You have arrived in your fascinating new city. You and your families are settling in. Your son goes to school, and you have found a suitable childcare centre for your little daughter. You have listened to the recommendations of other expats. Your daughter is delighted with the colourful classrooms and the friendly teachers. Parties are regularly organized for the children, much to her delight.
Today there is a fancy dress party. Your daughter is dressed up as Maya the Bee and is very excited. As soon as you pull up in front of the kindergarten, she pulls open the car door, jumps out of the car and runs to the other children. Pure joy. You go inside for a moment, ask when you should pick your daughter up again and say goodbye.
You turn up at the agreed time, want to pick up your daughter, your daughter is gone. She has already been picked up. You call your wife, but she hasn’t picked up your daughter. You start to panic – where is your daughter? Together with the carers, you look for her, you call around – your daughter remains missing.
A short time later, you receive a reassuring phone call. Your daughter is on her way back to kindergarten. There has been a mix-up.
As nice as the kindergarten is, something like this must not happen. It must be ruled out by very clear, strict procedures and processes. Don’t just look at the kindergarten from an educational perspective. What about security? Are the staff trained? How were they checked before they were employed? Are there regular background checks? What is the pick-up procedure?
Because one thing is absolutely clear, the safety of your child is non-negotiable.
