my in laws and my parents both were worthless when it came to being any sort of a support network, my fil left my husband unattended as a baby and he was found by my mil sitting in the middle of the street in front of their house, my own parents were too involved in their own pursuits to act the way normal grandparents do and besides doting on anyone other than themselves is not in their lexicon, so I rarely did anything. Also, when I did go somewhere, I could tell by my kids’ emotional state when I returned if the baby sitter was worth hiring back.
It is difficult getting decent child care.
“It is difficult getting decent child care.”
No doubt; I’d like to think some of the stories in the NYC area of abusive imported nannies convinced some parents to work something out (sometimes with different work shifts, or something similar).