Originally Posted by MunchkinWrangler:
I'm new in this but I was home with Grandma. Daycare was the norm for some kids but my mother, who had children back in the 80's said that she was contracted hours, she had a half for travel. But the daycare only served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, my mom had to supply milk, and breakfast was not served. Snack usually was a graham cracker split in half and that was it.
The centers back then in my mom's opinion were terrible so she didn't stay long at one. I wasn't a daycare kid but my sister was. My mom was also a single mother. My grandma also watched kids in the neighborhood for working moms. There was one family that was a two income household.
I think society has changed. Both mom and dad have to work in most situations. I have a family member who doesn't need to work but watches children for friends and family and charges what I charge but she isn't licensed so she is free to do what she wants. She takes the kids out places and such.
Oddly enough, I also went to my grandma's quite frequently too. Even though my mom had a large daycare, somehow grandma's super small trailer was way more fun than a huge building full of kids and toys
Of course, she also spoiled us and let us eat whatever we want, so that may have influenced us always wanting to go there
I kind of forgot how important my grandma was in my early years. She did so much and nowadays, I don't see that as much. If my own mom was alive, I feel she would have been the same, but my kids' grandparents on my husband's side are so much different. They will baby sit when we ask, but they definitely do not spend near as much time with them. They are busy with their own lives and enjoying their golden years, so I have no issues with it, just never really realized how much grandparents played a roll in my life. My husband went to his grandma's every day too, but his parents are definitely not people we would count on for even part time child care.
