Infant care OR hire a helper?

Hello parents, In one month’s time, my wife will be ending her maternity and we are considering between sending our baby to infant care and hiring a helper. My parents are aggressively wanting us to hire a helper but my wife and myself are poised to using infant care instead. We have weighed the pros and cons between both options and felt that the latter is best for our baby’s development. Reason for not wanting a helper 1. Having another person at home will introduce a different set of problems 2. I can’t have my helper at home with my 3 months old son without supervision 3. Maid will usually take the easiest way to stop the baby from crying without long term consideration for the child’s well being 4. Baby might grow accustomed to helper’s indulgence and affect the bond between child and parents Cons of sending a child in infant care 1. Time and schedule will become rigid 2. Child can fall sick easily due to contagion I would like to hear more from any parents here whom were once in my position. What were your considerations, observations and ultimately what did you choose and why? Thanks once again.

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Perhaps it’s not just about the 1:1 ratio but rather the exposure for the child. For helpers and nannies, they are just there to ensure that the essentials are met - the child gets fed, bathed and is safe from harm. There is hardly any value-add. In pre-school, the child learns to live without his/her parents, enter into a new environment, (learns to adapt to uncertainty), learns to play with other kids (social skills), learns to take instructions from teachers (compliance) gets exposure to art and craft (creativity), gets sick too, (but developes immunity from germs), gets comfortable with teacher (prevents stranger anxiety). Lastly, kids get exposed to teaching materials at an early age and early childhood education (which is structured by studies and empirical evidence) - which develops their cognitive ability. What do kids do at home with maids, grandparents or nannies? Possibly on YouTube, watching TV? And these things have been proven to be harmful.

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