A new survey out today shows that almost 40% of mums have had to leave their children at home unsupervised – with work commitments and having no alternative carer being the main reasons.
This is consistent with research conducted by Core Data for Motherpedia in October that showed that, for many mums, lack of workplace flexibility is a significant issue.
Today’s research of 1,000 mums, released by Oxfam Australia, also revealed one in ten Australian mums claim to have no one to look after their children in a crisis.
Oxfam Australia Associate Director of International Programs Penny Harrison said the research highlighted the complex issues many mothers face, both in Australia and overseas.
“We found that more than 60% of Australian mums rely on grandparents and other family members to look after their children in an emergency so the majority do have a support network while many mums living in poverty in parts of the world, such as South Africa, have nothing.
“Thousands of women in South Africa, many of them widowed refugees from war-torn countries,don’t have any choices when it comes to taking care of their children,” Ms Harrison said.
Oxfam Australia was launching their Keep Them Safe campaign to assist young children in South Africa.
When it comes to safety concerns regarding their children, Australian mums are most worriedabout their kids hurting themselves (39%), followed by abduction (18%), bullying (15%), roadaccidents (12%), child abuse (9%) and drugs and alcohol (7%).
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