21st October, 2011
Mrs. Doyin Hammeed, a civil servant talks about the advantages and the disadvantages of having a housemaid.
What do you think about having a housemaid?
This is something one has to consider before doing, because the disadvantages of having a housemaid are more than the advantages. Having a house maid is a tough decision to make, because it helps in some ways and in some other areas, it is very dangerous. My brother’s wife had a housemaid when I was living with them. The woman is so nice that she can give her last kobo to anybody. She treated her housemaid just like her sister. There was this particular day one of my sisters came from the village and on getting to my brother’s house, she saw the maid dragging out a Ghana-must-go bag. She stopped the girl and to her surprise, the maid started fidgeting. Suspecting that something was amiss, my sister called a neighbour and they ordered the maid to open the bag. To their utmost surprise they discovered that the bag was filled with my brother’s wife’s clothes and jewelry. Sometimes, you don’t have to be too free with your housemaid because even if she doesn’t have bad intention towards you, people around you will advise wrongly. Even when you instruct her not to talk to anybody, how do you know what happens when you are not around. Some housemaids are demon possessed, they can easily destroy your home without you knowing she is responsible. Some house maids are informants to arm robbers; so watch and pray before bringing a strange girl into your home as a house- maid.
Is it adviceable to send a housemaid to school?
What I’ll say concerning that is that a housemaid is somebody’s child and every child has a right to be educated so, I don’t see anything wrong in sending a house girl to school. However, I will strongly advise that you don’t invest too much in her so that you don’t end up regretting your action. I know a family or couple who trained a maid up to university level; at the end she became wild. Let your maid know her limit in the house, make sure she performs her duty. I am not saying you should be too hard on her but she has come to work so, let her work. Don’t invest unnecessarily, watch your maid to see if she is worth investing in.
Considering the danger inherent in it, do you think one should employ a maid in the home?
You can’t really ascertain if your housemaid can bring you trouble but you need to be very careful. The problem with our society today is that women are becoming lazy day by day. They need maids to assist with the children at home but the truth is that most mothers no longer want to take care of their children. You see, these children get exposed to lot of danger when they are with housemaids. A maid can’t take care of a child like its mother. This days, mothers are so careless that most of them leave their children with just anybody. Leaving one’s child with an uncle or neighbour is the most dangerous thing to do this days. Before you know it, they will start exposing the child to evil things. I heard of a case where a 25-year-old man, anytime the child was left with him, he would be fondling the child’s private part. It was only God who eventually exposed the guy. Mothers should pay attention to their children as there is always a sign if something unusual has happened to a child. I have also heard of a case where a housemaid will sedate her madam’s children whenever the woman is not around and she will leave the children in the house and go to play. If the madam comes back from work and ask the children why they are sleeping at that odd hour, the maid will tell her that they just slept not quiet long after playing. There was a day the madam came back earlier than expected and she met the children sleeping, she then became curious as the children appeared dull. She took the two kids to hospital and it was discovered that the kids were placed on sleeping drugs. That is when it became known that the maid has been using drugs to induce the children to sleep. Mothers have to be very observant; don’t leave your child with any how person to look after, no matter the situation. You should be concerned about how your child fares every minute of the day. Most mothers treat their children with an I don’t care attitude; most women are not ready to be mothers. The way our mothers cared for us is not the way the new generation mothers are doing it.
You talked about being careful and observant, can you throw more light on this?
I am a mother who nursed her child for three months; there is no way my child will start a strange behaviour and I will not know. Don’t expect your child to tell you every thing; make your own observation.
What is your advice to women with housemaids?
Mothers should have time for their children, give them good food so that their immune system can fight any disease, be observant of your children and the environment, create time for your children instead of having a housemaid take care of them. Thank God that the government is building facilities where working mothers can keep their children to give them easy access to breast-feeding. Pray and put the child in the hand of God because these housemaids don’t feed children properly.
—Mayowa David