Why you should avoid day care centres

Arusha. Why should parents bother to take their children to day care centres for normal care instead of doing so at homes?

This question was posed by an official of the SOS Children’s Village in Arusha Innocent Estomihi when addressing stakeholders on the rights of children, parents, religious and village leaders.

He said it was not proper that instead of caring for the siblings at home, some parents have been competing to take them to the children’s centres away from home, sometimes for no better reasons. “I think it is better for the children to learn early life skills from their parents rather than at the day care centres,” he said during a seminar on child upbringing.

He said although SOS Children’s Villages doors were open for the needy children, it still considered parental care to be more appropriate because the children have more bonds with them than handlers at the care centres. “It is the responsibility of parents and the surrounding society to look after the children and impart learning skills to them because homes have better environments for raising them,” he said. He added that although the organisation and other bodies with similar mandate were keen to assist the vulnerable families “we will not stop telling parents of their responsibility on child upbringing.” He stressed that in terms of care, children gained more when in the hands of their respective parents than at the day care centres.