I was listening to my favorite non-Disney podcast, Stuff Mom Never Told You the other day, as I’m wont to do. Sometimes, I can’t listen to NPR anymore in one day, and I turn to the iPod.
This particular episode I heard that day dealt with the guilt that women have when hiring nannies to take care of their children and why that is.
I’ve spoken with Husband about it and I’m totally up for hiring a nanny. Or an au pair in order to teach the kid a different language.
I mean, how else am I going to be an awesome wedding planner with lots of client meetings to attend every day? Someone’s gotta take care of those kiddos at home, right?
When I was growing up, we had a nanny take care of me and my brother in every city we lived in. The first move I can remember, when I was in third grade, was awful because we had to “break up” with our nanny. We were close with all of our nannies, no matter how long they had been with us. Dad retired when I was in high school and that ended the long line of nannies – because he was able to be a stay-home dad, which was awesome! I don’t expect Husband will want to do that, though. ;)
But the podcast talked about the guilt that moms have when they leave the children with another person to take care of. I guess this is a different type of guilt than dropping off your kid at daycare. The connection between children and a nanny is very close, because you spend so much time with them!
Well, I’m pretty sure that my mom DOES NOT have that guilt for hiring nannies to help take care of us while she and dad were at the office. They both had awesome jobs that they LOVED – and while they loved us beyond belief, they wanted to be fulfilled in other ways, and that includes their job.
I don’t understand why women have to chose between a career and their children – there’s a way that you can balance those things, I think.
But remind me of that when I have that first kid of ours. :)
I don't think I could ever have a nanny--I think I'd rather do all of that work myself. But I can totally understand the want for a nanny--it is a tough decision to have to choose between a career and a family. Fortunately, this is not an issue I have to worry about for a long time! It's definitely an interesting debate. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIf I ever have kids, I will totally have a nanny. Although, random note, I hate it when people refer to their nannies as "the nanny" instead of by their name. Like they aren't even a person or something. I don't want to be one of THOSE people with a nanny.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about this too, and I don't think there should be an issue with having a nanny. I would ideally like to have one who could teach my (future) child(ren) to be fluent in another language.
ReplyDeletePlus, if I ever do write a novel, someone's going to have to watch my kids during the book tour. ;) (ha - kidding!)
I think that if you have to/want to keep working after you have kids, then hiring a nanny is fine. It gives the child someone to bond with and as long as it's a consistent person that cares for your child the same way you would, I really don't think there should be guilt.
ReplyDeletePersonally I want to stay home with my children when I have them, but that's because I've experienced working in the corporate world and taking care of my child would hold more meaning for me. However, if I was able to also follow a dream (for example open a doggy bakery/boarding facility) at the same time I had children, then hiring a nanny would seem more practical.
Sorry for the novel!