future

I have three children, two are grown and out on their own. I have a 12 year old from my second marriage. What I am going to share with you is my opinion, and my opinion only. I don't think anything they learn by being put in daycare can be worth more than staying home with mom for as long as possible. I went back to work when my second child was four. It worked out okay, her brother was already in school. I was working with my last child thru the pregnancy and after he was six weeks old. I knew the people who were keeping him, they were good people. Later I had to put him in daycare, sometimes he went with no problem and other times he would scream his head off. Some would call it 'seperation anxiety' others would call it some other fancy name. But the bottom line was the child was distressed. I don't think it's natural for a child to be placed in these facilities before they start school, a few hours after school maybe. A kid needs to be home with its mom, having a day to day routine. Now, for the flip side. The are a lot of circumstances these days that makes it absolutely impossible for mom to stay home. They are single moms, there are families that just can't make it on one income. We have to do what we have to do. But in my case...I tried working off and on with my first two before the oldest started school and the second was still in diapers. Why did I do it? Because I became bored sitting at home with only two toddlers to talk too. The novelty had wore off and I wanted to do something besides washing dirty diapers and wiping snotty noses. Now when I look back, I know that was a choice I made. When I had my children, life stopped being about me and became about them. More than anything I wish I could have stayed home with my third child, but like many it wasn't possible. It takes everything to make ends meet these days.