I have had it with taxi drivers judging me over sending my 2 years 4 month old daughter Sara to nursery. Just this morning, a fellow Pakistani driver goes to me after dropping Sara off:"I am shocked that your little girl goes to school- our kids back home don't even see a school until they are 6 or 7"
"But it's not really a school", I said, "They just play lots of games and have fun."
"But still", he insisted, "Don't you miss her? Doesn't she miss you?"
And over the last 6 weeks ...along the same lines with other taxi drivers....
She's so small.
Why spend so much money when it's not even school?
What's the need?
Do you work?
She must get really tired there. Do they let her sleep?
This is almost cruel (zulm hai!)
It's made me think alot. Sara wakes up at 8 am and I leave her at the nursery around 9. I pick her up somewhere around 1:30. She goes five days a week.
Is it too much for her? Do I just need a glorified baby-sitting service or do I actually think going to nursery will make a difference to her future?
Even before she was 2, she knew more than forty words. She tried to count with us. She could say A B C D. She could name a few colours. She loved to read, sing and play-act with me. She knew the names of at least five different animals and foods. She could tell us what she wanted- which particular cereal, juice or water, chicken or no chicken. What I am trying to ask myself is, if I had just kept her at home, would she have gone on learning at her natural pace until she was a bit older and ready for school? May be. But I would have gone crazy for sure.
There. I have said it now. Yes, the time she is at nursery is a nice, sane time for me. I can do my grocery without worrying about Sara smashing pasta sauce jars or stuffing her mouth with (unbought) grapes. I can make my breakfast smoothie and savour the taste of berries and bananas instead of pouring it like fuel down my throat. I can call a friend and have a REAL conversation without worrying about the house crashing around my ears. Most importantly, I can look forward to seeing her step out of the nursery with all her curls, smiles, tomato sauce-splattered top and that cherished, beautiful art work she may have done that day. What, I ask, is so bad/cruel/heartless about this?
Yes, motherhood is the name of all the above trials and tribulations, I know. But if nursery affords me a break from them for a few hours everyday, then why not? So even if it's just baby-sitting in disguise but is kind, caring, attentive and nurtures my little girl's intelligence and curiosity, who is it hurting?
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