Comment by JumpCrisscross
5 months ago
> Child rearing is the most economically important task a mother can do
This is really only true in the post-WWII Western nuclear family. Most cultures historically and today have group elements to childbearing.
Right, and that's exactly the point. It was extended family and close community, not institutional strangers. Grandma watching the kids while mom works the fields is completely different from dropping an infant at a commercial daycare center with a 1:6 caregiver ratio. The "it takes a village" argument doesn't support modern daycare, it actually undermines it. Those historical models were built on trusted relationships and continuity of care, not economic transactions with rotating staff.