For a country on the brink of changing set patterns and norms, the most crucial and visible change has come in the arena of child care which has transformed itself from being a case of simple babysitting to a formalized curriculum aiming at educating children as young as two through interactive games and dramatized activities. The focus on early learning in India is a new phenomenon as more parents are living in nuclear family set ups preferably working full time too. The absence of a joint family set up in some cases and the awareness levels of parents often lead new parents to look out for child care centers which will offer more than just babysitting programs. The high expectations of parents, changing standards of excellence in the educational field coupled with scientific research advocating strong learning programs for toddlers who are capable of absorbing maximum skills at a young age have all become a catalyst for changing general attitude towards traditional child care.
“ I resumed full time work once my baby turned three, though initially I was very skeptical of leaving my child alone in a day care centre but without any other support system it was the only option we had. My husband and I are happy to say that the day care centre we chose has helped our child become a more confident toddler who is learning new skills every day and it’s a delight to see him come back home happy. Though initially I felt guilty about leaving him alone but the well structured curriculum of his centre keeps him constructively busy throughout the day”, stated Priyanka Dutt a working professional and a first time parent residing in Mumbai on her experience with a day care centre.
Parents in need of support system to help look after their children while they work are not complaining any more as the options of child care being offered to them is varied. Established and new centre are aiming at achieving high security environment with well trained professionals adept at handling toddlers and their issues. Along with looking after the children most child care centers are also helping parents keen on seeking professional counseling for children.
Ranging from fun activities, in house play areas, stage activities, theme based days to special outings day care centers are offering all kinds of services to keep their wards entertained and busy through the day. This has in turn helped parents focus on other activities apart from raising their children.
With the support system worry sorted for parents the young Indian generation is now set to change the perception towards child care in the corporate sector, which till a few years back did not take take very kindly to requests for maternity leaves, as a result of which most women had to quit their jobs post pregnancy. The new generation start ups and even traditional brand names of the corporate sector are now helping women cope with this life altering decision in a more nuanced fashion. Flipkart, Hindustan Unilever Limited, HCL technologies, Tata consultancies, Godrej are some of the top companies which support their women staff in not just taking time off immediately after delivery but extend their support for close to a year with Fiplkart going the extra mile by offering the break from work without pay for a year.
Corporate culture is steadily mellowing its stand towards child care with most new offices offering in house crèches for children of employees in order to keep the parents stress free thereby increasing the productivity and keeping the environment positive. “We need to overcome the gender bias which sees women suffer professionally post child birth. It is a major decision and in no way impacts the productivity of women. If nothing else it only makes them more agile and adept at time management and therefore we want to give them an environment of trust and support to retain their services after they return to work from maternity break”, Priyanshu comments on why his start up is all set to support women through all decisions in life.
