KOCHI: One of the worst drawbacks of being a nuclear family is that when it comes to looking after children, the parents have to depend on playschools and daycares or creches. Instead of growing up in the shade of the love and care of the grandparents and other family members, children as young as one-year-old are forced to endure the ministrations of strangers.
“It is a gamble,” said Arun C, a software engineer. “For families like mine where both the parents are working and live far away from both sets of grandparents, daycares are the only option. Some people ask us why don’t one of us sit at home. But, then who will repay the loans,” he said.
It is indeed a sad situation, he added. “We entrust our faith in God and the ayahs at the daycare centre. But, then we are always worried. Also, it doesn’t help when we read reports from all over the country about how the staff at the daycares behave with children,” said Arun. According to him, the government should set up some monitoring authority and bring in guidelines regarding the conduct of these daycare centres.
Meanwhile, some daycares and playschools say all precautions are taken and safety measures are in place at their institutions. “We have ensured all safety measures. There are CCTVs on our campus and linked it with the parents’ mobile phone. Ours is an institution that has obtained all the requisite permission from the authorities concerned,” said the staff of a daycare centre in the city.
She said the daycare has tied up with the nearby hospitals.
Preschools as feeder units
According to C J Antony, acting chairperson, Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the government had initiated steps to curtail the growth of unauthorised playschools based on the recommendation of the commission.He said, “Nobody knows anything about the qualification of the staff at these schools. Are they trained and are these institutions ensuring the safety of the child. These are some frequently-asked questions. There is no authority monitoring the functioning of these institutions.”
Hence, to put an end to the mushrooming of such institutions, the government, as a part of its initiative to improve the education sector in the state, has decided to improve the facilities available in the pre-schools that come under it. “As a result, this academic year saw an influx of students to pre-schools run by the government. The government has decided to convert Anganwadis to pre-schools and since these come in the public system, proper care of the children and responsibility of the staff is ensured. A minimum standard is ensured and the entire system is transparent,” he said. The aim is to turn these preschools into feeding units for the Govt LP Schools.
Holistic growth
Prakash Chandra, a psychologist, said a child learns a lot from the behaviour of those around him or her. “The age at which children are sent to the playschool is the time when they are at the most vulnerable, both physically and mentally. It is the age when children learn things from the surrounding,” he said.
Everything, right from the behaviour of the people around them to the manner in which they are responded to, plays an important part in shaping the child’s personality, said the psychologist.
“Only a trained person can provide the requisite support to a child and this is what many of the playschools and daycare centres lack,” he added. Meanwhile, the trial of the Kaliveedu child abuse case will begin soon, said Anilkumar, ASI, Palarivattom Police Station. “Summons has likely been issued to the accused and it is expected the same will be issued to the witnesses. A charge sheet had been filed,” he said.