Being a Working Mum, Childcare and Child Abuse

It has been an interesting week for me.

On Monday, a friend contacted me to ask if I would be free at short notice to help her out with a project for a couple of days. Super short notice in fact, as she needed me to be in her office that very same afternoon.

I decided to go for it. An opportunity like that doesn’t come very often, and I thought it might be fun to be part of the working world for a bit.

My mug which my girlfriends gave to me for my birthday, which they declared perfect for the office. 

But being a working mum sure wasn’t the easiest.

Being around them all day, it was a little hard leaving them behind, especially when Meips started crying big fat tears when I walked out the door. I usually try not to leave them alone with my helper for extended periods of time, but being at short notice, I didn’t have much choice but to do so. I was very grateful that my MIL was able to step in and stay for most of the day on Tuesday, but otherwise, my helper was it.

At least I know she is fairly reliable when it comes to the children. Indeed, I returned home each night to find that the kids had already been fed, bathed and changed into their PJs well ahead of their regular schedule. I was told that they ate more quickly – and without their usual shenanigans – without me around. Hmmm. Made me think I should make myself scarce during mealtimes more often!

All this brings me to my point, which is that childcare you can count on is so important when you’re a working mum.

Yes, this made me think about the case of alleged child abuse which recently took place at My First Skool, a childcare centre, where a teacher was caught on CCTV handling a child roughly, leading the the child suffering from a fractured shin. It is not easy leaving your precious children to go to work and the least that you need is the peace of mind that they will be safe and cared for in the time that you are away. As a stay-at-home-mum, I know how difficult, and indeed annoying little kids can be. Sometimes, it can really get to you. Sometimes, you will reach that point when you just need to walk away. And that’s probably what should have happened: the teacher should have walked away because there is just no place for child abuse. 

I guess there is no point talking about what the teacher should or should not have done now. I just think it is sad that this has happened to a pre-school sector that is short on places and urgently in need of manpower. But I do hope that more attention will be given to provide pre-school teachers with adequate support and maybe training to handle such situations in more appropriate ways.

For me, my stint as a working mum is over for now. It was fun while it lasted but I think my real work? That’s at home.