I agree. Calling attention to "putting on pounds" makes it seem like there is a health risk, when it says in the article that there is not. Maybe kids of working moms have more food available? Or, maybe they tend to eat more "convenience food" that is more processed and has higher carbs and less protein/veggies? You just can't know from this article. It hypes up fear of fat needlessly. I suppose it guarantees more readers that way; moms are trained to be guilty, so if it says, Hey, Working Moms Doing a Great Job, no-one will waste time reading it.

To the point of both parents working and someone else supervising the kids or the kids taking care of themselves, one thing I will say is that there are many things that others (including my parents who watched my children) would say yes to that me or my husband would not. Such as over-snacking or over-treating. Sitters and grandparents in my case especially, have the tendency to "thats ok" much more than my husband and I will. I have not a problem at all saying "lets eat a little less" or "you waited too late to have that now". So in that regard I will say I agree.

Also my neighbor and I were good examples of parents who care on weight. While her mother worked, she ALSO kept sodas and chips and snack cakes stocked up along with the good foods. What is a child going to choose if given the choice? They cant eat what you dont give them access too, you know? In my house soda was a precious rarity...i did have every flavor of koolaid known to man but we all wanted water anyway.

It wasnt the fact that her mom wasnt there as much as she didnt make eating well mandatory while she was gone. My mother worked too. We rarely had fast food or junk, four kids made short work of that, but there was always, aaaaaaalways, fruit,veggies and sandwich makings and homemade popcorn. That girl is now extraordinarily large. I used to think she had the cooler parents because of her ability to drink sodas and eat all the goodies nonstop. Thanks mom. :-)

I agree. Insulting and outright bull$**t. I work outside the home. And if my children are heavier due to my not being home with them all day...I'd hate to see how skinny they would be if I stayed home.

My mother worked her entire life. I am a normal, healthy weight. My doctor said so.

And why the hell is it always the MOM's fault, hmmm? My husband works. Yet he's absolved of complicity in the health matters of our children?

It's insulting from the point of view that of how misleading the article is...beyond that, pft.

I was wondering the same thing. I work (more than) full-time, but my husband is a dedicated, stay-at-home Dad. I kept re-reading the article, trying to figure out if they'd taken that scenario into consideration.

It personally offends me that YOU immediately decide that this article is deriding working mothers. It says that it is a scientific fact that children of working mothers have higher BMI. It also says that they are not of porer health. It doesn't say "get back in the kitchen and make something wholesome a la 1950", that is a conclusion you decided the author was making.

I find it interesting that children of working mothers have higher BMIs but I am very happy that the study found that there weren't any ill health effects to those children. It would be interesting to find out why this is the case and, as clearly stated in the body of the article, there is ongoing research to find out why this is the case. Childhood obesity is a pandemic in this country and I applaud the efforts of this research to try and better understand what is causing it. I think it is very irresponsible to immediately condemn the research because you don't like the findings.

Agreed. The article stated "Children's physical activity, time spent unsupervised and time spent watching TV" didn't seem to be a factor. Uh, what about diet?

My first thought on this is that when you have a single working parent or a two income family, there's probably an increased likelihood of relying on take-out and convenience foods just because cooking from scratch every night (as I normally do) takes a bit more advanced planning when both parents work.

This article doesn't really mean crap to me until they're taking diet into consideration.

Did you even bother to read the article...? It was talking about mothers who worked...outside the home...away from their children. Not stay at home mothers, who, while your job is demanding, your technically no working outside the home.

Junichiro,

The fact that the article discusses mothers who work outside the home does not preclude SAHM's from having an opinion to contribute. CleanHands' and kash's posts were both relevant to the article.

Hmmm.. pretty sure I was DEFENDING working mothers.

Thank you, Sandy!

I got that, CleanHands. Junichiro lambasts American proficiency in reading in a later post, but it seems s/he could use some help in that area!

You are a complete a**hole. Most of us work because we HAVE to; because even two moderate incomes together just barely get the essentials paid. If you make enough so your wife can stay home good for you. My husband, a good man, hard worker who logs all the overtime he can, does not. But I wouldn't trade him for a jerk like you for any amount of money.

Amen, rockermom! I'm like you - work because I HAVE to - not because I think I can "be all that I can be." On top of the fact that I already wish I could stay home, I'm also the main breadwinner so it pains me to knw it will never happen. And just in case you're wondering, dadof4, we live in a very modest home, I drive a 1999 Saturn, husband drives 2003 Pontiac. We have one child because we can't afford daycare for 2 and on my husband's salary - we could afford a cheap apartment at best. We live paycheck to paycheck on our two salaries but it sounds like a jerk like you wouldn't get that. I pity your wife. Oh...just to add, my daughter is incredibly intelligent at 4, was just put on a gluten free and dairy free diet due to intollerances which takes a huge amount of time (and money) on my part, and remains very petite. I'm glad to see you blame all the problems of the world on working women. Maybe you should thank us that we are working if we are physically able to instead of raising your taxes by utilizing govt assistance (and yes, I do realize some people still need govt assistance even while working hard).

