Reply to SAHM and Dads: How did you know it was right for you?

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Reply to "SAHM and Dads: How did you know it was right for you?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP,

I'll tell you, if I felt that the child care options availble to me were sub-par, were factory-esque, or were otherwise unfriendly and unloving environments, then I would not put my kid there, and I'd do everything I could to SAH.  Thankfully, that is not the case.  We found great nannies and great preschools.  We're pretty grateful.

One thing that is true--for me--is that I think our family was calmer when one of us was full-time-at-home. The at-home person could do all of the domestic stuff (cleaning, errands, finances, home repair and maintenance) and could spend time making connections with other families at kids' schools or in the neighborhood.  This combination of domestic foucs and community outreach yielded lots of benefits for us as a family.  I don't think it made much difference for our children's emotional or intellectual though, because when we were both full-time employees we happened to search for and luck out on really great nannies and preschools.  Also, we were able to spent a reasonable amount of time together as a loving and committed family.

But again, that was our experience.  It might not be yours.  And, in the end, you make decisions based on options that are available to you, and your family's needs.  When you have healthy kids and a variety of good choices to select from, do what makes you happy, right?  For me, now that I've done both SAH and WOH, I'm glad that I got the opportunity to enjoy both. And I feel very lucky.

Ultimately, I opted for working.  I did so for a number of reasons including wanting to keep professional options open for the future.  However, I hope that if my work situation got out of control--in my case, if I found myself staring at a regular 50 hr work week--I would make a professioinal change either by looking for a new job or SAH.  Luckily, I can afford that option.  And believe me, I know that I am lucky.[/quote]

Thank you for providing a balanced view that doesn't denigrate either side or make it sound like daycare is neglectful parenting.  [/quote]

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