The study of more than 1,000 children aged up to seven by Columbia University is the first to assess the total impact of maternal employment on a child’s cognitive and social development.
Youngsters raised by mothers with full-time jobs scored lower on ability tests but that was offset by other positive factors, such as higher earnings.
The findings contradict other studies that have suggested children do worse if their mothers go back to work in their first year.
Michael Connellan, of the Family and Parenting Institute, said: ‘We live in an era of “professional parenting” with parents assaulted by a range of Super-nanny-style TV shows and academic studies pointing out what they are doing wrong with their children.
‘As such, parents are often made to feel guilty. This shows that mothers shouldn’t feel guilty about needing to go to work. This will be reassuring for the large numbers of mothers who have been forced to return to employment in these difficult economic times.’