Report outlines the stress benefits of childcare

Spending time in childcare can reduce stress levels in children whose mothers have low job satisfaction, according to a new report.

Researchers from the Universities of Bath, Kent and Bristol found that, if women felt fulfilled at work, their children were much less stressed after attending nursery than those whose mothers had unrewarding jobs or were exhausted by staying at home all day.

Morning and evening levels of the stress hormone cortisol were tested in 56 children aged three to four years old. And their mothers were asked about their working conditions and home life over six months.

The findings suggest that more support is needed for working mothers to improve their job satisfaction and provide affordable childcare.

Dr Julie Turner-Cobb, co-author of the report, said that childcare "can help protect children from the effects of their mother's low job quality and emotional exhaustion".

While acknowledging that "quite a few studies" have shown childcare to be bad for children's health, she argued that the effects of childcare should be considered "in relation to other factors such as the mother's job satisfaction".

The report is published in the December 2005 issue of Developmental Psychobiology. For more information, visit www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/29287