Srinagar, Mar 11: The urban lifestyle and nuclear families seem to be a key reason of growing number of crèches or child day care centres as they are called, in the City. From a few of them in the entire summer capital till a decade ago, now almost every Mohalla houses the facility.
 People running the business say most of their potential customers are the working class parents.
 “A shift in our family system that has come about in the recent years is largely responsible for the setting up of such crèches,” said a market Pundit. “Earlier,” he said “family elders would take care of kids at home.”
 “But now because of nuclear families, there is nobody to take care of children at home.”
 Some parents send their wards to the preschools to get them prepared for interviews at prominent English medium schools.
 Mehnaz, a working mother, says although she has in-laws at home who can take care of her 2 year old daughter, she wants her child to be prepared for the school interviews. “This is why we send her to a crèche.”
 These preschools, as per the institution heads, use play-way methods and audio visual techniques to educate the kids during their 5 to 6 hours  of stay there.
 But then the experts say kids shouldn’t be overburdened.
  “Although, this is a novel concept, it’s wrong to educate children at such a young age as their little brains are yet not prepared to read and their fingers not ready to write. They should be allowed to be free and play as they like,” says noted educationist Prof AG Madhosh. He said: “The children should be left to do as they please because this would help them in developing their personality.”
 But parents find themselves helpless.
 “I have no option but to leave my little girl in a crèche because me and my husband are working and I cannot leave her at the mercy of domestic help,” says Ishrat Shafi, who herself teaches at a government school in Pattan area of north Kashmir.
 Saima Nazir, who runs a crèche, Baby Care at Zakura says they take every care to provide a “homely atmosphere and motherly care to the students.”
 “Children do take sometime to adjust to the new environment but as soon as they become familiar to the place and the teachers, they start making friends and enjoy their time here.”

Lastupdate on : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST