By: Michelle Alles
In today’s society where most young mothers are busy career women and two-income families are a must, having a safe and secure place for the care of their kids is a necessity. Dr Theonie Chandrasena and Ms Imesha Herath are here to ease the minds of most mothers in the city with Angel Keepers, a day care home for kids. Observing the pretty high chairs in one corner, I was surprised to find that they cater to taking care of babies as young as 3 months! Competitively priced and conveniently located in Colombo 05, the facility has a welcoming atmosphere and is spacious with beautiful paintings on the walls; is just the kind of place any child would feel comfortable in. Speaking to Dr Chandrasena and Ms Herath, who are mothers of children of various ages, we found out that the reason them starting the day care facility is that they want to provide this service for many mothers as they didn’t have this privilege back when their children were younger. “It was a main concern of ours that there wasn’t any facility that you can drop your children off and be confident in how well they were taken care of. When I came back from the US about 6 years ago, I had very young children so I had to stay at home doing absolutely nothing for more than a year except taking care of the kids because I didn’t have that option. I understand what it’s like for a woman to give up or even put the brakes on her career for motherhood, so I want to be able to give most mothers an opportunity to go work with peace of mind knowing that their kids are taken care of and safe.” said Dr Chandrasena.
Ms Herath noted that theirs is a relatively new concept as there are preschools with a day care but Angel Keepers are just a day care in itself. “There’s no day care here that takes care of babies as young as 3-4 months when the mums have to get back to work right after maternity leave ends and most day care centres are attached to a pre-school where kids join at the age of 2 ½ years. We provide care for babies from 3 months upwards and since we have personalised attention for the very young ones, naturally we have limited them to a very small number. They are provided with pretty much everything, including diapers and all we ask for is a change of clothing and the formula they drink.” she said.
Dr Chandrasena observed that there is a shift in the norms as well. “In the past, grandmas were quite happy to stay at home and take care of their grandchildren, but now they want to enjoy their life as well and very rightly so. Also the age of loyal domestic help who have been with the family for years has now passed. Today the hired help is someone whose background you might not know very well and sometimes they might leave in search of higher salary which leaves you in the lurch as where to leave your kids. Having experienced all this, we want to provide a place where kids will be safe and mothers can pursue their careers knowing that their kids are taken care of.”
Showing me around the place, Dr Chandrasena added “There are trained and reliable staff at all times, meals are provided and the food is made fresh. It’s basically a clean and healthy environment where children will be safe and able to learn and explore; the kind of setting that we want for our own children, the play area is beautiful and definitely a place that children will enjoy spending time in. There is also a reading room with all kinds of books to encourage the value of reading in children from a young age.”
At Angel Keepers, Dr Chandrasena and Ms Herath undertake to care for children between the ages of 3 months to 12 years. The facility is open 6 days a week from 7 am – 7 pm with different schedules for different age groups. There are a variety of things to keep them entertained such as arts and crafts, playing and story time which we make a big deal of in a bid to distract them away from all the electronic gadgets and encourage them to read more books. For the older ones, there is help available for them with their homework. Actually, children don’t need to constantly be told what to do and play is very important for them, so we provide a structure based environment for them to explore and learn independence. They stressed the need of cultivating emotional intelligence in children which is a key area that is not focused on. “We want them as they are growing up to learn the value of empathy because if this is instilled in them from an early age, they would grow up to be strong and responsible people.” they stated.
“Once we expand, we are also looking at providing transport so that we can pick up the little ones from their pre-schools and bring them here,” Dr Chandrasena said. “The ladies are very happy with this prospect and are looking forward to pursuing their careers with peace of mind!” she laughed. Dr Chandrasena and Ms Herath also generously provide an after-hours service. “We have been through this too, we know that after a hard day at work, one might want to go out and chill for a while!” they laughed. “So we opted to take the responsibility of the kids from 7pm – 1 am too, so if the parents want to go out or have any official functions to attend, we’ll take care of the kids until they’re done.” they said with a smile.
I’m sure most mothers won’t be too afraid to get back to work after maternity leave with a facility like Angel Keepers around!
Angel Keepers is located at No. 8, Kalinga Place, Off Sulaiman Avenue, Jawatta Road, Colombo 05.
Tel: (+94) 717 790 790
Email: angelkeepers.lk@outlook.com