Respondents in this release are classified as parents if they have dependent children living with them in the same household. This may also include children who are being cared for by someone other than their birth mother or father (for example, guardians or foster parents). This analysis does not include parents whose children do not live with them, or parents whose children usually reside elsewhere (for example, with a former partner).

Overall, 67.2% of mothers and 24.3% of fathers who were not in work stated that they were economically inactive because they were looking after the family or home. Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work and are available to start work. Economically inactive people are not in employment and have either been seeking work but are unable to start, or have not been seeking work and/or are unable to start work. For further details please see the latest UK labour market bulletin. Despite these realities, the truth is that many mothers worry about the impact of their employment on their children. They are concerned that they might miss out on important developmental milestones or feel guilty that they are “putting work ahead of family”. In 1984, 49% agreed with the statement: “A man’s job is to earn money; a woman’s job is to look after the home and family”. In 2017, just 8% of respondents agreed.

You’ll need to have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the week where you get official notification. If you’re agreeing a date with your employer, you’ll need to complete your leave within 56 of days of the birth or adoption. Telling your employer about your paternity leave

share care of the child with your spouse, civil partner or joint adopter, the child's other parent, or your partner (if they live with you and the child) Over half of mothers (56.2%) said they had made a change to their employment for childcare reasons, compared with 22.4% of fathers. The proportion of parents making a change to employment for childcare reasons decreased as the age of the youngest child increased, ranging from 43.8 % of parents of 0- to 4-year-olds to 24.9% of parents of 11- to 14-year-olds.A 2016 LSA and the University of Oxford study found that children whose mothers worked had better social and “everyday” skills. These results included children who were considered to be “very young”.They found that where mothers (and fathers) were active and engaged in their parenting, children’s outcomes improved. Therefore, it can be suggested that a mother working is not necessarily negative for even young children. Rather, it can be positive provided that mothers are careful not to allow work to interfere with having an engaged parenting style. Since 2010, the employment rate for women with children has remained higher than for women without dependent children, whilst the employment rate for fathers has consistently been higher than for men without dependent children. You can get more details of the shared parental leave and pay schemefrom GOV.UK. Adoption leave and pay

The proportion of parents who faced an obstacle fulfilling responsibilities decreased as the age of the child increased; from 34.9% of parents whose youngest child was aged between 0 and 4 years to 20.4% of parents with a child aged 11 to 14 years.If you’re a baby’s father or the mother’s partner you’re entitled to 1 or 2 weeks of paternity leave when you and your partner have a baby. You can also take paternity leave when you adopt a child. Your employer must take account of medical advice provided by your doctor or midwife. This might mean making adjustments to your working conditions or hours, for example if: Sharon Wong is the CEO, the founder, the creative director and most importantly, the passion behind motherswork. She has over 25 years of experience in building brands. Her passion and dedication is to search for the best baby products in every category that will provide the best environment to keep her babies safe and happy, balancing career and quality time with her babies led to the creation of motherswork, 25 years ago. If you or your partner is expecting a baby (or having a child placed with you for adoption), you might be able to turn the maternity (or adoption) leave and pay into shared parental leave and pay.