Good thread. As someone stated earlier, daycare in and of itself is not sinful. My kids were never latch key kids, but I've worked outside our home since their birth. I've always arranged my hours around them. When they were young, I worked 4 hours daily, 5 days per week. I was off work the 10 weeks of summer, but we had to scrape and save, and we were on WIC in the summertime. I love spending time with my kids and would've done so year around if possible.
When my kids got in full time school, I up'd my hours to 32 weekly. I was there for the kids in the mornings and afternoons, I was a homeroom mother, and I went on every field trip. The bus dropped the boys off at my workplace after school in the afternoons. They had an hour of quiet time to do their homework. In fact, our 16 year old son who now drives to school still comes to my workplace after school to quietly sit and do his homework. I'm here to help him if he has any questions. Our older son did the same.
For single mothers, I see few choices other than daycare. Everyone should be leery of daycare but not all daycares are "bad". I'd pop in once in a while to see that things were kosher. But as it were, I didn't have to. We were fortunate to have my mom as a sitter during my working hours. The Lord provided a plan that was good for all of us.