The effects of parents' employment on children's lives

Parents play an important role in shaping the adult lives of their children. The way they use their time and money while children are growing up can have long-lasting consequences. In particular, the paid work done by fathers and mothers affects both the amount of income coming into the family and the time they have available to spend with their children. This report examines the links between parents' employment patterns while their children were growing up and what happens in those children's lives when they become young adults. This study focuses on a number of outcomes, notably: educational attainment; employment and economic inactivity; mental health; and for women, childbearing at an early age. Some of its findings carry important implications for public policy and for further research. A number are likely to prove controversial, arousing public debate concerning their meaning and contemporary relevance.