moved from Main List: on not having children

[ellejir]

Catlady wrote:
> Women who hand their children over to be raised by a nanny are 
> putting their child in the environment of the intelligence,
> education, mode of speech, table manners, religious 
> beliefs, political beliefs, of a person who chose that line of work 
> either because she obsessively adores being with children, or
> because she CAN'T get anything that pays better.


Ohhhh, Catlady!  Do you really mean that???  I think that you are 
over-stating something that is true to an extent.  I am a mother of 
three (ages 7, 5 and 3) and I also work 4 days a week.  I have about 
a gazillion years of medical training (med school, residency, 
fellowships and the lot) in my past that it is hard to just ditch for 
the child-rearing years and then pick up again later.  My kids have a 
wonderful nanny who has been with our family since my oldest was 2 
months old.  Yes, she does some things differently than me, and 
sometimes I think that I should quit and stay at home, but in reality 
my children are healthy, happy, and loved and the situation is 
working for us.  

The choice of the nanny is obviously important--you pick someone (if 
possible) with values and intelligence close to your own. To some 
extent, the exposure to different backgrounds and beliefs can be a 
positive experience to children.  My kids love their nanny and my son 
once observed that "Mattie (the nanny) is the only one in our family 
who does not have blue eyes."  

Elle (who needs to go home now to those three little blue-eyed dolls 
and their fabulous nanny)