I'm "exonerated" . . But I didn't know I was accused of a crime

I was reading my local paper and came across an article with this title:

"More Exoneration for Working Mothers"

I kind of bristled, but thought I'd read the article before casting judgment. You can read it here.

It basically talks about a study where children were followed throughout stages of development. Such study concluded that children in day care fare no less well in the end than those with stay at home parents. Basically there are advantages/disadvantages to both, but for the most part it all evens out.

That's all fine and good - I didn't have an issue with the article.

And I agree with the study results - in my experience, I already know my kids are doing just fine - great, in fact. They are happy, healthy, well adjusted, well behaved (um, most of the time) and do very well in school. Same with the kids of my stay-at-home parent friends.

I am offended by this headline. I guess it's the word "exoneration". Like working mothers should feel like they have committed a crime and are looking for absolution? Ugh. Seems we are still in the dark ages.

The article was reprinted in my local paper. It originally appeared in the Washington Post.

When I went to the Washington Post to check it out, the article actually appeared under the following headline:

"Study: Working mothers not necessarily harmful to children's development "

Not a whole lot better, but a little. Still, the impression here is that generally working mothers are somehow harmful to their children, and we need studies to prove that wrong.

Am I being overly sensitive here, or does this seem to reek of bygone eras and judgments that shouldn't exist anymore?