As promised, I am writing a post related to the discussion in the previous post (Kuwaiti women and maids….) about the huge number of maids and how they have become part of every family.

The first part was basically an introduction or a warmup to this part.

This time, instead of discussing the reasoning behind the need for maids, I will try to give a theory that I came up with regarding the issue of children and maids.

Any child that spends much time with an adult for a long time will definitely be affected by that person. The way our society has become dependant on maids for raising our children will definitely have long term effects. Not just on a personal basis to the one child, but to our society as a whole.

Have u ever seen an interview with a Kuwaiti kid on tv? Whether it was a children’s show or just interviews with random ppl on the street and children are involved, I have always wondered as to how come they are all shy?!? The kids seem to be very quiet, very reserved, and all in all, they do not seem like kids!

Kids r usually loud, hyperactive, and mostly extrovert. When u see kids in any country, they seem to be enjoying their childhood! They are full of life and emotions. Obviously not all our kids are introverts and quiet and shy, but in general we seem to have alot more quiet children.

My theory is, that this child spends most of his or her days with the maid. Maids in general in our society have a role of being silent, quiet, and obedient. A maid rarely has an opportunity to laugh out loud or express any emotions in front of her employers. The maid has to keep everything in emotionally. The kid interacts with the maid more than their mothers in some cases, especially when it comes to the feeding, cleaning, and comforting of the child. These are the things that count! If someone feeds me, cleans me, and hugs me when im crying, I will obviously feel more love and attachment to that person than whoever is paying for all this and occassionally interacts with me.

In other words, the child sees someone like a maid as a role model and as the way a person acts. All that كبت will rub off whether u like it or not!

This is just one of the many negatives that come with neglecting ur child. Im sure there are many more things, and this whole idea of linking the child’s behaviour to the time they spend with the maid could also be all false. But its just something that I thought of when I was traveling and walking in an area full of children, and trying to understand how come they seem to be full of life and childhood!