Childcare is not just about keeping children safe when
their parents are at work. Children require an environment where they can feel
safe, build relationships, explore, and learn. It is eight o’clock on a typical
working day in Dhaka, and Sumona is prepared to leave for work. She has
meetings to attend, deadlines to meet and a full day of work ahead of her. But
before she leaves her house, she has one important thing to figure out: which
will look after her child while she is away. Some parents rely on grandparents
to take care of their children while at work. Others may afford to hire a
domestic help for this purpose. But if neither options are available, mothers
may have little choice but to delay her going to work, reduce working hours, or
in some cases, leave her job altogether. As Bangladesh's economy grows and more
households depend on women's earnings, access to affordable, reliable childcare
becomes increasingly important. Yet the debate is often more concerned about
numbers than quality. A proper childcare involves planning, trained caregivers,
safe environment, and practical knowledge of how young children’s learning and
development.
Childcare is More Than Supervision
Childcare is often viewed primarily as a place where
children are fed, given a place to rest, and kept safe while their parents are
at work. Although very important, these tasks are only part of children’s
overall needs. The first few years of a child’s life is a critical period of
rapid growth, brain development, and learning. The children develop social
competence, emotional maturity, physical growth, cognitive development,
language and communication skills. A child’s early experiences, how they see
themselves and understand the world around them is dependent on the way adults
respond to them and their needs. A toddler stacking blocks is not just playing
with his toys.
The child is experimenting with balance, size, shapes, and
cause and effect. A child who learns to share his materials with another child
is learning about social interactions. A caregiver who patiently responds to a
toddler’s thousand and one questions helps build the foundation of language and
trust. Childcare, therefore, should be recognised not just as a service that
enables parents to work, but also as an essential part of a child’s early
development. The walls can be colorful, the interior appealingly furnished, and
the range of toys extensive; however, there may not be many developmental
chances if children spend most of their time waiting around, sitting still, or
not getting much one-on-one attention. What really counts is not only how a
childcare center looks, but what the children experience inside.
Childcare Environment
The Childcare environment must be focused around
children's safety, development, and daily routines. The childcare space,
lighting, ventilation, sanitation, furnitures and nap arrangement needs to be
well thought out according the children’s need and requirement. For young
children, even a small design decision may make a big difference. Big furnitures
can restrict a child’s independence. Unsecured furnitures can be a safety
hazard. A well designed environment allows the children to explore their
interests and move around freely. Each area allows different activities. The
library corner encourages language development.
Blocks and puzzles improves their fine motor skills and
cognitive development. Safety must remain the foundation for every decision.
Electrical outlets, medicines, chemicals, unsafe furniture, and any possible
choking hazard must be kept away from children’s reach. The must be a proper
hygiene, emergency, parents communication, incident, and child protection
guidelines and policies present in the childcare center.
The Role of a Caregiver
Even a well-designed facility cannot make up for
insufficiently trained caregivers. Children communicate not only with just
facial expressions and words but also with gestures and movements. A child
throwing toys in repetition might be seeking attention, or expressing a need. A
toddler crying during drop off could be a sign of separation anxiety. Qualified
caregivers understand these behaviours and respond appropriately rather than
immediately interpreting them as disobedience. A Professional caregiver
training covers more than feeding, bathing, and cleanliness. It also puts
emphasis on child development, positive behavior guidance, communication,
learning through play, hygiene, first aid, safe sleeping, and child protection.
A qualified childcare professional needs to be able to spot developmental delay
in children without labelling or comparing children. He/She must note the
problem and inform the parents sensitively.
They are also required to form a warm and reliable
relationship with the children. Children need responsible adults to realize their
distress, react on their communication attempts, comfort them and encourage
communication and exploration when necessary. Professional childcares provides
Caregiver Trainings, Refreshers trainings, Mentoring, Observation, Professional
Support to maintain the standards and remove problems before they become
serious.
Learning Through Play
In many cases, early education/pre-schooling is linked to
the use of worksheets, memorizing information, and situations in which children
must sit still while being taught by adults. However, these ways of learning do
not always reflect how toddlers learn best. For two- to three-year-old
children, play is one of the most significant ways of learning about the
surrounding world and gaining new experience. Singing helps develop children's
listening and language skills. Water and sand play stimulates sensory
experiences. Building blocks activities develop coordination and spatial
perception. Pretend cooking is an example of imaginative play. Play-based child
care is not the same thing as child care without any guidance. The caregivers
create significant experiences, choose appropriate materials, observe
children's interests, and support learning through discussion and
encouragement. The activities must match the age, ability, interests, and
culture of the children. Local tales, local songs, picture books, and common
household items can provide plenty of learning without any costly equipment. An
excellent early childhood care environment need not be lavish. It needs to be
safe, intentional, responsive, and rich in learning opportunities.
