Working mothers have been misrepresented yet again by the media, believes Dr Tony Munton
Last week's 'Panorama' programme, entitled 'Back to the Kitchen Sink', highlighted the dilemmas facing countless working families. The point that many employers are unwilling to adopt real family-friendly policies was well made. Unfortunately, instead of taking a balanced view of the issues, programme maker Sarah Powell couldn't resist trying to convince us, yet again, how mothers are damaging their children's future by going out to work during their early years.
Of course, we've seen it all before in Ms Powell's previous 'Panorama' programmes: damaged kids, guilty mums, and a bit of research thrown in to justify the whole thing. Last time, childcare researchers contacted by the BBC complained that their work had been misrepresented. This time, the production team contacted us here at the Thomas Coram Research Unit for the latest evidence.
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