IB Woman
Issue No. 12 - August/September 2003
Relieving the Guilt of Childcare
In interviewing women for In—Businesswoman, a common theme has emerged from working women who have children. Guilt. Each woman has consistently stated that this was one of the hardest elements with which to deal – leaving their child while they went to work.
For some seemingly lucky women, grandparents or another family surrogate was available thus relieving some of the guilt relating to leaving their child with a stranger. For others, the only option was pre—school or after—school care. The guilt associated with this from of childcare, for some, appeared to be stronger.
However, leaving a child all day with just one carer and no playmates may not be in the best interests of the child.
Jo Creighton has been involved in childcare and early childhood development for over 20 years and owns centres at Ashford and Hyde Park in Adelaide.
“Placing a child into care can be an extremely positive experience for both parents and child," says Jo, “because children are exposed to group play and interaction that strengthens an understanding of social issues and language and supports accelerated learning.”
Jo cites the typical example of a child who is cared for by a grandparent or relative until they start school.
“Generally that child is with one person all day. They don’t experience the same interaction with a variety of other children. When children play in groups they are exposed to social learning such as waiting their turn to...
