Indian-origin doctor shares how mother’s daycare helped family buy home in US: ‘Amazed’

Dr Sachin H Jain, who lives in Los Angeles, said his mother stepped in to support the household while his father juggled an anesthesiology residency and extra moonlighting shifts to make ends meet. (Image credit: Dr Sachin H Jain/X)

An Indian-origin doctor based in Los Angeles has sparked an emotional conversation on immigration, grit, and generational sacrifice after sharing how his mother built a makeshift daycare in the 1970s — a side job that ultimately helped the family save enough to buy their first home in the US.

Dr Sachin H Jain posted the story on X, recounting how his mother, newly arrived in the US and unfamiliar with the system, stepped in to support the household while his father juggled an anesthesiology residency and extra moonlighting shifts to make ends meet.

‘Mrs Jain has magic’

According to Jain, his mother came across a handwritten note pinned to a corkboard in their apartment complex that read “babysitter needed.” She responded, beginning with one child — the son of a nurse — for just a few dollars a night.

Word soon spread among other tenants, many of whom worked irregular hours. Their small apartment quickly transformed into what he described as a de facto daycare, filled with children from across the building.

The children, he wrote, adored her and were mesmerised by the rotis she cooked on the stove.

“‘Mrs. Jain has magic,’ they would shout,” he recalled.

Her growing reputation meant she was soon earning around $200 (about Rs 18,000 in today's exchange rate) a week. Over the course of a year, she saved $10,000 (around Rs 9 lakh) — money that became the down payment for their first home in America.

“I will never cease to be amazed at the courage—and the hustle—of people like my parents who picked up their whole lives to make it in another country,” Jain wrote.

Migrant struggles resonate with many

Jain’s post drew thousands of responses, many from immigrants who shared stories of their own families starting from scratch in the US.

One user wrote about her Cuban in-laws who fled Castro’s regime and worked tirelessly to rebuild their lives, sending money back home and helping relatives escape.

Another described her great‑grandfather, a well‑educated man who had to take blue‑collar work in America because he didn’t speak fluent English. “My grandparents got good union jobs. My father got an MS. Now I’m finishing my PhD,” she wrote, calling it the arc of immigrant perseverance.

Many praised Jain for publicly acknowledging the painful, often unseen labour behind immigrant success.

“Settling in a country you knew nothing about and making it home is a giant leap,” wrote one user.

Accusations of ‘illegal daycare’ spark backlash

Amid the praise, a minority of commenters accused Jain’s mother of “scamming the system,” suggesting she had run an unlicensed home daycare or failed to pay taxes. Some comments carried racial undertones.

"Of course, your mother got a business license, paid taxes. Made sure her home was fireproof for her de facto child care center. Typical Indian. And you think this is something to be proud of, bragging about how your mother scammed the system," one user wrote.

“So she ran an illegal daycare. And that’s supposed to be good? I assume she didn’t pay taxes,” commented another.

A third X user added: “Working as an illegal and flouting laws is definitely worthy of 'amazement'!”

While Jain did not clarify whether his mother declared her income at the time, one X user summed up the backlash succinctly: “Yet somehow your parents are ‘less than’ in the eyes of MAGA rather than being appreciated for their contributions to their community and more.”