How Daycare Industry Is Helping Moms Succeed In Career

"In women's case, the biological clock and the career clock are in complete conflict with each other. When you have to have kids, you have to build your career," said Indira Nooyi on the David Rubenstein Show. We couldn't agree more. Her statement very clearly describes the dilemma of a career-driven woman.

Juggling between personal and professional life is quite challenging, but not impossible. There are solutions to it. Hordes of women have started turning to professionally-run daycare centers to seek assistance for their children. The mushrooming growth of these centers makes it very clear that women aspire to pursue their career after embracing motherhood.

SheThePeople.Tv spoke to some mothers to know their experiences of enrolling their kids in daycare centers and how it helps them.

Kaamna Jain, working as a dentist in Noida, expresses her gratitude towards daycare centers for helping her pursue her dreams post-motherhood.

“I feel blessed to live in an area having a lot of daycare centers. The people running the center look after my child very well. They helped me get back to my career. I am away from my child for almost 9 hours, but there is no complaint from my side. I think these centers are doing a great job by helping modern-day mothers in advancing their careers and enjoying motherhood at the same time.”

Pooja Mehta, a corporate professional working in a Gurgaon-based firm, wants companies to open daycare centers for the convenience of their female employees.

“If companies cannot extend our maternity leaves, they must provide us with daycare facilities. In this era of cut-throat competition, it is impossible for someone to sit at home for some years. It affects one’s productive skills and it gets difficult to get back and restart from where we left.”

Also Read: Flipkart Launches New Maternity Policy

Mithali Giri, working in a BPO, is a bit apprehensive about this emerging trend.

“It is good to see the pace at which these centers are becoming a part of our parenting journey. I work in a night shift and so, I have to leave my child in a center. But I must confess that there exists a shred of fear in my mind about her safety. I have developed a habit of calling up the authorities after every few hours to know about the well-being of my baby. It is difficult to trust strangers in this delicate matter.”

We also interviewed Anupama Gautam, the caretaker of a well-known daycare center in North Delhi, to know her views.

“We get hundreds of enquiries every day from parents who want to avail our daycare facility. There are 30 children in our center. Apart from providing them with food, we also look after their emotional well-being.”

Anupama adds, "We have hired teachers who help the children complete their homework. There are trainers who keep the children engaged in sports activities like skating and badminton. We are completely in favour of women who do not want to face setbacks in their career. We are committed towards making a child's formative years the most memorable time of his/her life."

Shivani Sharma, a computer student, reminisces about her childhood experience of staying in a daycare center.

“After school, I used to visit a small childare center near my school. I have spent the best time of my life there. I befriended a lot of children of my age. It made me quite independent at an early age. I am happy that my parents took that decision. My mother has been doing very well in her career. She is updated with all the latest gadgets and applications. I can talk to her on so many issues. This wouldn’t have been possible if she had chosen to leave her career mid-way to look after me.”

Rajni Toshi, an economics student from Delhi University, says,

“Economically speaking, it is a great thing since it is a reflector of the increasing women in the workforce. More women in the workforce means a fuller utilization of the human resource in our country and also an improvement in the average living standard. Moreover, this surge has also led to development of a new industry in itself. This is also leading to an increase in the employment opportunities.”

Image credits: Parenting Bits

Also Read: Better workplace policies help retain women employees

Charvi Is An Intern With SheThePeople.TV