The research, out today, found mothers experienced a crash in well-being when schools closed during the pandemic on a scale equivalent to a divorce, or a partner losing a job. For fathers however there was ‘no effect whatsoever’.
Speaking at a childcare and gender equality themed event at the Nuffield foundation today, Professor Birgitta Rabe, University of Essex, said ‘Childcare has always been discussed in the context of labour supply, and little attention is given to parent mental health’.
She said the research was ‘evidence of substantial mental health benefits of childcare - and this benefits particularly mothers. These should be factored into cost-benefit analyses of childcare – not just the fact it enables women to work.’
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