Kids of working moms faster in linguistic development

Working moms often worry that not being around their children long enough will deter their children's speaking ability or their overall development. Research shows otherwise.

According to a report by Korea Institute of Child Care and Education (KICCE) released Wednesday, children of working moms are faster linguistic learners than those of stay-at-home moms.

The question is, what sets working moms apart from stay-at-home moms that make their kids more adept with words?

Working moms are less stressed about raising their children because they receive more help from their spouses, according to Panel Study on Korean Children's three-year survey of 1,762 mothers (583 employed and 1,179 unemployed) with infants between 23 and 31 months old.

Working moms received more support from spouses and less stress from parenting and their children were more advanced in linguistic development, considering the fact that families of working moms are more educated and make 1.3 million won more per month on average than their less hectic counterparts.

Interaction between working moms and their children is not only more intensive, but also stress relieving, helping mothers unload their burdens from a hard day of work.

"Children's cognitive, linguistic, and social development usually occurs 25 months after birth during the preoperational phase," KICCE said. Children especially need their mother's care and attention at this particular stage.