The news that in Australia, an Indian baby was found locked in a Sydney childcare centre raises several questions.

After the day's work, the baby's parents Gayathri and Bharath rushed to a childcare centre to pick up their baby. They found to their utter dismay that the centre was locked and not a single light was on. Then, the mother wept tears. The father stood helpless for some time before the police arrived along with the owner of the Centre. Ankita was located asleep inside the building. It is lucky the baby is ok.

That happened on May 26. That would have been the worst nightmare for the parents.

There are three issues involved in this incident. Firstly, as the owner of the Childcare Centre Anthony Khalil has admitted, the centre had failed in its duty of care. He made no excuse for what happened. He said they (those of the Centre) were wrong. He attributed it to a very big misunderstanding.

A DEPARTMENT of Community Services investigation which went into the incident found that it was nothing more than human error and that nothing can be done. Human error is bound to happen - it's just like in a bank or a coffee shop. It is the argument of the DOCS that if someone expects them to close this centre because of this 'small' incident, then we wouldn't have any centres at all.

The second issue is that the Centre closes at 6 00pm and the father of the baby is there only at 6 04 pm. Why did he take that long? Couldn't he have made it at least by 5 45pm?

The third and most important issue is: Why should both the parents work, with a baby in hand? If both of them had wanted to work, they should have decided not to bring a baby into the world. Having done so, it is their primary responsibility to give their exclusive care to the innocent being. Why should they leave it to the care of a day-care centre?

This avarice and greed for double income has shattered our family values. A home-maker is the most blessed worker on earth. The child has a right to the warmth and tender care of its mother and father. Most of us had it when we were infants. Why should we deny it to the tiny tots whom we have brought to this cruel world?

H Ramakrishnan