Mom explains why she kept her toddler in daycare while on maternity leave: 'My days are easier'

Mothers frequently experience undue guilt regarding their choices concerning their children and families. Regardless of whether they opt to be stay-at-home moms or pursue other paths, people often subject them to questioning and criticism. A mother, u/edamommy_ on Reddit, who was on maternity leave shared on Reddit why she chooses to keep her first child in daycare and her reasons are completely valid. She captioned the post, "Yes, my toddler is in daycare while I'm on maternity leave."

The Reddit user wrote, "On maternity leave with baby #2. It’s 24 weeks long (about the best you get in America). The thought didn’t even cross our minds to pull our toddler out of daycare while I’m on leave. And no, I don’t feel guilty about it." 

She then explained why they took this decision as parents, "When people question it, I give the following answer: she would lose her spot in school if we pulled her, and she likes going. Her friends are there and she loves to play all day. If she was home with me all day she would get way less attention and stimulation. Also, my husband works from home, so the house would be chaos and I’d be constantly trying to keep the toddler out of his office."

However, she also talks about things that she doesn't share with people out of fear of judgment. "I’m really enjoying this time spent with my baby, and my days are a million times easier without my toddler being home. I’ve gotten so many of our house projects and family To Do’s completed in the past weeks. It’s incredible," she wrote.

She also added an edit to the post about the people who have been questioning. "Most of the people who question this decision are either people who don’t have kids, or were/are stay-at-home parents (my mom chief among them). I think most people with a toddler understand!"

"And for those asking, I work at a large CPA/consulting firm. They work us hard (average 50-80 hour weeks), but they give us a lot of time off too!" she concluded the post.

There are about 4.6k upvotes on Reddit and people supported her decision. u/Princess_Piggie commented, "A kid’s life is already upended when a new baby comes home. Why would you want to disrupt their routine even more? This is the best situation for everyone involved." u/JustALizzyLife wrote, "My kids are six years apart so kid 1 was in school when I had kid 2. I actually think it created a stronger bond between them. My oldest spent the day with their friends, got individual attention, and then was excited to come home and see their baby sister. I was able to focus on a newborn and sneak in naps when I could. It was a win all the way around."

u/diatomic shared, "My toddler is in an in-home daycare. When our caregiver asked me if I'd be keeping her home while I was on maternity leave, I thought she was joking! Best decision I ever made."