I have heard of people employing young kids to look after their infants. And I have also heard of people having paid a heavy price for that…with the life of their infant. It is horrifying to know that in spite of being aware of all the possible risks and dangers of employing such young kids, EDUCATED people still go ahead and employ them. Why have a child if you are not willing to look after him/her yourself? I can understand it being an exhausting job but with family support (if possible) or laying down rules about not employing 14 yr olds, it can be well managed. After all it’s the infant’s safety that matters at the end of the day which can not be ensured with a 14 yr old for sure.

Candy, one of the reasons people seem to want to employ young kids to look after their children seems to do with cost. Some of them feel that they can pay kids less than they would pay adults - but like you said - at what cost? I think people planning on having children should give such things serious thought and make sure that they can provide the environment and resources to ensure the child’s safety, before having the baby.

That is so true. Yet people don’t see that the lesser they spend the less reliable domestic help they are bound to get. It is sad that a terrible incident has to occur for better senses to awaken. Serious thought has to be given to family planning these days as life has gotten more complicated. I don’t have a child yet so I can’t really speak from experience on handling domestic help on this front. But as far as I can see into the future, my child would mean the world to me and I would do anything to ensure her/his safety. I would never compromise on the quality of care of my child just for a few moments of rest. I would never be able to rest in peace knowing my child is in unreliable hands. I can’t figure out how people can be so indifferent on this issue.

Treating the help well is also another important aspect. After all, they are caring for the child. How can anyone ill treat someone who’s been trusted to look after the child? You never know when and in what form the help could vent out frustration out of ill treatment.

Great post, Meenakshi!

I am a Lamaze-trained childbirth educator and doula from the US living in Bangalore. I offer private as well as group childbirth prep classes. Topics covered include anatomy of pregnancy and birth; pregnancy exercise and nutrition; stages of labor; developing and maintaining confidence in the inherent ability to give birth; strategies to facilitate normal birth; movement and positioning which enhance progress and comfort; technology, internventions, and pain medication; cesarean births; postpartum issues; breastfeeding; and newborn appearance, needs and capabilities. For more information, contact me at nycdoula@gmail.com, or on 99863 80303.

prenatal and Postnatal program for expecting parents in Indirnagar by name Asha Foundation is getting populat these days.I went to talk to them as am 2 months pregnant. They run classes on week end and seems to quite profesional .I spoke to Ms Priya and she told me all about classes. Heard that they are teamof 4 doing good work .Asha also happens to non profit orgn too help chidren with diabilites . I was deeply impressed

I attended pregnanacy classes from Asha . It was wonderful experience .I had opportunity to meet many couples and share my experiences . It was my second pregnanacy , exercise and nutition classes very information and I will surely recommended to others

I have to say personally I would not recommend the prenatal classes at Asha. I had a not so great experience there recently.

I found the classes to be disorganized, I did not think the content of the classes itself was up to par, and there were a few times where the instructor gave wrong information (calling veins arteries, saying there were lymph nodes in places there are not, etc. ).

Also, we were supposed to be given personalized diet plans, but when I got mine it was basically useless. It had a sample menu for a day, included items that I could eat because of dietary restrictions that I had told them about, and had no information that someone would need (like when it says “one serving” of a food item, how much IS that?!?!?) The exercise and lamaze breathing information were good, but it is not a lamaze class, as it advertises. The breathing information is not given in context, and I left not knowing exactly how it would work in labor. also, the 2 times they tried to show us video, the equipment was not working. On the last day they showed us films with NO SOUND with a promise to send us copies later, but no one followed up as promised.

I thought the overall experience at Asha was terribly disappointing.