In this article, we deeply explore the advantages and disadvantages of letting a family member take care of your child.
When a child is born into a family, he becomes a source of happiness for everyone. However, for working parents, caring for a toddler can be overwhelming. There are situations when you need the help of another person to babysit.
If you live together or at least in the same city with your parents, you do not need to hire a nanny or worry that you will have no one to leave the child to.
When you leave a child with relatives, this is the best way to make sure that he is under reliable supervision. For young parents who combine work with raising a child, this brings great relief. When they leave a child with a stranger (such as a nanny), it can cause them anxiety. Obviously, the reason for this is distrust.
But even if family members or relatives are involved in raising a child, this phenomenon has its positive and negative sides.
Parents need to constantly pay attention to how such upbringing affects the child. Therefore, we will consider in more detail all the pros and cons of the participation of relatives or nannies in raising a child.
Advantages of relatives in child upbringing
Education takes place in the family circle. The main advantage of involving relatives in the upbringing of the child is that strangers do not take part in the upbringing. Children are closer to relatives (for example, grandmothers) and, in turn, are more important to them.
Relatives know how to instill in the child the right values in life and how to ensure that he develops properly when you are not around. So why hire a nanny when you can entrust the upbringing of a child to a relative?
You have common life values. In the process of raising a child, relatives pass on life values and rules of behavior that are close to you. This means that the child will learn the same values and skills that you would like to teach him and that a nanny or kindergarten teacher cannot give him.
The child will be raised at home. When relatives look after the child, he is always at home. There is no need to take him to kindergarten every day. At home, the child feels comfortable and therefore learns better.
Parenting at home is cheaper or even free. One of the main reasons why new parents involve relatives in raising a child is that it costs them much less than hiring a nanny. If relatives live near you, such upbringing may not cost you anything at all. Very often, grandmothers or aunts act as free nannies for a child. And this becomes a big advantage for parents.
Disadvantages of relatives in child upbringing
Of course, involving parents in raising a child has not only advantages, but also disadvantages:
Relatives may be offended that you take on too many worries. Young parents can be too intrusive in their requests to look after the child. Sometimes they even put emotional pressure on the grandmother, saying that she should take care of the child, and they need more rest. So when it comes to caring for a child, make sure you don’t overburden your relatives with too many responsibilities.
In the process of raising a child, you may have disagreements with relatives. The main disadvantage faced by parents and relatives caring for a child is disagreement about upbringing. Each of the relatives has their own habits and lifestyle. These habits are passed on to the child if a relative takes care of him.
For example, if a grandmother raising a child is used to staying up late, then the child will also stay up late. From your point of view, it is unacceptable to spank a child, but the grandfather may have a different opinion on this matter. Different views of relatives on the process of education can cause additional difficulties.
You and your relatives may have different life principles. Your parents raised you according to certain rules, which are not necessarily the same as those that you adhere to in raising your children.
Therefore, when entrusting the upbringing of a child to a grandmother, be prepared for the fact that she will raise him according to the old rules with which you may not agree. And if adults set conflicting rules for a child, this will confuse him.
If a child is brought up at home, he communicates less with other children. When you send your child to kindergarten, he spends a lot of time with other children and learns what he was not taught at home.
Your relatives who are raising a child may not allow him to communicate with children in the yard, fearing that they will be a bad influence on the child. This will hinder the development of the child in many areas.
It is worth involving relatives in raising a child when you have no choice: you do not have the opportunity to send him to kindergarten or use the services of a nanny. If you entrust the upbringing of the child to relatives, weigh the pros and cons when making such a decision. This will help you avoid problems in the future.