Child Care and Women’s Work
It goes without saying that the role of child care is not
confined to childhood development; rather, it is directly associated with
women's work and family finances.
The burdens of childcare tend to weigh on women more than
anyone else. If families are unable to obtain adequate childcare, women may end
up working fewer hours, turning down professional opportunities, delaying
training, or leaving the workforce entirely. Employers will lose valuable
employees, while families will have their incomes and future financial
stability at risk. Accessible childcare can allow parents to work and provide
their children with the chance to learn and develop in a positive environment.
The country needs child care services that will take into account the needs of
various categories of workers, especially those working in the informal sector
with limited access to employer-provided care and leave.
What Employers Can Do
Childcare should not be perceived as only the family’s
business. Employers can also assist with this task. It could be in terms of
establishing childcare in the workplace, cooperation with a child care center
near the work site, helping pay for childcare, or informing about reliable
childcare services. When an organisation is thinking of establishing childcare,
the provision of the space alone is just the first step. Effective planning
must consider space, staff, budgets, safety, procedures, and quality of service
provided. An unthought out childcare programme could end up being unable to
serve the needs of the employees and/or failing to provide the proper
environment for the children. A well-managed programme could be a much better
option for working parents. Several government institutions, private companies
and development organisations in Bangladesh offer childcare services to support
their employees and working parents. The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
(MoWCA), through the Department of Women Affairs (DWA), operates subsidised
government daycare centres across the country. Government institutions such as
the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Economic
Zones Authority (BEZA), Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC),
Dhaka WASA and Pani Bhaban also provide childcare facilities for their
employees.
In the private sector, organisations including
Grameenphone, Robi, Berger, Apex and HaMeem Group, alongside Bangladesh Bank
and other bank headquarters, offer workplace childcare support. Development
organisations such as icddr,b, Save the Children, Plan International and CARE
Bangladesh also provide childcare support for their employees.
Moving from Personal Actions to National
Action
Bangladesh has already done a great deal by coming up with
the Roadmap for Childcare in Bangladesh on 24 November 2024. The roadmap has
been initiated by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs with technical
support from the ILO. This roadmap has focused on accessibility, affordability,
quality, governance, and the professional development of childcare workers. .
The next challenge is how to turn these priorities into concrete changes.
First, there should be standards to govern the setting up and running of the
day care facilities. These standards need to cover aspects such as safety,
hygiene, staffing, protection of children, developmental activities, and
communicating with parents. The service providers also need assistance to
adhere to them. Second, it will be useful to ensure that caregiver training is
more available and systematic. The training program should combine theoretical
aspects with practice. Third, daycare business owners need technical
assistance. They may know about the need for the provision of daycare services
but may not have the skill set to determine the feasibility, provide for the
proper environment, prepare budgets, employ staff, and ensure quality control.
Fourth, parents need to be considered as partners. Communication about the daily
schedule of the children, diet, sleep, play, behavior, and development will
help create partnership between parents and care providers. Lastly, childcare
services need to consider costs.
There could be a variety of ways to expand access without
endangering the welfare and safety of the children through public institutions,
employers, development partners, community organizations, and private entities.
These initiatives need collaboration and investment. It is not enough that one
counts the number of centers that have been set up, but also their quality and
affordability.
Investing in the Foundations of the Future
A toddler may not remember every activity completed during
a morning at daycare.But repeated experiences of being listened to, comforted, encouraged,
and given opportunities to explore help shape the child's early relationships
with people and the world. The value of good childcare is not that it replaces
the role of the parents or undervalues the importance of family care; it
provides another environment for the child’s development while the parents work
or take care of other responsibilities. The question facing Bangladesh is
whether the focus on childcare facilities alone should be shifted and replaced
with questions about what goes on inside them. Are the children safe? Are the
carers prepared? Is their daily schedule conducive to development? Are families
considered equal partners? Can the service maintain its quality? These
questions can only be answered by making investments not just in infrastructure
but also in the human resource. When the design of the childcare center is
focused on meeting the needs of the child, the benefits go beyond just helping
the child grow. Better childcare can support children's development while
helping parents stay employed and giving employers a more reliable workforce.
What makes a good childcare center is not the number of hours that it occupies
a child's time. It is whether the child is safe, cared for, respected, and
given opportunities to learn and develop. That is why Bangladesh needs to move
beyond babysitting and recognise quality childcare as an essential investment
in children, families, and the country's future.
The writer is Child Care Specialist
