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