it began in 1991 and followed women through every stage of their child's life.
The study reveals that the benefits of working don't exist once children enter school, possibly because the stress of being at home with little kids diminishes once the kids are gone at school all day.
As a working Mom, I am a little shocked by these results. I work because my husband isn't done with his surgical training yet so we need the money. I also work because I want to and because I truly like having a life outside my kids but I am often crippled with guilt when I leave my kids for the day. Every single day I wonder if my kids would be happier if Mom was staying home with them. Guilt is a powerful emotion and it makes me wonder whether this study researched guilt and how it relates to depression?
On the other hand, I am often home by the time kids wake up from naps in the afternoon, and I can very easily see why staying home with little children all day could make you a little crazy. The witching hour between 4 and 7 is crazy. The kids are often looking for ways to irritate each other or me, which means they cry and whine a lot, and sometimes everything I seem to try to entertain them ends in disaster.
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