Influences

I've heard the various insults often hurled at working moms, and for the most part, I can let them roll off my back. I'm very happy with my life, Littles and Hubby appear to be happy with theirs, and so I have a great deal of confidence that I'm making the right choices for my family.

But there is one that never fails to get a rise out of me, which is some variation of: "How can you put your child in daycare, and let someone else raise her?"

In a past post, I explained why I am raising Littles, focusing on the influence that I have on her life, even though she does spend a good chunk of each day away from me. Perhaps the biggest influence that I (and Hubby) have is that we choose where and with whom she spends that time.

I mean, I happen to believe that Hubby and I are pretty darn good parents, but I do not believe that we are the only influences that Littles needs in her life. Not for a minute! There is so much she can learn from others.

Case in point. Littles was playing around in my bedroom last Sunday as I put away laundry. I was in the closet hanging some things up when I heard her say, "Plie, passe..." I looked out to see her holding onto the bed for support, leg raised in a perfect passe. That would be the influence of the weekly dance classes we enrolled her in through her preschool.

Another example. As I posted yesterday, we went to the birthday party of K, one of Littles' preschool classmates. When we first arrived, we ran into K's older brother M. Both of us recognized M from school, although we hadn't connected him to K. Anyway, he was climbing all over the railing on his porch while simultaneously chatting his head off about anything and everything, as only a four-year-old can do. And something clicked in my head: If Littles has been hanging out with this kid all afternoon for the last few months, no wonder her gross motor skills and her verbal skills have both grown immensely!

Also, one of the preschool teachers was at the party helping out, and it was neat to see her in action for an extended period of time. It was clear that Littles is totally comfortable with her. And you could tell just by watching her how much she cared for the kids. Not that I ever doubted it, but I left thinking, "I am very glad this person is in Littles' life."

This is not to say that Littles would be completely deprived of all these wonderful outside influences if I (or Hubby) didn't work. Preschool is certainly not the only way to expose Littles to others! Hubby and I have plenty of friends of all ages who we see regularly and who impact Littles' life.

But, well... Hubby and I do work. And although I still feel strongly that we are raising her and we are the primary influences in her life, I'm more than happy to get a little help from her amazing preschool.