Unis urged to teach motherhood

MOTHERING should be taught at universities to give more value to a precious and thankless job, according to University of Queensland researcher and grandmother Marie Porter.

Mrs Porter, 66, who has been researching mothering in Australia in the 1950s and 60s for her PhD, said today's mothers were doing it tougher then their grandparents did. Many felt isolated and enjoyed less family time, support and self-worth than in the past.

She said mothering was undervalued by society because there were no financial gains from rearing children.

While more high quality childcare places, better maternity leave and more support would benefit mothers, so would a university course in the subject.

"Why haven't we got a subject at university that relates to motherhood and different ways of mothering?" Mrs Porter asked. "I could go into a library and there would be a whole bank of books on Henry VIII or Cromwell, but try finding books about mothering written by mothers. There are comparatively few. You tell me what's most important today in Australia?"

Mrs Porter, who brought up three sons, including one with a disability, and who has four grandchildren, said a university subject on motherhood could teach different styles of mothering, mothering history, work expectations, pressures on mothers to be good role-models and parents as well as religious influence on mothering.

"Mothering is a huge area of life, and it has not been researched except by people who are usually not mothers and their interest is usually telling mothers what to do or what they've done wrong," Mrs Porter said.

She said in some countries women's first experience of mothering was when they became grandmothers for the first time because mothers themselves returned to work soon after having children.

Mrs Porter is one of the organisers of Australia's Third International Academic Conference on Mothering from September 29 to October 1 at the University of Queensland.