A maid working in a Versova home convinced her employer’s daughter to come away with her and make a career in modelling.
A maid working in a Versova home convinced her employer’s daughter to come away with her and make a career in modelling. Clubbed with the fear of flunking her exams, the 13-year-old girl thought fleeing home was the safest proposition.
Luckily, the child was safely brought back home. City psychologists blamed the incident, which was fraught with risk, on the trend of more and more children being left behind by parents to grow up under the supervision of maids. But, at the same time, the experts agree that with the escalating cost of living, working parents in nuclear families have very little option.
“Children who have little interaction with their parents tend to get influenced by their maids, with whom they spend their time,” said child psychologist Dr Seema Hingorani. “The mother’s presence is highly recommended for cognitive, social and emotional development of child in the formative years.”
Experts suggested that mothers should opt for part-time jobs in order to spend more time with their children till they were old enough to judge situations. “The other option is always to have grandparents or other family members for supervision,” said Hingorani. She cited the case of a child who failed in all her papers because she used to spend whole day watching television with the maid.
Other experts said that a lot depended on the manner in which the maid was portrayed in the family she served. “Maids can never influence kids if parents try to put things in the proper perspective,” said Dr Hozefa A Bhinderwala, consultant psychiatrist, Saifee and Prince Aly Khan Hospital. “Most importantly, one needs to question the integrity of a servant and whether she can be handed over such a responsibility.”
Moreover, parents should have a healthy relationship with their children. Being pointlessly stern in the name of discipline can backfire. “There are instances of young girls having affairs with their servants,” said Dr Vasant Mundra, consultant psychiatrist, PD Hinduja Hospital. “If parents are too stern, and needlessly so, children get attracted to anyone who shows them the slightest of affection.”
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