Closed schools and crèches: A reluctant holiday for parents

Rachel Chitra| TNN | Nov 4, 2017, 10:32 IST

In a double whammy for working parents, all schools and many daycare centres remained shut for the past three or four days as water logging and power shutdown prevented them from being operational.Most daycare centres also have a small play area or a garden patch with swings and seesaws, and during the monsoon these areas are dangerous."Kids run out and play in the mud and we have a 10:1 kids to caretaker ratio. With dengue, malaria and other vectorborne diseases it isn't safe to be near a playground till the water completely drains out," said S Nirmala, head, Chocolatekids playschool and daycare centre.

The past 24 hours, in particular, were difficult for professionals, as commuting became arduous. When Bindhya Narasimhan, 36, wanted to drop her two kids on Friday at the daycare in Foreshore Estate, she found the access road blocked. "I could see that the road ahead had water up to 2ft.And then I saw the message on my phone that the daycare was closed," says Bindhya, who had to take leave to manage the kids.

At Bamboola in Mandaveli, parents were alerted the previous night that the daycare would be shut on Friday ."We have large open spaces for play and the water has not drained out. Younger children also tend to fall sick if their clothes or socks get wet, so it's better for them to stay home," says Deepa, teacher, Bamboola. Parents like Sunita Narayanan had to take leave for the third day in a row. "The first two days I opted to work from home, but now there is no power at home and no daycare too," she says.

For the few daycare centres like Kanchana Patti and Happica that remained open, it was a tough, too. "The children felt cooped up due to the indoor activities, but we could not let them play outside," said Suri, co-founder, Kanchana Patti.