Job Discussion Forums

[guatetaliana]

Melee, wow. Thanks for all that info. I truly had no idea. My husband is a little concerned that all his college work will go to waste and he'll have to start from scratch, but that's a risk I think is worth taking for the opportunity for a more stable future.

And the paid daycare concept. Amazing. You've given me lots more material to work with.

[MELEE]

Dixie,

I think they still believe it's best for mothers to stay at home. For example at the IMSS daycare center where my girls go, they are not allowed to go when I'm off work for any reason, because to them that's my mommy time. (I don't know how they think I'm supposed to get anything done.) AND they are only open until 5. BUT I (and a lot of other mom's in my town) work 9-2 and 4-7 so we just have our kids there 9 to 2. I have to pay someone else to care from them fron 4-7. If you ask IMSS why this is, they say because the babies should be with their mommy in the afternoon. Yes, they should be, but with a graduate student for a daddy, they need a working mom.

There are now some daycare centers open for mom's in the "seguro popular" program as well. But I worry if the system gets to big, supervision of the centers will be inadequate. In my experience I've generally been happy with this daycare center.

[Mrs L]

Well you've all just convinced me that a few more years in rainy England is a small price to pay compared to the cost of giving birth in Mexico. (Any American prone to jealousy please don't read this next bit) Here you get 9 months maternity leave on full pay and the hospitals are all free to anyone for anything -even if my husband had needed a heart and lung transplant the day after he stepped off the plane it wouldn't have cost us a penny, likewise any healthcare his family needs while one holiday here is free (though not officially but nobody actually checks if you're a UK resident or not).

Melee it sounds like you got lucky with the timing of your twins, don't know if I'd like to risk it financially. From an immigration point of view giving birth here also seems a better idea. They'd automatically be British but we could also take the baby to the Mexican embassy and register the birth plus for a small fee get a Mexican birth certificate (we checked that out last year during a false alarm). Given how strict the UK is getting with it's passports I'm not sure any children of mine born abroad to a foreign dad would necessarily be British.

As for raising kids in Mexico, from what I've seen of the importance of family values and the acceptance of young children pretty much anywhere in Mexico I can't think of a place I'd rather raise a family. You can be a mum yet still have a life which isn't something I see from my friends with nippers here in England. The extended family definately plays an important role as Dixie mentions (my mother-in-law minded all my nephews when they were babies so their mums could go back to work) but hopefully in the future Mexico's maternity leave might catch up with other countries as more and more women get careers and demand better services. Fingers crossed

[MELEE]

[dixie]

My biggest issue is with the maternity leave, as I mentioned before. It amazes me that the gov�t would do things to deter working moms, rather than help them.

My mom, a few years back when she first had me, then my brother, had a full year off, paid, plus the guarantee of a job when she returned (she was a teacher). When she did go back to work, she only went back part time, so that she could have her "mommy & baby time". Over the years she worked up, and was about 0.8 in time, but that was always her choice, because she was lucky to be able to make a choice.

That is what I think any mother, anywhere, deserves. People complain about how kids are growing up too fast, and maybe that�s because they have no choice. If their parents have to work all the time, rather than be with them, what does society expect?

Thanks for you info MELEE. It really helps.

[TheLongWayHome]

[dixie]

[MikeySaid]

[TheLongWayHome]

[Phil_K]

[TheLongWayHome]

[MikeySaid]

I laughed at my students when they showed up in parkas because it was 10-15 degrees outside and when I got notes asking me to not run the swamp cooler in the classroom because their kids were allergic to "el aire"... that one flabbergasted me.

Middle class and Upper class chilreden are often handled with kid gloves in Mexico. I agree that it is often strange to us as foreigners what is to be avoided by your children and what is permissible.

Several of my students would not get in the swimming pool if it wasn't at least 35 degrees out and the school would cancel recess if it was below 12 degrees outside. Kids came to class in four sweaters and a parka and one mother told me I couldn't run the swamp cooler in the classroom because it made her daughter cold. The girl would complain if the air was on even on 40+ days.

The whole "can't walk outside when it is sunny" thing really blows my mind sometimes.

"Hey go give your brother a ride to school when he's ready to leave" says my suegrita to my fiance... the school is four blocks away and I ask "can't he walk"

"no not with so much sun!"

They'd often show their frustration with me when I would walk a kilometer to their home at 3:00 in the sun. I know the sun's rays can be harmful but... c'mon.

[TheLongWayHome]

[MELEE]

[notamiss]