As a parent, I have not worked, worked part time and worked fulltime. Also gone back to school and worked part time. DH has been a FT student without a Visa that allowed any work, a part time worker, a full time worker. My older kids had every flavor of child care before going to school and years of after school and summer day camps. Youngest has had none.
As a child, there were times when one, the other, or both my parents worked. They parented the same regardless. Life was most financially stable when mom worked, even though her wages were low. Dad was an erratic person, erratically employed, so provided a cycle of plenty of money or none. mom was home when we were little, but this was the 1960s, so few other options and up until I was about 7, dad's job changes were always improvements. But then he kind of crashed and never really got back ontrack. When she went out to work at first, dad was unemployed and oldest DB was 12, so in those days, old enough to mind the rest of us when dad did have work. Youngest brother wouldnt come along for another 5 years, he is the only one that ever wentto a child minder or nursery.
my maternal grandmother worked, full or part time, before during and after pregnancies, from the time her oldest two (my Dm and DAunt) began school, in order to pay for a catholic school in the US. However, though there had been no pregnancies for 8 years after my mother was born in the next 16 there were 4 miscarriages and 4 babies. Then a hysterectomy. Tjere was no such thing as maternity leave, but she was able to dip into and out of secretarial/receptionist work at the same hospital my GF was on maintenance staff at. I suspect a lot of wives of employees did that, a sort of permanent pool of women familiar with the hospital replacing each other as needed. The hospital was also connected to their religion, FWIW. The only child care she ever used was neighbors, friends or older siblings as nurseries barely existed. Also, granddad worked nights, and was available some day hours for his children. My aunt may have been 10 or 11 when first uncle was born, and that would be old enough to help quite a bit. DM and DA recall being jointly or seperately responsible for dinner before they were teens, but unbothered by that as their mother was a terrible cook. Responsible ranged from helping theor dad, to helping each other, to taking turns. The uncles also took care of younger sibs and meals as time went on.