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Finding a home after school for my child

It has been long since I penned down something in this blog. in fact I almost felt that my blog was stone cold and dead, looking for a fresh breath of air. Sorry, but with my daily routine of hard core office work, meetings, presentation, managing a house without any full time maid, and a growing 11 yr old son and his hectic schedule of studies, Taekwondo classes, Keyboard classes, Football activities in and out of school, there is no scope of 'thinking'. Before, even I took a deep breath, we are in the tenth month of the calendar.

Off late, the core attention point is to decide on an alternative afterschool daycare for my son. Very cautiously and carefully, and obviously intentionally I left out the word "creche" the most abused word in Indian homes.As always, I love walking up the hill, against the public motion and hence second time round I am on the search. And I am proud to have found the first one 4 and 1/2 yrs ago. For some compelling reasons, the existing outfit is planning to shut down and I am forced to look for an option.

Like many Indian working parents, we were lucky to find help from both sets parents in taking care of our son in the initial years. But as we were in Delhi, and both sets of grandparents were traveling from Kolkata and it was stretching and tiring them a little too much in having these 3 month on 3 month off kind of life in Kolkata and with us. When we moved to Gurgaon life in appartments were a little more cosy and secured, and keeping the ordealof past 5 yrs in mind, we opted for a creche than a full time maid.

My son till that time was underweight, fussy, non-eater, always finding some grandparent at his beck and call. Going to creche was not easy. Though I do not have any guilt pangs, but neither do I try and convince people for putting their kids in creche as " creche mein kyun jayega, uska kya koi nahin hai?"...

Four years down, my son can eat any food, can adjust in most of the environment and his health improved drastically. But the most salient observation was in his character. My child was otherwise shy of any other child we visited or who visited us, now can tackle, carry, hug and take care of kids as small as infants.

He misses these kids in vacation and for past few years we have got used to having two full fledged birthday celebrations, one in his daycare and the other with friends, family and classmates.

While we are anxious about making the right decision for the next one, I am also confident, at 11yrs, by no country standard he is fit to be at home after school unsupervised with or without maid or servants.

So, wish me luck while I go for my recce and finalise the next 'home after school' for my son.

Comments

Bong Mom said…
Did you find one ? Don't the schools have an after care, how do working parents cope otherwise ? Or maybe you can have a nanny cum house helper or is that not an option ?

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