consider the possibility that a child who is used to having every single need met exactly when he/she requests it. is this realistic? is this a good lesson, or a set up for the child to be disappointed in the real world and/or become spoiled & entitled and/or overly-dependent. (i'm talking about children who are a bit older, not infants, mind you.) what about the benefits of a child learning from his working parents what it means to be independent, take care of oneself, have outside interests, balance different parts of life? i think the potential for a co-dependent relationship b/w SAHparent and child is there as well.
This is a very cool thread. I don't know what the perfect set up would look like. But I know my nephew was in daycare, and I believe it was a positive experience for him. I know they didn't always get to him right away, and that was a good thing. My sister is really neglectful, which has actually taught my nephew to be very independent and to figure things out for himself. He kind of has both extremes, b/c when he's at my Mom's house, he's the prince.
I have noticed just in the kids that I personally know that the kids that are at home with their Mom or a nanny seem less outgoing. I think daycare is great b/c it teaches kids to socialize with other kids. I've been around when my nephew is with these kids, and it's a major contrast. He even pulled me aside once and asked me what was "wrong" with another kid. I explained that not everyone is as outgoing as he is, and that the other kid was just different from him, but not wrong. I guess any extreme can be bad, though.
