Day care center gives family quality time

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For people working in a big city like Jakarta, a quality get-together with the children can be hard to afford. For many young mothers, leaving babies with nannies is not an option.

Susi, who works at the Forestry Ministry on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, has brought her daughter to the office since she was only 3 months old.

"The office provides a day care center ... it's very helpful," the Cipinang resident said.

Two-year-old Aliah is still breast-fed, Susi said.

"Knowing that my daughter is practically within reach, I can monitor her all the time," Susi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"During my lunch break, I always spend my time with her," she said.

Susi prefers to leave her only child with trained nurses at the center, instead of hiring a babysitter or a domestic worker to take care of her at home.

There have been many reports of housemaids and babysitters who failed to do their job. In some serious cases, they have abused employers' children physically and mentally, and have even abducted them.

Many parents, however, rely on maids or nannies and there are numerous employment agencies offering these services at affordable prices.

At the Forestry Ministry's Sylva Day Care Center, the monthly fee is Rp 300,000 for children of ministry employees or Rp 450,000 for the general public. Parents can pay on a daily basis, costing Rp 30,000 or Rp 45,000 for the public, or weekly at Rp 100,000 or Rp 170,000.

Built in 1993, the center receives children aged between three months and four years old.

"The main goal of establishing the center was to help the ministry's employees take care of their children. Working mothers can meet their children here anytime," assistant manager Ita Billy Hindra said.

Sylva Day Care has three nurses and can accommodate up to 20 children, Billy said.

It provides snacks and meals for children.

Deni, who works in a private company on Jl. Sudirman, entrusts his 14-month-old son, Nabil, to the center because it is near his home and workplace.

"I learned about the center from the Internet. My wife and I began bringing our child here one month ago because it is relatively close to home in West Jakarta," Deni said, adding that day care centers were good for his son's growth.

"Nabil was a shy boy but he's not anymore," he said.

"He also has many friends here."

Another facility, Makara Children's Development Center, was launched by the University of Indonesia School of Psychology last week.

Dean Dharmayati Utoyo Lubis and her colleague, Diennaryati Tjokrosuprihatono, inaugurated the center for UI lecturers' and employees' children, aged from one to four years.

"Many lecturers brought children to work because they didn't have a housekeeper or a nanny. Then we had the idea to help the mothers by establishing this center so parents could work peacefully without worrying about their children," Yati said at the opening of the center in the school compound.

To run the center, Yati said, the School of Psychology cooperated with the School of Medicine, the Dental School and the School of Nursing Sciences.

"Makara is different from nurseries because it also has a health clinic for children.

"We also provide two dentists, two doctors, two nurses and two psychologists to take care of them," Yati said, adding that parents could also monitor their children via the Internet.

The center can accommodate up to 20 children. The attendants teach children to brush their teeth, wash their hands before and after meals, and to go to the toilets by themselves.

Household products producer PT Unilever Indonesia has provided a nursery and a day care program for employees since 2002.

Unilever external communications manager Nurulita Novi Araida said the nursery was provided for breast-feeding employees and children under five years old.

"We provide a nursery room and a nurse for mothers who need assistance," Novi said, adding that the facility could accommodate up to five children.

The day care center only opens one week before Idul Fitri and two weeks after.

The center does not open daily because the company does not have proper facilities to care for children, Novi said.

"Many working parents need assistance at that time because maids or nannies go back to their hometowns," she said.

The center was open daily, before and after Idul Fitri, for up to 30 children aged below eight, Novi said.

"And it's free of charge," she added.