Why isn’t anyone talking about childcare in India?

As far as I know, there are only a few companies in this country that offer childcare facilities. The new startups seem to be more conducive for working parents. It is still rarity. Typically most companies offer flexi-hours, whereby you can take some time off, which complicates the situation a little further, as it simply cannot replace full time care for younger kids. Also slightly older kids, toddlers, are the ones who are playful and get into the most trouble — and are often on the receiving end of these outbursts. The truth is that if a woman with young has to work in India she needs a solid support system and this is often the extended family, young girls who want to further their career often end up resorting to this. This is very different from abroad, and ends up working to a certain extent. Corporations in India are not geared up to provide any alternatives to kind of childcare, creating a lot of problems for those without a support system. I don’t understand the concept of having someone stay at home to look after your child or even your pets. There needs to be a proper professional service provider to do this. Perhaps this can come with reworking pay packages so that office staff can avail of better facilities.
Lynn de Souza, Founder, Social Access Communications

Nazia Alwi Rahman, Journalist
I was very lucky to have gotten a good babysitter for my child. We also had CCTV installed so I could check on her anytime I liked. I think this is what would be important to many parents — the ability to keep checking that their child is ok. I know there are some countries where it is mandatory for companies to provide daycare facilities at work when a certain percentage of employees are new mothers. My mother and mother in law took turns to look after my child. I try and take my neighbours in confidence too, so that they step in and check on them when I am at work.

Because of my profession, my timings are hectic, but I think if you want a child you have to make a choice in India. You can either bank on a solid support system of friends and family and neighbours, or you can take a few years off. These are the only solutions I can think of.

Shanaz Jain, PR Consultant
Honestly, just because labour is cheap in this country, it is an options everyone avails of. The problem with providing care at that young an age is that a lot of the labour is unqualified for the same. You can’t even think about leaving very young kids in the daycare — a concept unheard in this country which severely lacks regulation and standardisation in that field. Even in big cities such as Mumbai and Delhi, you find smatterings of playgroups which all have their own syllabi, methods and way of doing things. There are no pre-set standards which these schools are bound by. I can think of so many instances that I had to write into the school saying that I was not comfortable with certain aspects of the blanket document that parents sign when their children are enrolled. I wish there was some authority to look into the feeding, maintenance and surveillance of playgroups and creches. I’ve heard so many horror stories of kids not being given nutritious meals even. India is so behind many countries in this aspect — women are now more ambitious than ever here and we would like to have a career while rearing our children. What are we still waiting for?