by ALANA HOUSE
Recently, The Australian reported on a study that found kids who go into childcare at the age of two or three are no worse off emotionally than those kept at home.
It said, among other things: “Charles Sturt University’s Linda Harrison told The Australian the analysis was based on a longitudinal study of 5000 Australian children recruited as infants in 2004. Her analysis showed that attending childcare in infancy was not related to differences in children’s outcomes.”
Bully for the kids. Because you can’t say the same for the parents. They’re far worse off emotionally. I reckon someone should do a study on that.
My two kids went to childcare and they’re fine. I don’t need a study to tell me it didn’t do them any harm. They had friends to play with all day, they did craft activities, they had a nice hot lunch and dessert. Hunky dory.
When you’re a two-working-parent household, childcare is an inevitable consequence. Grandparents rarely live in the same suburb or town. They’re often far older and less mobile than their predecessors, due to the rise of the older mummy. Nannies are expensive. So are childcare centres, but they’re slightly less brutal on the bank balance.
For me, the three years my kids spent in childcare were devastating. They would sob and scream and cling to my leg and have to be prised off by a childcare worker every morning. I would exit the childcare centre consumed with guilt and remorse. My children promptly forgot their distress the moment I left the room.
Top Comments
Um sorry if you choose to have more than one child and work more than a couple of days a week it will be hard .... Did you not realise that ? That is just a cold hard FACT !!
OMG! So relevant that I've read this today! I've just gone back to work 3 days a week and initially, I felt great. Felt kids were OK going to creche and after hrs care at school...managing to get things done around house to.
But now I feel that instead of getting a bit of ME back, I've created a whole new level of dissatisfaction.
As a SAHM, you can at times envy working mum's as they get a bit of adult time, use their nogin and wear nice clothes (superficial I know). But I know some working mums think the reverse. Seems we're our own worst enemies!!!
I know my kids are fine in care, but just can't resolve the whole 'mother guilt' thing...I think this exercise has made me really understand what it is I want to be doing and that is being at home with the kids.
I know I'm lucky that our family can make that decision, as there are plenty of other mums who need to work to provide for their family.
But it isn't easy and it does create huge amounts of anxiety for some of us. In the end though, we should embrace the decisions we make - be it SAHM, part time SAHM / worker or full-time worker. Because in the end, we are all mums first and foremost and our love and commitment to our beautiful children is exactly the same, regardless of the time spent with or away from them.
Gosh, that feels so much better! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!!!