Going back after maternity leave is easier said then done, and this time I am not just talking about feeling guilty about leaving your child in daycare. Rather working out daycare times and a work schedule is harder then ever. Especially difficult is when you are competing for jobs now and so employers do not feel the need to be flexible and we all know daycare times are not flexible.
You know we are blessed by Canada’s maternity leave policies that you can take a year off (get somewhat paid) and you are guaranteed your job back, what if that job doesn’t work with your new family’s schedule and you can not find another job. Balancing family life is especially tough with a struggling job market, and if you live somewhere where jobs are harder to come by, it is even tougher. What are you left with? Unemployment will not help you because they say “You have used all of your banked hours”, and they actually said to me “If you go back to work, you will start getting more hours you can use for unemployment”; man was that helpful because if I could go back to work, I would of, don’t you think?. Now, I know personally both my husband and I need to be making a living in order to pay all our bills, but our family wouldn’t qualify for welfare when we look at his income so our family is stuck.
You think well I am a qualified, educated, hard working individual who has various experiences so my old employer should know that and want to keep me, well the fact is right now a lot of good employees are out there, like the one covering your mat leave are available with no time restrictions.
Well I could explore other avenues, like a nanny, but they are more expensive then daycare so I couldn’t afford it on what I make, so not an option. Also the thought of a one on one nanny, kind of creeps me out because I feel my child will bound like a mother figure to this person (maybe that is just me I know)
So now it is not just the fact of getting over leaving your child in daycare but the fact that daycare might not even be an option for you. When the economy is bad, family budgets are very tight, and employers are not flexible or understanding to family life, what are you left with? Can I not have a child unless I can afford to stay home after maternity leave?
Elizabeth is a new mother to a beautiful baby boy. She lives in Ontario’s cottage country and is trying to start her own business. Elizabeth writes a blog about motherhood and trying new money/creative endeavors. You can visit her blog at
newadventuresofmotherhood.blogspot.com .