Day care at work benefits mother and child

Day care at work benefits mother and child

David Kennedy, Contributor, Jakarta, d_kenn@yahoo.com

Balancing personal life and work commitments is a theme often
found in professional development courses, and a common mantra in
large companies concerned about staff motivation.

But how many employers actually do more than talk the talk
when it comes to the ever elusive work-life balance?

For working mothers with newborn babies, the challenges are
particularly acute as they juggle their child's needs with the
demands of the office. Indonesian legislation allows for three
months maternity leave -- a month and a half before delivery and
a commensurate period after -- but most women take the whole
period after giving birth, to allow more time to breastfeed.

Many women return to work and find no facilities for feeding
or even transferring their milk to bottles. Women spending long
hours at the office can find that being separated so early on
from their child increases their stress levels.

However, in recent years some firms have become aware of the
effect this can have on staff productivity and they now provide
facilities, ranging from an area for feeding babies to day care
centers.

This trend is not restricted to the private sector, though it
is more common in large multinational firms which offer a range
of benefits to staff, such as free fitness centers and on-site
medical care.

"Some years ago we started to put emphasis on the belief that
having motivated people in the company was not only about
engaging their minds with training and so on. We realized we also
have to capture their hearts," said Josef Bataona, human resource
director of PT Unilever Indonesia, which opened a nursery for
mothers and infants two years ago.

"When we recruit staff we know that we are not only hiring the
person's skill but the whole person. In the case of our female
staff, we know that eventually they will have families."

Mina, a manager with two young children, explained that she
usually worked from seven in the morning until eight in the
evening in order to avoid traffic jams.

"Before we had this service, I had to express my milk into
bottles in the prayer room, which was not ideal," she said,
adding that she usually left her five-month-old son at home with
a babysitter and used the nursery to pump her breast milk during
the day.

According to Josef Bataona, Unilever wants their employees to
see the workplace as a "second home" and their head office boasts
a fitness center, relaxation areas and a full-time doctor and
nurse. The nursery is open 24 hours a day to accommodate mothers
working long hours.

Facilities for breastfeeding are seen as a priority by the
government. Deputy for Child Protection and Welfare from the
Office of the State Minister of Women's Empowerment, Dr. H. Tb.
Rachmat Sentika, said the government believes the facilities play
an important role in increasing the well-being of mothers and
children.

"It's principally an issue of nutrition. We need to encourage
mothers to breastfeed for at least six months," he said, adding
that a government campaign aimed at companies, women's groups and
NGOs is currently underway.

A pediatrician by training, Dr. Rachmat said that while the
main priority is to provide facilities for breastfeeding, the
government was also campaigning for more day care facilities for
children under five. However, when questioned, he did not say
whether any government funding would be made available.

Although most working mothers employ a nanny or have family
members to take care of their babies, some experts suggest that
day care centers can be a better option, both financially and in
terms of the welfare of children.

The advantages of professionally staffed centers can include
full health-care facilities with regular health checks and
immunizations, nutritional programs, activities which stimulate
creativity and teach life skills as well as the early detection
of children's health or learning difficulties, said Zahrasari
Lukita Dewi, Psi, a lecturer in clinical psychology at Atma Jaya
University in Jakarta.

"Traditionally, families employ baby sitters or family members
to mind their children. They give them all the necessary numbers
and addresses for the doctor, pediatrician and pharmacy in case
anything happens, but all these services can add up to be more
expensive than a day care center," she said.

"The deciding factor for parents should be what's best for the
child. If they are very busy they may not be able to detect
abnormalities early on. For example, by a certain age a child
should begin to crawl or speak and so on. Having an experienced
person reporting on the child's progress can really make day care
worthwhile."

The Ministry of Forestry women's association has run a day
care center for over 10 years for the children of ministry staff
and office workers in the surrounding area near the Manggala Wana
Bhakti complex in Central Jakarta. Although the center caters
mostly for under fives, older children also come there after
school and are supervised doing homework until their parents
finish work.

Ibu Siswanto, head of the women's association, believes that
the facility has helped to improve the quality of life of female
workers.

"Our main aim is to increase the welfare of staff so that
women can continue to be able to work and still have their
children properly cared for," she said. The center is funded by
donations, fundraising events and by fees. Staff of the Ministry
of Forestry pay Rp 10,000 per day and non-ministry staff pay Rp
22,000 per day and can leave their children from eight in the
morning until four or later in the afternoon.

"It's a good service. I have two children there, a three year
old and a three month old. They are happy there," said Lina, a
clerical assistant at the ministry.

"Every Wednesday they are checked by the doctor, they have
vitamins and activities to stimulate their creativity. Also, in
my opinion, it's not too expensive."

Children at the ministry's day care center have a regular
schedule of educational games and social activities and are
taught basic hygiene, toilet training and how to clear up after
their lunch. A wall chart at the center gives details of the
children's health-care program, including doses of vitamins,
vaccinations and health checks administered by a resident doctor
and child psychologist.

"We monitor the health and the development of each child. That
way we can detect any problems at an early stage. Recently, we
had a case where a one year old still had not started to walk. We
recommended to his parents to get an x-ray and they discovered he
had a problem with his shoulder," said Dr. Lestari, the resident
general practitioner.

Dr. Lestari believes that children who have been in day care
may be better prepared physically and socially for starting
school by the age of six but there are also some drawbacks.

"Some children love it so much here that they can be a problem
for their parents at weekends and on holidays. They have their
routine here and they like eating with their friends. Sometimes
they don't want to eat outside of this environment," she said.

While there are clearly many benefits to children gaining a
certain amount of independence from their parents early on in
life, day care can also cause problems.

Psychologists have found that children develop "split
attachments" -- they become unsure who they should be closest to
and which place is home. However, this is easily remedied by
parents, according to psychologist Zahrasari Lukita Dewi.

"When parents have much time to spend with their children the
important thing is the quality of the time together. Parents need
a strategy to make the most of evenings and weekends and to make
up for lack of time," she said.

"Children need to be aware that they get things from their
parents that they cannot get from other people, like hugging,
kissing and lots of eye contact. The psychological effect of this
cannot be substituted."

Parents are not the only ones who face problems striking a
balance in their lives. As children's daily schedules tend to
revolve around those of their parents, they can get tired going
to and from child minders or day care centers and being stuck in
endless traffic jams.

More facilities for children in the workplace may help to make
things easier and allow parents to spend more quality time with
their kids. But if this means parents working ever longer hours
is may be well a self defeating solution.

"At the end of the day parents also need to adjust their
schedules in line with the needs of their kids," said Zahrasari
Lukita Dewi.