Abdulaziz Al-Muhammad Al-Thakeer Al-Riyadh Saudi women are always worried and restless when they leave their children with neighbors or relatives and go to work. They feel concerned when the person taking care of their children is a housemaid. How can a woman be creative and perform her duties well if she is going to be worried about her children's safety while at work? Daycare centers have reemerged as an issue in the Kingdom following the shocking murders that have taken place in our society. It is a big shock for a women to return home after work only to find that her daughter or son has harmed by a housemaid. In 2008, a local newspaper conducted a study on the number of individuals who were interested in establishing a daycare center and did not know where to go to get permits or licenses or who they should ask for help. These same people still call on the government today to start daycare centers to help working women and provide safe places for their children—a place where children can develop skills and learn when their mothers are at work. There are some good daycare centers that offer good programs but they charge a lot. As far as I know, the Kingdom's labor law requires businesses that employ over 50 female staff to establish daycare centers for their children. Many businesses, however, do not follow the law. Following numerous incidents in which maids have abused children, it has become necessary to set up such centers within schools and neighborhoods to protect children from the potential dangers posed by housemaids. The prices charged by these centers should be reasonable and affordable as well as subsidized, given that the government provides loans, even to factories that manufacture toilet paper.