Keep feeding that dream dad of 4. I stayed at home until my kids were in 1st and 3rd grade. Because of scare tactics my family tried to instill in me (eerily similar to what you are saying) I was terrified to go back to work. Who would have known that a year later, the whole family is doing better. 1 child who was a high performer is still a high performer - although much more responsible and independent about fixing her breakfast, lunch etc... More self-reliant dressing herself, figuring out friendships etc... Child 2 has had his grades dramatically improve - self-reliance issues have also been much improved. I am much happier. The hubby is happier having the extra $ to plan for college & retirement. Grant it, my situation is very easy - my ILs who are amazing pick my kids up from school and I pick them up a "horrible" 90 minutes later lol. From my experience, it is more controlling men who say things like this (my own father included) and sadly some women buy into it. I am a pro sahm person and loved being at home w/ my kids when they were small, but at some point, you need to ease them into being more self-reliant and getting your own life:)

Once again jerk off - it is not always a CHOICE to work but a NECCESSITY! To add - I required an emergency c-section after an 18-hour natural labor. Had I not been in a hospital, both my daughter and I would have died. She also breastfed until she was 17 months old and I made her baby food. Guess my husband is a bad husband since he only makes $14/hour and can't afford what we need - even though he's a hard worker and will do anything for us. Again...totally pity your wife.

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I think it's a bit hypocritical of you to harangue working mothers when your wife and mother of your children works outside the home on occasion, however much she is home. A career isn't ok unless it's one you approve of, right? And you speak of "empowering women".

I support my healthy, normal-weight son financially and emotionally, too. He is healthy, makes good grades, has lots of friends, and is a favorite with his after-school child care providers because of his good behavior. I make healthy meals for both of us. With some planning, life as a working mother is not as hectic as you have portrayed. And I do it by myself. Is it because my husband left me due to my feminist views? Nope, it's because I left him.

And as regards your opinion that working is for chumps, sorry you feel that way. I happen to enjoy my career, and wish everyone could. It allows me to make a comfortable income to support us, and provides me flexibility to spend time with my son. It also gives me an outlet for my talents, which do not tend toward the domestic.

The article talked about mothers who worked outside the home...not those who had occupations at home.

Junichiro, unless laboring women are coming to her home for her assistance, being a doula as DadofFour's wife is, IS a job outside of the home. (A very admirable career, I must say.)

I don't agree with everything you wrote in your previous posts about working mothers and the quality of their family lives, Dadof4, but I will say that your wife and children are fortunate to have a husband and father who is so committed to his family.

When I had PPD due to severe Mommy Guilt when I HAD to go back to work, I found out my doctor was going through the same thing (had a baby 6 weeks before me - BTW, her hubby is a SAHD). She said that she did a lot of research - SAHM, working moms, etc. The only kids that seemed to suffer were kids whose moms worked at home with them there (not the normal mom capacity but an actual job). Here you just told us your wife works from home with the kids there. Wow...maybe you're not the Superman you claim to be.

I'm guessing that Dadof4's wife does most of her client consults at her home as some doulas do (some will also do home visits). It's not a typical work-from-home scenario, so I will defend Dadof4 on that one. That being said, Dadof4 insults those women like my mother, my sister-in-law, and myself who have children, husbands, AND a career they love. In all three cases, darn good insurance benefits came with those careers. All three of us manage to prepare healthful meals for our families. Our husbands also share responsibilities with us as do the children, which makes family like much more pleasurable. None of us have become old before our time because of our supposedly harried lifestyle. Life is always hectic when you have children, whether a woman stays at home or works. While children need the unconditional love and support of both of their parents, they also need to learn from an early age that, while their needs are very important, the entire world does not constantly revolve around them. Mommy and Daddy have needs, too. Happy parents=good marriage=secure and happy children. It's not all or nothing as you'd like to believe, Dadof4. Feminism is about choices, not about making men obselete. I consider myself to be a feminist, but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate the differences and strengths my husband brings to our marriage, just as he appreciates my strengths and differences. Women and men ARE different, but we also have a lot in common as human beings. Physically, I can do most activites that my husband can do (although it's nice when he does some of the heavier lifting around the house).

"HAVE" to work is NOT necessarily a "choice"! You obviously have NO idea what happens to families sometimes that force them to have two incomes. My family moved due to company-initiated changes (my husband's job, if you must know). The moves cost us dearly, and we started out in debt to keep his job; if I didn't work we would have no way to buy food or pay bills. Period. I work because yes, I do HAVE to. Your self-important, grandiose, extreme chauvonistic view can't see that, and thankfully you are in the tiniest minority in this country.

Before you go on a self-righteous tangent against me, and my family, no we do not have an expensive home we have a home that is modest (around 1500 square foot bi-level from the mid 1970s), one single car that has over 180,000 miles on it (and losing the transmission), a furnace that is losing a pilot light every few days, we don't ever go on vacation except to visit family 300 miles away as we place a priority on making sure our two kids know their grandparents, their aunt, uncle, and other family that all live in the other location. We almost never buy anything for ourselves as parents, and keep having to make even more cuts to our budget due to rising taxes and expenses. The kids get clothes and food, and one activity each.

Go ahead, find a way to rant your hatred toward me because I do have to work...try me. Heck, I'd love to stay home and actually did for a couple of years finishing college right after we'd moved here (company moved us again) a few years ago. It was a good time but when the kids started school it became much harder as the single income took a horrible toll on us.

I'm also not entirely clear why you think that it MUST be a woman to stay home in the kitchen...are you really that out of date????

You become a bigger, self-absorbed a-hole in every post!

That's right, keep trying to convince happy people that they're miserable instead. Then insult them by calling them "sheeple", implying that they're easily lead, or mislead. So they're only "sheeple" when they don't do what YOU tell them they should do, right? Again, pretty hypocritical.

Sandy I have to give you a huge ditto! Thanks for saying exactly what I was thinking!!

Great minds think alike;)

I do as many (if not more) "motherly things" with my daughter than many of my SAHM friends do.

Are American public failing so horribly as to not teach people how to read? Or if you went to a private school, go get your money back for your parents.