In my country the government has had to do some cut-backs. Because of them children whose parent is home can't be in daycare more than 20 h a week. I went and read the comments in the article and they were full of "of course my children were home when I was home (unemployed or whatever reason)!", "only bad freeloaders keep their children in daycare if they are home!" and so on...

My son has been in the daycare since he was 10 months. Now he's four, started daycare today after 6 weeks of summer holiday. I'm unemployed. I can't find a job. Nobody wants me. So, I must be a horrible mother, because my son is in the daycare 6 h a day, 5 days a week. I have no friends with children, so daycare is important to socialize him (and he's very social, I can't keep up). I have no safety net here (no relatives in the same city or close by so that they could come and help) other than my son's dad (we're good friends, live 150 m from each other and my son seems both of us almost every day, luckily).

He went to the daycare because I couldn't manage life alone with him every day. I was depressed. I'm not anymore, but I still get too overwhelmed, tired and snappish if I'm constantly with him. His dad (we're not together anymore) has a 8-16 job. My son was with me most of his holiday (though dad and son were away for 10 days, on dad's holiday trip), and I've been so tired and felt like shit. And feeling guilty all the effing time, because I can't be with my son all the time because I just can't. I'm a bad, horrible mom, who needs time on her own to survive. 