Leading British academic Professor Heather Joshi OBE visited New Zealand in May 2010 to talk about two much debated topics – working mothers and children’s early developmental milestones.

Professor Joshi is the former director of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies in London and has spent 40 years researching gender, employment and family.

She was being brought to New Zealand by ChildForum to give two talks: a lecture to medical and child development experts in Auckland and a conference keynote address to early childhood educationalists at the Early Childhood Research Symposium in Christchurch.

Her Christchurch address included results from a recent study of British and American children which is likely to relieve some of the pressure felt by working mums.

Professor Joshi’s visit came at a time when more and more mothers are considering a return to work either to pursue their careers or because of financial constraints and childcare is under closer scrutiny than ever.

Children’s Commissioner John Angus announced last year an inquiry into childcare for under-2s amid concern at the increasing number of hours our youngsters are spending in family daycare and preschools; however Professor Joshi says this latest study shows we may be putting too much emphasis on the need for mothers to stay at home.

“The policy implication is to be aware of the possibilities for improving the terms on which parents balance  bringing up children and earning a living, rather than ordaining that mothers should or should not go out to work.” she says.

The research had a mixed reaction following its release in the UK, she says, with some disappointed that it gave no simple answer to the question of whether mothers should work.

In Auckland Professor Joshi discussed the latest findings from the Millennium Cohort Study - a British study following the lives of around 15,000 children born in 2000 and 2001 from birth until they turn 12.

The most recent findings, published in February, showed that developmental delays as early as nine months, amongst many other things, can have an impact on how children learn and behave at the age of five, highlighting the importance of early screening and monitoring.

Professor Joshi’s ChildForum Auckland lecture gave medical experts, government advisors and early educationalists a great opportunity to learn more about this significant research and its implications for changes to early childhood policy.

ChildForum chief researcher Dr Sarah Farquhar says it was exciting to be able to bring an internationally high-profile academic to New Zealand at a time when debates are raging here about whether mothers are putting their infants well being at risk and the explosion of numbers of very young children in non-parental care.

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