Aliza Shah
THE action of some unscrupulous childminders who are taking in more children than they could handle has led to a number of tragic incidents in the country.
The New Sunday Times recently spoke to some parents — one of them lost her child, while others had their children being left with injuries and trauma that changed their lives forever.
Their stories are almost similar — their children were healthy before they were sent to their babysitters, who later called saying that their children had seizures or breathing difficulties.
Medical examinations showed that their children suffered from brain haemorrhage or bleeding in their eyes, believed to be due to force trauma or being forcefully shaken.
Shahida, whose son died, said she was shocked to know that her babysitter sent her son to be cared for by the latter’s daughter, who was caring for 12 other children, including her own.
“The reason I agreed to send my children to the babysitter was because she was not taking care of other children, but I didn’t know that when I sent my baby to her, she actually passed my son to be cared for by her daughter.
“Her daughter was caring for 12 children, including her own. They were between 2 months and 9,” she said.
The centre was forced to close after she lodged a report.
Nori, whose 2-month-old daughter was diagnosed with growth developmental delay, said her child’s babysitter was caring for at least 10 children, excluding those who were on “transit”.
“She is registered with the Welfare Department. When the incident happened, I reported her to the authorities but they claimed that she did nothing wrong. I don’t understand how she can be allowed to care for so many children in a small flat. Until today, I still don’t know what happened to my daughter. She refused to tell me anything.
“The Welfare Department says a childcare centre must install closed-circuit television cameras, but it didn’t have any.
“So, why there was no action taken against the centre?”