Childcare at stake as many maids double up as nannies

Saudi families are increasingly making the mistake of forcing maids double up as nannies, according to the head of the National Society for Human Rights.
Dr. Mufleh Al-Qahtani said the primary responsibility for childcare falls to the parents, who then commit a big mistake when ordering a maid to take care of their children.
“We hope to provide training to those who work in positions where their job requires them to raise children,” he added.
Generally, housemaids are only expected to take care of household chores like cleaning, washing and cooking. However, certain parents are unable to differentiate between a maid and a babysitter. Some families even hire illegal maids who have no valid visa. However, hiring a babysitter is not a common practice in the Kingdom. Many families hire maids to help with the household work and include “looking after the baby” in the maid’s to-do-lists. To most families in the Kingdom, the job “babysitter” is a clause in their maids’ contracts.
Several maids claim that they are forced to take up babysitting jobs as an option to receive bonus money.
“Whether we like children or not, babysitting chores is a must-do at most houses in Saudi Arabia,” says Rinna Mayori, a Filipino maid who admits she is not very fond of kids.
Several parents who spoke to Arab News said that their levels of trust in their housemaids cum nannies are low.
Haya Haddad, a Saudi mother of two who hired an Indonesian maid, claimed one night in 2009 she and her husband came home to find their children, a five-year-old son and a two-year-old toddler, missing. Three hours ahead, Haya arranged for her kids to be with the maid, who had been with the family for three months, and got ready to leave for a wedding with her husband.
An hour or half later, Haya phoned home to check on the kids. The maid answered and assured her they were asleep. Satisfied, they stayed an hour longer at the wedding.
“I came home and found the maid gone. I started panicking and ran upstairs to discover my kids’ room empty. Adrenaline rushed through my body while I was dialing the maid’s number on my phone. Upon answering, she spoke to me in a threatening voice saying that the kids were safe with her and demanded a huge sum of money from us in order for us to see our kids again. We got back our kids only after paying her the large ransom,” said Haya.
She added she could not go to the police to make a complaint because the maid was an illegal overstayer.
According to Abu Shabab, a Saudi father, an increasing number of families are installing secret cameras in their homes to monitor their maids when they are alone with their children.
“Some of my friends and I have set up secret cameras in our houses to watch our maids. Apart from allegedly ill-treating our children, they have also been suspected over things that go missing in the house and have been caught stealing,” he said.
Sri Lankan maid, Rizana Nafeek was accused of killing her employer’s four-month-old baby in 2005 and is still on death row in the Kingdom. Nafeek, who was only 17 at the time of the incident, maintains that she did not commit the crime and that the baby had accidentally choked while in her care.
The case highlights the fact housemaids are often unaware of the steps to follow in an emergency. They have no idea how to save a choking baby or how to hold a baby while bathing them.
Arab News found out that sometimes it is the case where the children bully the maid.
“The media always show incidents where the maids are the monsters. But in real life, we are the ones being bullied by our sponsor’s family. It is usually the children of the house that always cause the trouble to us. We cannot do anything about it because we still work for them. It is important that a child is taught how to respect their maids,” says Nurul Lasita, a young Indonesian maid who works for a Saudi family in Jeddah.
Experts also say that once a child is left in the total care of their maids, they tend to develop an emotional bond with their maids.
“My employer’s 2-year-old son is more attached to me than his own mother. He backs away whenever his mother tries to feed him or change his clothes,” says Noor Zenia, an Indian housemaid who has been with her Saudi employer for almost 4 years.