A five-year-old child was raped repeatedly over 3 months by a man she addressed as Dadu. This man was the father-in-law of the lady who ran a crèche at her home, a place several working parents from this building complex in Ghaziabad considered safe to leave their children as they earned their livelihoods.
As a parent, this incident disturbs me deeply. It makes me feel guilty because I leave my child at a daycare too. At this moment, engulfed by rage and fear, I want to withdraw her from the daycare… I want to give up my career completely and I want to stop seeing raised eyebrows every time I tell somebody that my daughter goes to a day care.
If I do all this, will my daughter be safe?
NO.
Girls are always going to be at risk. In our country, definitely. In the crèche or in school or in college. In Mumbai or in Delhi. In Muzaffarnagar or in Badaun. In a hospital or in a police station. In a salwar kameez or in shorts. Girls are always going to be at risk.
This doesn’t mean we as parents shouldn’t make their environment as secure as possible. But it also means that we enable them to distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘bad touch’ as children and that we believe them – no questions asked – when they tell us someone makes them uncomfortable.
When it comes to choosing a day care or crèche, you must primarily go by the feedback of your child.
But as a parent, here are a few things to never compromise on:
1. Pick a Reference Over a Google Search
Find more than one set of parents whose children go to a day care that you are interested in. Find out what their experience has been like, how has the day care responded to any emergency, big or small. Try talking to their children to get a perspective on what the kids like or dislike about the day care.
2. Check Those CCTV Cameras
Many day cares put CCTV cameras only in public areas that are usually accessed by parents but ignore the rooms where the kids sleep or do activities. ALL parts of the day care should be on CCTV. Most importantly – you need to know how their output is being monitored at all times.
3. No Male Staff in Kids’ Area
No male staff (cleaners, security guard, housekeeping) should have access to the children’s activity areas. The day care should have a strict policy in this regard.
4. Background Checks for All Staff
The day care centre should have completed police verification for all its staff members. It is a basic form of verifying credentials often ignored by day care managers.
5. Choose a Day Care Chain Over a Stand Alone One
They may be slightly more expensive but look towards day care centres run by corporate chains. Such day cares are run by childcare professionals and have security guidelines in place. These places ensure that only verified employees have access to the children – and not relatives of crèche managers, as in this case.
While this list is not exhaustive, these are important criteria when picking a safe second home for your child.
(Radhika Bajaj is a journalist and news presenter with over a decade’s experience in Indian media. She has also designed and created content centred around women, lifestyle, health, entertainment, business & travel and enjoys writing about the same.)
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