This has to be one of the most ignorant posts I have EVER read.
As a parent who has done both staying at home and working and know people who fall in both categories I can say with 100% certainty that if your child goes to childcare they will not be raised by someone else. They are still raised by you. My son was at home for the first 18 months of life and has been in playschool for the last 8 months and I am still the one raising him. I decide what food he eats, when he potty trains and how and what discipline technique to use. I am the one that says good morning and goodnight every day and he eats 16 out of 21 meals a week with. His teachers follow through on what I ask or advised and vice versa. People forget that raising a child takes a village and child benefit from that.
My son loves playschool and seeing his friends everyday. My son was potty trained by 2 years old and can count to 30 at 26 months old. All of these things I am sure wouldn't of happened if wasn't in the playschool environment as he wanted to like the older boys and go on the potty and I am not sure I would of even thought (or of had the patience) to teach numbers and abc's at this age.
So unless you have been in both boats (SAH child or one that attends childcare for some of the time) keep your opinions to yourself.
Wow...Sorry you feel that way. Let me clarify my position, if it's possible.
I have been a SAHM. I have been a WAHM. I have been a full-time working mother with my husband as a full-time SAHD. I have been a full-time working mother with my son at home with dad 2 days and at childcare 3 (short) days. I have been in all boats and I make my comments based on what's right for MY family.... Not yours or anyone else's. Everyone's situation is different and no-one can decide what's best for another family. I am certainly not one to add to the 'mommy war fire', and this post was certainly not designed to do so.
We decided that we did not want our son in daycare at 3 months (what I meant when I said 'parents or Childcare worker'...obviously not phrased well, judging by the reaction). We moved our life around so that we could make sure one of us was home with him for those early months. That was the decision that we felt was right for us. Other's need to decide for themselves what's right for their family.
When he was nearly 1 year old, we decided to put him in childcare a couple of days a week in preparation for my husband to go back to work. We were happy that our son was getting to spend time with other kids and to get new stimulation that was different to home (he needs a lot). We were very happy with his carers while he was in the babies room.
Fast forward and my son is now over two. We have not been particularly happy with the level of care he's had in his current room, but that's to do with the centre he's in and we are working to resolve the problem. The carer's in his room change regularly. I have gone in to pick him up and not one of the carer's was known to me. My son was with strangers. For most children this might be OK, but my son is a sensitive soul and this is tough for him. IF I had my son in full-time at this centre I have no doubt it would destroy him. For this reason we have decided that he needs to be home most of the time.
If he was in fulltime care, I might say good morning and goodnight to him. I might have breakfast and dinner with him. But in reality, I have very little control about what happens at daycare when I'm not there. They will teach him what they like, they will discipline him how they like, they will feed him the food they like, they will cuddle him as much (or as little) as they like. If we were to factor in sleep times, then he would spend more time with his carers than he would with his parents.
If you are happy with the level of care provided in your situation and your child is thriving...then that's great. Other kids might not fare so well. Ours is one of those other kids.
I'm sorry, but no-one cares as much about your child as you and your partner. Sometimes this is more of an issue than others. In our case, it's a big issue.
This has to be one of the most ignorant posts I have EVER read.
So unless you have been in both boats (SAH child or one that attends childcare for some of the time) keep your opinions to yourself.
I apologise if what I said upset some people. Perhaps one phrase was not particularly well said, but hey...I'm sleep deprived!
To be honest I'm a little shocked that people reacted this way. I wasn't intending to upset people and I guess this is why in future I will keep my opinions [on parenting] to myself.