It seems to me that kind of awareness is going to be extremely helpful in softening the child care blow to any little one. All these other centers are awful, don't you know, but theirs, well theirs is terrific. No wonder these moms are professionally successful. The rationalization and con artist skills they need to convince themselves of this nonsense must be really helpful on the job, too. The truth is that moms who have any choice at all about the matter should feel guilty about dumping their little ones into institutionalized care.
Guilt is a great motivator.
And glossing it over so that these moms don't feel bad doesn't help them to make selfless, loving choices and it certainly doesn't help their kids. And that's what this whole debate should be about but isn't. The economics of it, whether it be more tax cuts and credits or more households getting their priorities right, can fall into place. But the first thing to do is to get the focus off the moms and their self-inflicted angst, and onto the kids and what's best for them. Copyright 2000 Star Tribune.