Maids and their roles in raising children
A study throws light on dangers of unqualified nannies and maids raising children. A study by Rayeesa Absal in an Ethiopian Gulf Newspaper shows that there has been a huge trend of housemaids and unqualified nannies rearing children.
The research highlights the significant roles of parents in maximising the potential of their children’s performance in school through close interaction in their early stages of development.
Maids do various chores in the home. Some people have again raised concern about heaping too much work on them to the extent of becoming careless with the conduct of children they are meant to babysit, leading to unprecedented calamities.
Chimwemwe Banda is a social worker in Mzuzu who says that maids taking care of children in between household chores is dangerous with serious impact on the emotional, intellectual and cognitive development of children.
“Parents need to realise when they leave their homes either for work or business that the carelessness of maids can cause serious injuries or deaths, for which they might also be accountable if not careful,” says Banda.
He says maids play the roles of parents in their absence, more so because hiring domestic help is cheap, convenient and many do not recognise the importance of the early years of a child to be with the mother or father.
Psychologist Solomon Chimwera of Salima says a close relationship between parents and children during their early years prevents compromising children’s intellect and that such children grow with a positive mind towards parents.
“It is a sensitive issue and we need to work around it. It shows in how children respond to issues and their performance in school. Parents have better qualifications and higher socio-economic status to help children perform better. Most children lack parental attention,” he says.
Chimwera recommends extending the role of parents to benefit children, schools and communities as well as parents themselves.
Mother of three Alice Khani says: “My daughter suffered from staying with the nanny. She was brilliant, but lacked good communication skills because of staying with her nanny since her birth until two years old for almost 10 hours a day.
“It took her over three years to recover and we regretted. We realised that many housemaids and nannies put money first and not the welfare of the children. Most parents put their careers ahead of their children, but if the mother can, she should quit her job, especially in the first three years of the child is very important,” she says.
