Renu Sharma, who works with a Bengaluru-based fintech firm, hired a personal nanny for her child, but had to let her go quickly. “She would just be on her phone even while carrying my baby around,” says Renu, who has since shifted her child, now three-and-a-half-year-old, to a daycare.Midwifery was done away with a while ago but early childhood care in India still runs on “trust” factor and “maternal instincts”. The case of nannies allegedly mistreating and filming toddlers at a city creche spotlights a significant gap in early childhood care—a total lack of training. “India has several institutions offering early childhood education and caregiver training, but there’s no single nationally recognised certification that is universally adopted across the sector,” says spokesperson for KLAY (Kids, Learning And You), which has an academic and training arm Institute of Early Childhood Education and Development (IECED).This fragmented approach has complicated nanny scouting, where ‘word of mouth’ holds power. “Deciding who to leave your child with is a crucial decision,” says neonatologist-paediatrician Dr Rajesh KS. “The brains of children between 2 and 3 years have high plasticity, meaning they form new neural connections every second with everything they learn daily, which establishes a strong foundation for their future. Any untoward incidents at this age can cause profound neurological and psychological trauma on children,” he says.Childcare centres are an extension of the child’s primary ecosystem, reminds city-based psychotherapist Aparna Viswanathan. When looking for a daycare facility, she says, parents must observe everything. “Starting with physical aspects—including how well-groomed nannies are, how softly they hold the child, and how they make a baby sit—these are all elements we need to emphasise equally, alongside emotional necessities like empathy, because touch is the first emotion.”Since toddlers are difficult to manage, handling them for long hours requires significant amount of patience and empathy. The number of children assigned to each nanny must be manageable. “Staff-child ratio in creches remains a crucial factor,” says Dr Rajesh.The decision to leave your child in a daycare doesn’t come easy to parents, and poses a moral dilemma of its own. Anju Madhu, who just enrolled her two-year-old in a daycare, says: “We were apprehensive about it but there is no other choice. We chose her daycare after taking feedback on a few from our friends who are parents.”The KLAY spokesperson points out that the early childhood care sector has matured and deserves to be recognised as a specialised profession.“It would benefit to have nationally recognised competency standards, structured certification, mandatory induction and refresher training and stronger collaboration between govt, academia and industry. Equally important are defined career pathways that attract and retain good professionals,” he says.Most nannies, who have been finding work through informal channels, need to also be able to see an incentive to get formal training. “Formal certification benefits everyone — the caregiver, employer, and parents. It helps elevate childcare from an informal occupation into a respected profession,” adds the spokesperson.While parents are ready to pay exorbitant fees, they feel creches that lack even a safe environment for a child are practically useless. Though affordability differs from parent to parent, one hopes for security and safety for their child in exchange. “Since they are so little and don’t know anything, safety becomes the priority, so we try not to think about the money,” says Anju, who is returning to work after a break.
