Who Will Look After Your Child?
During the first six months of life, the children who develop best are those lavished with a tremendous amount of attention; who get prompt attention when they are uncomfortable and who enjoy a lot of fun play with someone who thinks that there is nothing more important in the world than the child.
By six or seven months of age, the toddler now needs ready access to somebody who is crazy about him. That is in order to facilitate the natural learning process, to support his curiosity, to increase his enthusiasm, to do any number of things that feed into the development of a solid human being. A child does not get this support from a surrogate parent. Rarely will anyone other than a child’s parents show such interest.
Mothers are quick to respond to a baby’s virtually nonstop demands for love and attention. But will a hired babysitter respond the way a parent will? A nursing mother cherishes her own child. Though not all mothers are able to breastfeed, doing so enhances the mother-child bond.
Some doctors thus recommend delaying substitute care until a baby is at least four months old.
Nevertheless, parents – not researchers – must decide what is best for them and their children, and often economic considerations prevail. So after carefully weighing all factors involved, some may still decide to use some form of infant child care.
Child-care options
Majority of parents resort to child care in various forms. Here are some of them:
Grandparents
Some believe that grandparents are second only to the natural parents as caregivers. Grandparents may quickly tire of the added responsibility as baby becomes a toddler. And differences in child-rearing standards often ignite disputes.
Frank communication between parents and grandparents, however, can often prevent needless friction. A grandmother may cherish a child, but she must also recognize that the responsibility of child-rearing is assigned to the child’s parents. Parents and grandparents must thus establish agreed-upon rules and standards if such an arrangement is to work satisfactorily.
Teenage Siblings
When older sisters and brothers are reasonably mature and responsible, this too can work out fine. Often, youths bitterly resent being told, “Look after your baby sister.” And an apathetic child minder is likely to be unreliable, careless, and neglectful.
So care of young children by siblings must be closely monitored. Make sure your older son or daughter has specific instructions on feeding, care, and handling of the toddler.
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