Research Report: Early Maternal Time Investment and Early Child Outcomes
Charlotte Goddard
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Researchers wanted to examine how the amount of time mothers spend with their children is linked to children's attainment, and whether this varies depending on the age of the child. The researchers say this is the first such study to focus on children and parents in the UK.
Authors Emilia Del Bono, Marco Francesconi, Yvonne Kelly, Amanda Sacker
Published by The Economic Journal, October 2016
SUMMARY
The research team from the University of Essex and University College London analysed data on 8,129 children from the Millennium Cohort Study, which contains detailed information on activities done by mothers and children from the age of three. The report authors used this information to distinguish between the amount of "educational" time mothers spent with children, such as reading to them, taking them to the library and helping with homework and the amount of "recreational" time, encompassing activities such as outdoor play, drawing and singing at home.
The researchers also analysed data from 720 mothers who filled in diaries in 2000 to 2001, measuring the amount of time spent doing different activities with their children. This data was from the UK Time Use Survey (UK-TUS).
They also looked at the parenting style favoured by families such as whether the child had regular bedtimes and whether there were rules on screen time.
The research found the more time mothers spent with their children between the ages of three and seven, the better that child's cognitive and social skills were likely to be. Previous research has found children with a mother with a university degree have an advantage when it comes to development and attainment compared to children whose mothers have no qualifications. This research found the time mothers spent with their children in the early years was equivalent to 20 to 40 per cent of the advantage young children get from having a mother with a degree qualification.
The researchers also found spending time with a younger child had more of an effect than spending time with a child who is older. Children with more educated mothers showed a greater positive effect when their mothers spent time with them. Firstborn children also showed a greater positive effect when their mothers spent time with them, and the report authors say more research is needed to find out why this might be.
The Millennium Cohort Study data showed the more education a mother had received, the more time she tended to spend with her child on educational and recreational activities. The data showed no link between a mother's employment status and the amount of time she spent on recreational and educational activities with her child.
The UK-TUS data also showed the more education a mother had received, the more time she tended to spend with her child on activities associated with teaching, as well as reading, playing and talking to her children. Unlike the Millennium Cohort findings, this data showed working mothers spent less time reading, playing and talking to their children.
When people other than mothers spent time with the children, the correlation with attainment and development was not seen. A parenting style based on routine and discipline was associated with a strong positive effect on outcomes, particularly around verbal skills.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Interventions that aim to boost the amount of time mothers spend with children, or inform them of how important this investment is, need to take place early on because the impact is greater when children are younger.
FURTHER READING
- A Flying Start? Maternity Leave Benefits and Long-run Outcomes for Children, Pedro Carneiro, Katrine Løken, Kjell Salvanes, Institute for the Study of Labour, June 2007. A discussion paper looking at the impact on children of increasing maternity leave benefits.
- When Does Time Matter? Maternal Employment, Children's Time with Parents, and Child Development, Amy Hsin and Christina Felfe, Demography, October 2014. A study of whether maternal employment has an impact on children's development and time spent with children.
- Early, Late or Never? When Does Parental Education Impact Child Outcomes? Matt Dickson, Paul Gregg, Harriet Robinson, The Economic Journal, October 2016. An estimation of the causal effect of parents' education on their children's education and examination of the timing of the impact.