Mommy wars: Whose kids are healthier?

"Get your boxing gloves out, ladies," said Amy Hatch in Parent Dish. "There's a new salvo being fired in the Mommy Wars—a study out of Britain reveals that kids of working mothers aren't as healthy as children whose moms who stay at home." The research, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, found that children of working moms ate fewer fruits and vegetables and drank more sugary drinks than kids with stay-at-home moms.

It's so unfair to pit working moms and and stay-at-home moms against each other, said Julie Deardorff in the Chicago Tribune, but that's what "studies that link working moms to obesity—this is not the first"—always do. The question I'm always left with is: "What about the dads, who never seem to be included in these studies? Why are working moms primarily responsible for their children's health?"

The authors of the study said their findings shouldn't be used to discourage women from working, said Rebecca Smith in Britain's Daily Telegraph. "Rather," said research author Catherine Law, "they highlight the need for policies and programs to help support parents to create a healthy environment for their children."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up