By . Eleanor Harding . PUBLISHED: . 13:55 EST, 20 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:47 EST, 21 October 2013 . Many would say that bringing up children is the most important job there is. But, according to experts, stay-at-home mothers are facing an increasingly vicious backlash by those who think they are lazy, stupid and unattractive. A top academic has said full-time mothers are now subjected to ‘motherism’ - a prejudice that in many circles was unspoken but highly damaging. Bedtime reading: But according to experts, stay-at-home mums are facing an increasingly vicious backlash by those who think they are lazy, stupid and unattractive . Dr Aric Sigman attacked the clichés that shape derogatory attitudes towards women at home, and said they should be treated as seriously as racism and sexism. The leading child development expert told a conference that the rise of prejudice had helped make it socially unacceptable to argue that children benefit from ‘full-time’ parenting. He added that evidence from biosciences showed that mothers provided ‘unrivalled benefits’ to young children that other people, including fathers, could not. Dr Sigman said: ‘You should take on “motherism” - the prejudice against stay-at-home mothers - a prejudice that expresses itself in derogatory clichés like: “You gain a baby and lose a brain” and comments that refer to “schoolgate mother mentality”, or to being “willingly self-lobotomised”. Concerns: Dr Aric Sigman attacked the clichés which shape derogatory attitudes towards women at home . ‘The implication is that by being a full-time mother you are “subjugated and servile” and even sexually unattractive once you are a mother - a quality only associated with women who return to work with their high heels and clipboards.’ He added: ‘Motherhood must not hide its light under a bushel. Greater maternal contact in the early years, especially during infancy, is greatly advantageous to the child. ‘Society must be asked why this could possibly be construed as contentious.’ The event was organised by the Mothers At Home Matter group, which has campaigned against taxpayer-funded child care support for parents who both work, reported The Sunday Telegraph. The group recently challenged the Chancellor George Osborne over his remark that being a full-time mother was a ‘lifestyle choice’. Recent figures show the majority of mothers now work, with many seeing full-time parenting as something confined to the rich or those on benefits. Experts disagree over whether having a mother go out to work impacts on a child’s development. Some studies show those who go to good nurseries or childminders can be better prepared for school and are able to communicate more efficiently. But Dr Sigman, a fellow of the Society of Biology and associate fellow of the British Psychological Society, has argued in the past that there may be long-term effects of sending toddlers to full-time day care. The academic, who has four children, said that the derogatory attitudes towards stay-at-home mothers appeared to be the result of a political and economic agenda. Sally Goddard Blythe, an expert in child development at the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology, agreed. She said: ‘We are the only mammal that deliberately separates its young from its mother for economic and social reasons before it is physically able to fend for itself.’
Academic says 'motherism' is prejudice unspoken but highly damaging .
Dr Aric Sigman: It should be treated as seriously as racism and sexism .
Says mothers provide 'unrivalled benefits' to children that others can't .
By . Eleanor Harding . PUBLISHED: . 13:55 EST, 20 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:47 EST, 21 October 2013 . Many would say that bringing up children is the most important job there is. But, according to experts, stay-at-home mothers are facing an increasingly vicious backlash by those who think they are lazy, stupid and unattractive. A top academic has said full-time mothers are now subjected to ‘motherism’ - a prejudice that in many circles was unspoken but highly damaging. Bedtime reading: But according to experts, stay-at-home mums are facing an increasingly vicious backlash by those who think they are lazy, stupid and unattractive . Dr Aric Sigman attacked the clichés that shape derogatory attitudes towards women at home, and said they should be treated as seriously as racism and sexism. The leading child development expert told a conference that the rise of prejudice had helped make it socially unacceptable to argue that children benefit from ‘full-time’ parenting. He added that evidence from biosciences showed that mothers provided ‘unrivalled benefits’ to young children that other people, including fathers, could not. Dr Sigman said: ‘You should take on “motherism” - the prejudice against stay-at-home mothers - a prejudice that expresses itself in derogatory clichés like: “You gain a baby and lose a brain” and comments that refer to “schoolgate mother mentality”, or to being “willingly self-lobotomised”. Concerns: Dr Aric Sigman attacked the clichés which shape derogatory attitudes towards women at home . ‘The implication is that by being a full-time mother you are “subjugated and servile” and even sexually unattractive once you are a mother - a quality only associated with women who return to work with their high heels and clipboards.’ He added: ‘Motherhood must not hide its light under a bushel. Greater maternal contact in the early years, especially during infancy, is greatly advantageous to the child. ‘Society must be asked why this could possibly be construed as contentious.’ The event was organised by the Mothers At Home Matter group, which has campaigned against taxpayer-funded child care support for parents who both work, reported The Sunday Telegraph. The group recently challenged the Chancellor George Osborne over his remark that being a full-time mother was a ‘lifestyle choice’. Recent figures show the majority of mothers now work, with many seeing full-time parenting as something confined to the rich or those on benefits. Experts disagree over whether having a mother go out to work impacts on a child’s development. Some studies show those who go to good nurseries or childminders can be better prepared for school and are able to communicate more efficiently. But Dr Sigman, a fellow of the Society of Biology and associate fellow of the British Psychological Society, has argued in the past that there may be long-term effects of sending toddlers to full-time day care. The academic, who has four children, said that the derogatory attitudes towards stay-at-home mothers appeared to be the result of a political and economic agenda. Sally Goddard Blythe, an expert in child development at the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology, agreed. She said: ‘We are the only mammal that deliberately separates its young from its mother for economic and social reasons before it is physically able to fend for itself.’
many circles was unspoken but highly damaging. lazy, stupid and unattractive . Dr Aric Sigman should be treated as seriously as racism and that mothers provided ‘unrivalled benefits’ to