Well, here’s the thing. With every child, there is a time when they need to do something on their own. It’s different for each parent and each child. When the time comes, you both know and you are both happy when you start (happened to me today with my youngest).
It’s folly to say “I should have appreciated X more when they were younger”. We as humans are designed to get sick of X because children do grow, and it helps us prepare for it. Even if we want nothing mroe than to hold our children every day for 5 years, we will not be able to want it, and it will drive them insane.
It’s good to find what’s best for each family. There are good and bad parts to every age. Elly isn’t giving her daughter up. She is getting a few hours apart some days, so that she and her daughter can both grow and learn to appreciate the time together so much more, in a way you can’t force, but has to come naturally with separation.
Of course, as Lynn implies, society and some people (maybe not John) may make us feel guilty, but I think most families know what’s right for us, be it work from week 6 of a baby’s life or stay together every minute to age 6.
Well, here’s the thing. With every child, there is a time when they need to do something on their own. It’s different for each parent and each child. When the time comes, you both know and you are both happy when you start (happened to me today with my youngest).
It’s folly to say “I should have appreciated X more when they were younger”. We as humans are designed to get sick of X because children do grow, and it helps us prepare for it. Even if we want nothing mroe than to hold our children every day for 5 years, we will not be able to want it, and it will drive them insane.
It’s good to find what’s best for each family. There are good and bad parts to every age. Elly isn’t giving her daughter up. She is getting a few hours apart some days, so that she and her daughter can both grow and learn to appreciate the time together so much more, in a way you can’t force, but has to come naturally with separation.
Of course, as Lynn implies, society and some people (maybe not John) may make us feel guilty, but I think most families know what’s right for us, be it work from week 6 of a baby’s life or stay together every minute to age 6.