Get a life

GET A LIFE Sunday 29 January 2006 22:15 GMT, BBC One online at bbc.co.uk/panorama

Children think new mums shouldn't work full-time, according to a specially commissioned poll for the BBC's Panorama programme.

83% of the 500 children, aged 11 to 16, surveyed in the nationwide ICM poll for "Get a life", felt that mothers of children aged three and under shouldn't go out to work full-time.

The survey also found that 71% of those with both parents felt that their mothers still did most of the household.

51% of those surveyed felt that, in the future, earning a lot of money would be more important than having more leisure time while 31% felt they would have to work longer hours than their parents.

Stressed out and bringing work home

The survey found that 35% think their parents are "stressed out" and that they bring work home with them at least once a week (13% say it's every day).

Chief Executive of The Work Foundation, Will Hutton, agrees:

"The expectation is that you take work home; the expectation is that you're rung at weekends or after hours to do something. The expectation is that if someone's mismanaged a process and to get the job done requires working antisocial hours then you'll do it."

33% of respondents said they would like to spend more time with their father and 20% more time with their mother.

Madeleine Bunting, author of "Willing Slaves", told Panorama:

"I think we've sort of squeezed out kids in many ways to fit our large and growing work lives."

Commenting on the poll results, Ruth Lea, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, tells the programme:

"People are trying to pack more and more into their lives and work of course is part of that and they might say it's work's fault but actually it's their overall lifestyle that is the problem."

Panorama's "Get a life" is broadcast on Sunday 29 January at 22:15 GMT on BBC One and online at bbc.co.uk/panorama, where it is also available on demand following the initial transmission.