do your children have a close relationship with their grandparents or other family members?
I know my niece spends more time with her grandparents and myself than her parents sometimes and she seems to be functioning.

I think the idea of two parents being THE most frequent presence in their child's life is simply a social construct. In other societies it's not uncommon for other family members, neighbors, friends etc. helping to "keep" the children.

I understand it's different though when you're talking about agencies like daycares, and after-school programs. The way I see it though is it's good socialization for the children. My niece is almost 3 and rarely sees children her own age or interacts with adults other than her family. You would think she's never seen short people the way her neck craaankks all the way around everytime a child walks by. I feel sad for her sometimes because she rarely if ever gets to play with other children and be out of the house w/out her family.