MANAGING an only child is not easy. And if the parents are both working, then it’s for sure a mountain of a task.

Living in these times of considerable economic challenges, the need for more money to run the house has led to some changed realities and as a consequence, some tough decisions.One of these is to leave your child in the care of someone else. In this writer’s case, thankfully, it is my parents who are there to take care of my daughter as both my wife and I are off at work.

Leaving an only child in the care of someone else does invite judgment. ‘What’s the need for both of you to work? A child being raised in proxy is not good for anyone’… so on and so forth. In fact, during a visit to the doctor the check-up lasted two minutes, while the lecture on the vice of not being able to tend to the needs of the little one lasted 20.

Everyone has challenges in life. For those with small children they are varied and mostly financial. These include having enough money to buy diapers and milk and to pay for the expensive vaccines. Of course there is then the saving that needs to be done in order to have money to send the child to a good school. One is quite sure readers know the cost of sending a child to a school which can pave the way to a promising future.

Life has become quite tough. The schedule for the day dictates a 12-hour routine, give or take an hour. The day starts at 6.30am. From there it’s a race to meet the deadlines. One has to get ready and leave home by 8am. Drop the daughter at the parents’ place, then rush back to office, before having the driver rush back to the house to take the Mrs to her workplace.

Then, when the workday ends at around 6pm, the driver’s waiting, ready to head to the parents’ place, pick up the daughter, and then head off to the wife’s office, pick her up and then head home. It’s usually 8pm when one reaches home. Dinner and preparation for the next day follow before bedtime.

Throughout the pick and drop routine it’s always a good idea to keep an ear on the radio, in search of news about possible trouble in the city. With such a demanding routine, it makes it all the more important for us to be with our child on off days and holidays.

Such a rigorous lifestyle can have a negative effect on children. A colleague narrated her story. With two little children, her marriage ended and she was left to look after the two, including earning money. She didn’t have parents or any other family member to look after her toddlers. So, swallowing the bitter pill, she had to leave her children in the care of neighbours and a maid. A point in life came when her children were old enough to be left alone in the house. Interestingly, her son didn’t know who his real mother was — the woman who gave birth to him, or the woman he had been spending most of his time with. There are endless stories like these in Karachi. The solution, perhaps, is one that has beenimplemented by Western societies: child support and day care centres. Such steps may help working parents in the city cope with the situation.—Atifuddin Khan