Happy mums

Make breakfast. Get the kids ready. Drop them off at school before heading off to work. Get back home to prepare dinner. And, at the end of a long, tiring day, put the children to bed. The life of a working mother is no bed of roses.

It is, however, fulfilling.

US researchers have revealed that, contrary to perceived wisdom, working mums who have to juggle a career and raise their children at the same time are happier than their stay-at-home counterparts. Somewhat reasonably, the study, in the December issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, also showed that part-time mothers are the happiest of the three groups.

The study found that nonworking mothers registered higher degrees of depression than the other two categories. Mothers with part-time jobs, meanwhile, seemed to strike the perfect balance between caring for their children and enjoying the self-worth that a career offers.

The news will encourage new mothers; many have in the past accepted, for cultural reasons, that their place is in the home. Under UAE law, part-time jobs are allowed, though not enough people take advantage.

More and more women are enrolling in higher education in the UAE. A transition into the workforce is therefore the next logical step. Especially if the reward to self, and family, is a happier home.