More and more women are coming out of the closets and embracing the idea of being a working mother. However, many of these ambitious women do not have a trustworthy person on hand to look after their kids while they pursue their studies or careers.
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| Foto: A welcome invitation to play: wheelbarrows and pedal cars provide hours of fun for children at de Vlinder day care facility on the university campus. |
Vlinders, the day care facility within the university premises, is a boon for such working mothers. In addition to a day care facility, which caters to babies from six weeks to four years-old, there is an after school facility (BSO), where older children from 4 years-old to 13 years-old can spend their time while their parents are at work.
The day care divides children into eight groups and employs 32 trained personnel. The Vlinders operates five days a week from 7.30am to 6.30 pm. The minimum amount of time that a child is required to spend at the day care is two half days or one full day. However, parents of school age children can keep their children at the BSO for even one hour by paying just for that hour.
The babies are grouped according to their ages and an appropriate number of caregivers ensure that every baby gets personalized attention. Children participate in activities like reading, singing and making trips to nearby places. While the little babies are allowed to follow their own rhythms, the slightly older children have fixed times for eating, reading, playing and sleeping. This helps to develop a disciplined lifestyle for children, starting at a young age.
The Vlinders provides foods like vegetables, fruits, brown bread, and milk to the little ones. Parents can also bring other food items for their children. Diapers, books and toys are all provided by the day care.
The best part of opting for a child care facility is that it does not always leave a big hole in one's pocket despite all the conveniences. The Dutch government offers substantial child care subsidies to students and working parents based on their financial situations and incomes. Yet this only holds true when both parents are working outside of the home.
The Vlinders facility has been around for almost 20 years and has many happy faces to its credit. One of them is Kirstin Leijenhorst, a technician at the TNW faculty and a mother of two young boys. `Every parent wants the best for their child,' she says, `and the Vlinders, is the safest and the best option for my kids.'
