professionalmom, it certainly was not directed at you....I do have a great amount of respect for you and I KNOW you spend most waking hours with your DD and will with the twins as well.

My point was, we ALL take some time without our children......even you say that dad or grandma "babysits" for you from time to time.

I do not think it's okay for parents to spend ALL of their time off without their children. I certainly think that they should be spending the vast majority of their time off with their children. But, we all have things we HAVE to do or that are much easier - for ourselves and for our children - without the children in tow. Some parents have ONLY their daycare provider that they can leave their child with....not everyone has the luxury of a nearby relative or even a father in the household, that can care for their children while they tend to those things.

As far as going on week-long vacations without their children, I had never even realized that this was an issue for providers because I have NEVER had a parent take a weeklong vacation without their children. I am pretty sure I would know if they did, as someone else would be bringing their children to daycare. And, of the MANY providers I know, not one has ever complained about this being an issue.

I could see this being an issue, if every single time a parent has an extra hour or two, they use every minute of it for themselves, but I am not seeing that with my families.

ProMom, you just keep doing what you're doing for your family....you ARE a great Mom, and I know that YOU have truly always had your dck best interests at heart.