Originally Posted by neubie

Ok, I do not have kids yet but some of the concerns that plague american moms simply do not exist for a mother from India. Usually we have a close knit family and even though the parents do not necessarily live with the son's fmaily anymore. The grandparents willingly share the burden(?) of looking after the grandkids till they are of a certain age if the mom is working too. The neighgbours too pitch in with occasional babysitting if they have time and inclination. Kids, once they are not babies anymore, usually go out and play with neighbourhood kids and do not need to be monitored at all times. The mother does not need to entertain her kid all the time or keep the kid engaged at home all the time either. The emotional needs of the baby are also fed by the strong emotional bond with the grandparents and the extended family.


I know I used to look forward to spending as much time with my grandparents as possible. After I was around five years of age, I used to spend good 2-3 hours atleast with my friends outside. Thankfully the incidence of child kidnapping and associated misdeeds is not that high here so parents do not worry when the kids are out by themselves. I think that all this left my mom (or today's mom) with some free time to do her own thing.