Saudi Gazette A working mother is usually torn between her job and staying home with her children. She has a very tough decision to make. Should she give up her job to stay with her children at home or leave her children in someone else's care to keep her job? On one hand, she is ambitious and would like to advance in her career, gain financial independence, serve the community, especially if she has specialized in medicine, teaching, or other humanitarian fields. On the other hand, she knows that her children deserve and strive for her attention, company, time, and care. So what should a working mother do? Fatimah Al-Harbi, a primary grade teacher in Madinah has little kids. After recruiting several nannies one after the other, all her efforts ended in failure and she was compelled to leave her children with a baby-sitter that was not as adequately equipped as an official day care center. “Finding an excellent full-time, stay-at-home nanny is unimaginably difficult these days,” complained Al-Harbi, adding that she employed several Asian nannies, but each time she was in for disappointment. Some of them lacked patience in dealing with fussy children, some never had children of their own so they had no experience in caring for young children, and others were simply unprofessional. “I ended up leaving my children in someone else's house who had a good baby-sitter,” she said. Teachers are demanding that schools provide day care services for their children. That would make perfect sense for working mothers as they could check up on their children during breaks and not constantly worry about how the nanny at home is treating the little ones. Nisreen, a Saudi nurse often has to work night shifts and is dedicated to her work and to her patients at a hospital here in Jeddah. She has two daughters, both under the age of eight, but she is lucky to have her family living close to her house. “I am blessed to have my family living nearby and I leave my children there when I go for work. My mother and sisters adore my two little girls and they shower them with love and attention. They understand how important my job is to me and they support me. When I am home, I try to make up for the time I spent away from my girls and we play together or mess around in the kitchen, even if I am exhausted from work,” said Nisreen. However, not all women are lucky enough to have such a supportive family and are forced to leave their little ones with nannies when they go for work. Jamil Al-Jehani, a social worker strongly advices against relying on nannies and housemaids for children under the age of four. “These years are the most important years in a child's development, building personality, and shaping behavior. During these years, they imitate everything they see or hear from the adults in their immediate environment,” she said. “Studies reveal that children who have nannies or housemaids as primary caregivers have poor language skills. These children are also more socially withdrawn, have difficulty making friends when they go to school, and do not feel strong ties to their family members,” Al
