Childcare Never Carefree
Filed Under Mom Talk |
Finding childcare is one of the biggest challenges moms have to face in North America. In many other cultures, there is no worry—childcare is a family affair. Your mom or grandmother or aunt will pitch in to help if you have to work outside the home. Here, women have their children on waiting lists at top daycares as soon as they get pregnant! Other women work to sponsor help from outside countries, hoping to build a long-term relationship with one specific caregiver. But even if you manage to get into a great daycare, or find a perfect nanny, the challenges abound.
We’ve worked with thousands of women over the years and we’ve only met a handful who found the transition back to work an easy one. They didn’t like to leave their often crying child in a busy centre or with a relative stranger. Most women spent quite a bit of time crying themselves at the beginning!
Once the transition was over and the kids were settled in to their new routines, some of the challenges continued. If their child got sick—which they inevitably do a lot in the first year—they were scrambling to leave work to pick them up and then working late into the evenings to make up for time away.
Women with nannies also had other challenges. Some got the fit right the first time, others did not. Recently, my nanny quit, leaving me running a business and taking care of three boys, desperate for help and with little time to search for, interview and find the right caregiver.
Our experience is that finding, managing, and evaluating childcare largely falls to mom. Poll everyone you know about childcare they like. Put out the call for a nanny through your friends who have nannies they love. Talk to other moms about their experiences to learn some good tips and tricks on how to cope with finding and keeping good childcare.
If your child is suffering during those first few weeks, you are too. Call on a friend who has been there before and don’t be afraid to have your own meltdown. It’s totally normal and in a few months, it will be a distant memory.
Cheers,
Andrea Page
