The subject of whether parents should put their little ones in a daycare early on, or not remains a sensitive one, with one side supporting the idea while the other vehemently rejecting it.
In Rwanda at least, some parents believe that sending a one-and-a-half-year-old child to a daycare deprives them of parental care and deprives them of a home environment and protection since they are still vulnerable.
However, despite the culture of taking children to daycare remaining low, experts say leaving your child to unprofessional caregivers back at home can be the worst decision you can ever make, especially for working parents.
According to Rosine Ingabire, an educator and caregiver by profession, most of the time the house helps raising your children might not be the ideal people to do so.
"Many times, the people we choose to stay with our children are not qualified caregivers. With unprofessional caregivers, children are prone to abuse,”
"Unprofessional caregivers are likely to leave your children with poor health, malnutrition and impaired mental, social and emotional development,” Ingabire says.
She points out that cases of malnutrition and stunting have been found even in wealthy families simply because parents leave their children to wrong caregivers,” Ingabire says.
Why daycares work
According to Ingabire, studies have shown that leaving your baby with quality caregivers can have a positive impact — socially, emotionally and cognitively.
"One of the most critical periods in child development and learning is from birth to five years. That is when mental processes of perception, attention, knowing, memory, judgment, logic, reasoning and problem solving happen.”
Ingabire says that in most cases, parents don’t know much about the background and families of the maids raising their children.
"Some don’t even know where they come from. It is embarrassing to leave your 6-month-old baby with someone you don’t know,” says Ingabire, who runs La Saeta Day Care based in Remera.
A safe space for children
Day cares are important for the exposure for your little one’s development. It helps them to manage their emotions and behaviour better.
A recent study shows that children in daycare are less prone to emotional problems, separation anxiety and social withdrawal symptoms.
They are better behaved compared to kids staying with their parents or caregivers all day.
In daycare, children learn socialisation skills such as sharing, solving problems together and playing as a team, from a very early age.
According to Dr Francine Lederer, a U.S-based clinical psychologist, when children are under the care of teachers with a good educational background, they learn how to solve conflicts easily.
They can also learn how to control emotions and boost their communication skills as well as language development because they hear more words from fellow kids and teachers. Their vocabulary develops quickly.
There is no better place for a child to experience personal growth and development than in a daycare. Day care centres that provide quality programmes can make your children independent at a very early age.
Among other things, kids in a daycare are able to play with fellow kids and improve their physical fitness. Last but not least, you are comfortable at work, well knowing that your child is in safe hands and if anything happens, you have someone you pay to hold accountable.