Originally Posted by bunnyslippers:
I have no patience for this, either. I have too many stories of parents who can't get away from their children fast enough. For most of my kids, after the time they are with me and various babysitters, I have more time with them then their parents do during any given week.
My own brother and s-i-l put my nephew - he is 20 months - into daycare everyday from 7:30-6:00. In a recent discussion, my brother actually told me that he prefers his method of parenting to mine. His reasoning was that "Nephew gets his own space, and gets to do his own thing while we are at work. I like that other people are teaching him things during the day and helping us to raise him." I was sad to hear it. He really, truly thinks that other people can raise his little baby better than he and his wife.
My neighbor takes every Friday off from April-June, and works in his yard while I watch his DD. He never even looks over and waves, and she can SEE HIM when we are in the yard playing. As soon as I close for the summer and his wife is home with DD for the full week - the dude never takes another Friday off, until school starts again.
I have a little girl here who has a list of SIX different people who may pick her up or drop her off on any given day. Any person that her parents can pawn her off on, they will. Her parents just took a 4 day mini-vacation without the kids. They took Monday off, so they could recuperate at home. Yup, their daughter was here, for her full day and scheduled time. It broke my heart! Didn't they miss her?!??! Pick her up an hour early, for goodness sake. Take her to the PARK! This same couple have a child in kindergarten. He goes to a before and after school program - 7:00-6:00 every single day. The mother works only M-TH, and she only works from 8:00-2:30. She just sends her kids off to programs, so she can have "me time."
It is a sad trend, but a very common and popular one. I am going back to work in the fall, as a school teacher. My husband and I are working very hard to keep my little one's day in full-day preschool as short as possible. I will be taking every opportunity to spend as much time with both my kids as I can.
As for the park, I have kids in care now/in the past (SAHM kids and working parent kids) who had no idea what the park was or what to do with the park equipment. We go each day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.