Mums want daughters to be career-orientated

Most mothers would like their daughters to have a great career rather than marry early and have kids, says a new survey.

There was a time when most mothers waited for the day their daughters said ‘I Do’ and settled down to a life of marital bliss and babies. But not any longer.

HT Image

A new survey has found that with education, the career opportunities open to women, as well as the rising divorce rates, most mums would prefer it if their daughters waited till they were firmly established in their careers before settling down to wedded bliss and motherhood themselves.

The survey, of 1,289 mothers by Woman & Home magazine, found that most mothers, a whopping 45 per cent, want their precious baby girls to find a career first before thinking about marriage and babies.

Only 26 per cent of the women polled said that they wanted their daughters to find a partner and settle down, while 30 per cent said that they wanted to be grandmothers in lieu of their daughters getting a career.

Sue James, editorial director of the magazine said that this was the first generation of women to have different ambitions for their daughters, and one of the reasons for this was the close bond mothers and daughters are increasingly sharing.

"What is interesting is that these women are the first generation to instill these new ideas to their daughters. And the closeness between today's mothers and daughters is demonstration there isn't a generation gap but a coming together of ambition, attitude and affection," the Telegraph quoted her, as saying.

According to the survey, instead of being a good wife, mother or cooking, the three skills most modern mothers would like to impart to their daughters are "how to get on with people, believe in themselves and how to enjoy life".