I think there is a big difference between part-time day care for babies and small children, and full-time. I believe that most mothers who work, statistically, work part-time, either a couple of days a week, or a few hours a day. And most of those leave their kids with a relative, like the father, or a grandmother, or a neighbor. I think if you have a baby, you'll see that it's not easy to juggle work and family, and you'll probably spend more time at home than you anticipate, but you can do stuff like telecommute, and job-share, and you'll make it work. And your kids will turn out fine.
As far as I know, I am the only mother on Feelies who went to college and worked when her kids were young. I stayed home with Ben for six months, then went back, but mostly went to college at night, and Chris watched Ben. I had Ben in a really top-notch daycare about 15 hours a week, so I could go into the law office where I was clerking, and drop off work that I did at home, and pick up more work. And then I had Nick two weeks after I graduated, and I stayed home pretty much for two years, but I still worked part-time, and my mother watched the kids. And it's gone like that, Chris and my mother watched them when I worked, I had to do flex-time and part-time, and worked at night and on weekends, but I made it work. I think the kids are proud of me.
Edit: I see Joan was also a working mom, and her experiences were also positive. |
