I'm a stay-at-home mom of a 16-month old. I put my daughter in daycare for two days during the week. She seems to be getting a lot out of it and I think she's happy. I use those two days to get groceries, clean the house, and to get some time alone. My husband thinks it's great, but I have a few family members who don't really don't like that I use daycare when I don't have an "outside" job.
It's interesting that anyone would take issue with a stay-at-home mother taking time off. I suppose it appears to contradict the stay-at-home part of it.
Curiously, though, no one refers to a father in the workforce as a "working father," nor do they think his time off contradicts his status as a "working man." Additionally, no one takes issue with anyone putting in just 40 hours a week and, in some cases, getting paid more per hour for putting in more than 40 hours.
Most jobs (like your husband's and perhaps those of your family members) give a person two days off and don't require a person to be at work 24 hours a day the other five days of the week. Most people get to go home at the end of the day and not return to their work until the next day.
With this in mind, consider giving it to your family members in mathematical terms:
Let's assume you're putting your child in daycare for eight hours. If you take two days off, you're on duty the other five days for the entirety of those days. When you include the time the child is home on the days he/she goes to daycare, your two days off still has you putting in a 152-hour workweek. Even if you took three days off, you're putting in a 144-hour workweek.
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