It has been commonly held that "children suffer if their mother goes out to work". This research uses several studies--large scale longitudinal data--to look at the development of children whose mothers were employed when those children were very young.

Drawing on longitudinal followups of Head Start children, cross-cultural data from Denmark, and studies of gifted and talented persons, this article advises parents that out-of-home care need not be harmful to their children. However, a high-pressure academic program might have long-lasting negative effects. Cites 14 references. (MLH)