Beware of cruel

Beware of cruel
baby sitters

From Kompas

On Sept. 23, 2002 I hired a baby sitter from Kasih Abadi
Foundation, Jl. Lautze, Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, for my 9-
month-old daughter. An interview with her showed that she had
about five years' experience as a baby sitter, taking care of
babies, toddlers and even sick elderly people.

When I was around, she behaved sweetly and showed her love
for the child under her care. I found out that my child increased
her weight quite fast, and tended to gain more weight than
necessary. It was strange, however, that she became easily sick,
especially during meal hours. I took her to the doctor almost
every day. The doctor simply said she ate too much.

One day, I happened to see the baby sitter hit my daughter
when she threw up during a meal. Worse still, the baby sitter
forced my daughter to eat what she had thrown up. Of course, I
dismissed her right away.

I found out later that my daughter was subjected to all kinds
of violence when I wasn't around. Apparently, the baby sitter
used every way to force my daughter to eat and obey all her
instructions.

As a result, my daughter is still traumatized by these violent
acts of the baby sitter. Before I hired her, my daughter could
eat and take a bath easily. She never woke up in the middle of
the night or cried during her sleep. Now she is frightened all
the time and asks me to carry her.

So be careful before hiring a baby sitter. The one I dismissed
was called Sumiarsih from Purwokerto, Central Java.

MIA HARJONI

Jakarta