“Ideas about mothers have swung historically with the roles of women. When women were needed to work the fields or shops, experts claimed that children didn't need them much. Mothers, who might be too soft and sentimental, could even be bad for children's character development. But when men left home during the Industrial Revolution to work elsewhere, women were "needed" at home. The cult of domesticity and motherhood became a virtue that kept women in their place.” MenNeedsChildrenIdeasCharacterHomeMightMotherLeftWorkResponsibilityRolesVirtueFieldsRevolutionDevelopmentNeededMotherhoodExpertsShopsElsewhereSentimentalCultCharacter DevelopmentIndustrial RevolutionDomesticityKept Woman Author:Sandra Scarr
“Not until Freud's writings became popular did descriptions of infants center on relationships with their mothers. The idea that children have feelings of any lasting importance for their development is a very recent invention (or insight if you wish).” IfsWritingChildrenIdeasFeelingsMotherWishDevelopmentImportanceInsightInventionDescriptionLastingInfant Author:Sandra Scarr
“All we know is that the school achievement, IQ test score, and emotional and social development of working mothers' children are every bit as good as that of children whose mothers do not work.” KnowsChildrenSchoolMotherSocialBitsEmotionalDevelopmentAchievementTestsScoreSocial DevelopmentMother ChildTest Scores Author:Sandra Scarr