Editorial: Kids’ fate in the hands of a ‘yaya’

(SunStar Davao graphics)
(SunStar Davao graphics)

A FEW generations ago, the norm is that the father is the provider and the mother is usually left at home to take care of the kids.

The job of a housewife is definitely not a joke as she would see to it that the house is clean, the money well-budgeted, the kids learn good values and that they eat well, and so many other things she needs to pay attention to.

But as the times change, especially the economy, women also pursue with their careers to help their husbands bring food to the table. Because of this, the children are left with their grandparents and other relatives. But most of the times the grandparents may be too old to take care of hyperactive children or the other relatives are similarly busy. For this, the parents opt to screen “yaya” applicants to help look after the children while they are away.

Hiring a yaya has been a norm now, some are strangers who applied but are thoroughly screened by the parents while some are recommendations of friends and relatives.

While the case of a yaya being violent to the kids they take care of is not new anymore, a new extreme case of child’s death in the hands of a yaya had been reported in General Santos City. The young woman, who had been working with the family for two years already, strangled the five-year-old kid to her death. Police said the yaya even made it seem like the kid committed suicide and that she was innocent but later on admitted the killing. The devastated mother said she thinks the yaya became irritated and annoyed with her child because the yaya had a fight with her boyfriend.

With this very sad news, the police urged parents to be extra cautious and strict when hiring a househelp or yaya to take care of their children. No parents want their baby harmed or to not be properly taken care of. The blame should not be put to the parents as they might also be working very hard to provide for their children. The yaya who killed the child had been with the family for two years – that’s enough time to be in good terms and to gain great amount of trust.

These cases of yaya physically hurting or neglecting the kids on their watch may be reduced if the government or any other concerned organization can initiate a center or an employment agency (similar to that of security guards’) which will see to it that the applying yaya can really be trusted and in no way would kill or hurt a child even if the kid is noisy or would throw tantrums. Taking care of a child needs extra patience. An employment agency for yaya can train the applicants for anger management and other trainings they would need.

If we have employment agencies for domestic helpers who take care of foreigners’ children abroad, why don’t we have that for our own kids?

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