A four-month-old baby recently died in a crèche in the Hay Hassani district. The causes of death are unknown. "The mother dropped her baby off at the crèche at 8 a.m. and at 11 a.m., she received a call announcing the little one's death," says a family friend. Well-informed sources point out that the nurse saw an abnormal change in the little boy's face before he passed away. At the crèche, the mother was told he had choked, but a judicial investigation has been opened to determine the true causes of this sudden death. Other people close to the case also claim that the crèche in question operates illegally. Unfortunately, mothers who have no other solutions for childcare are forced to entrust them to crèches that are sometimes inexperienced in this field. "To entrust your baby to professional people, you have to pay exorbitant rates and even then, the service sometimes leaves something to be desired," confides a Casablanca mother, who had a bad experience last year with a crèche located in the Palmiers district: "My daughter came home traumatised from the crèche one day. She would have crying fits as soon as we put her on the dining table. This incident occurred after we made remarks to her educator who left her in her nappy all afternoon, even though we chose this crèche because it had a good reputation, even though we paid the registration fees set at 4,500 DH, in addition to 1,400 DH per month for a few extra hours of care. Note that the establishment only accepted my daughter after the intervention of someone who knew the director." After this incident, the family of the traumatised little girl thought about sexual abuse, but in the absence of support and medical expertise, and also for lack of financial means and patience, they did not initiate legal proceedings. The parents were content to withdraw their daughter from the school: "This experience disgusted us, and even more so the behaviour of the director who categorically refused to imagine any scenario of punishment or abuse in her establishment. Worse, she never asked for news of the child." The abuse of toddlers in crèches is often a taboo subject for various reasons. One of them is the fear of reprisals from the educators. "Not only must we not show our dissatisfaction, but we find ourselves obliged to offer gifts to the educators to avoid the worst," confides the mother of two little boys aged 3 and 5. Whether in crèches in working-class neighbourhoods or expensive ones, gifts for educators are often common practice. However, in affluent neighbourhoods, monthly fees vary on average between 1,300 and 3,000 dirhams, in addition to canteen fees, childcare during the lunch break, on Wednesday afternoons, and during holidays. This price also differs according to the school system: French, American, or Canadian.

In working-class neighbourhoods, monthly payments are 100 to 200 DH. But the crèches are far from meeting all the children's educational needs. They are mostly apartments or garages improvised as classrooms or a "play area" to accommodate little ones under 5 years old. "So-called popular crèches provide childcare for children from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Some of them extend their services from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for mothers who work far away," points out a professional in the sector. In these establishments, the staff do not necessarily follow diploma-granting training as in the "posh" crèches. "They are generally young girls from the neighbourhood who watch the babies. For children of learning age, they are entrusted to graduates who help them memorise the Quran, numbers, and letters, thus preparing them for the start of primary school," explains the director of a crèche in Aïn Chock.

According to an early childhood manager, parents must be vigilant regarding the choice of people who take care of their children. Furthermore, the crèche must take into consideration the needs of each child. In fact, parents should opt for a space near the house to avoid detours. It is also necessary to inquire about the reputation of the childcare facility. By looking for the right crèche, parents can establish a comparative table of the establishments that interest them. They will include the quality of the school, the experience of the teaching staff, the operation of the childcare facility (opening and closing times, number of nursery assistants, number of rooms), the existence or not of an outdoor play area, the activities offered in the morning and afternoon, the payment method, and the rates... The chosen establishment should also offer adaptation hours ranging from half an hour to three hours spread over the week to avoid an "abrupt" placement of the child. "Despite my vigilance, I discovered by coincidence that my 18-month-old son spent his days watching TV at the crèche," confides a young mother. "By telling other mothers about this bad experience, I heard even more serious stories such as corporal punishment and other forms of repression."

According to Mouna Ghazlaoui, head of crèches and women's affairs at the delegation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Greater Casablanca, "Law No. 40-04 on the status of private crèches has imposed new standards on crèches. These private establishments are now subject to pedagogical, administrative, and health control exercised by the Secretariat of State in charge of Youth." The pedagogical control aims to ensure the application of education programmes and to verify the proper use and management of educational equipment and teaching materials. "Before issuing the operating authorisation, we scrutinise the files of the founders and the crèche staff. The latter must have an appropriate professional and personal background," she explains.

Furthermore, the members of the control commission verify the application of hygiene and safety standards. Mouna Ghazlaoui assures that for eight years, a new generation of exemplary crèches estimated at several million dirhams has been setting up in Casablanca.

Their founders bring their programmes and materials from several countries in Europe and America. Likewise, the staff permanently benefit from continuous training abroad. The Ministry of Youth has also launched an upgrading operation for old crèches since the entry into force of Law No. 40-04. Thus, in addition to the appropriate educational system, it requires a rest room, a play area, an infirmary, a psychomotricity room, and above all, safety measures and emergency exits.

In case of abuse, Mouna Ghazouli stresses that the Ministry of Youth or one of its delegations must be alerted. Following the parents' complaint, a commission travels to the crèche in question and conducts its investigation. Nevertheless, these new measures are not yet generalised and crèches that operate completely illegally still abound in the alleys of the metropolis.

"By forming an association, parents position themselves as actors in the child's social life, which is exclusively academic at first. This facilitates exchanges with establishments that have an interlocutor representing all parents. It is a gain in time, energy, and influence. On the other hand, it is reassuring for parents who are aware that the establishment is a partner, that they have influence, and that they participate in the comfort of all children. If everyone puts their know-how at the service of the association, the school, and the children—that is to say, if the nutritionist checks the canteen menu, the landscaper offers plants, the IT specialist builds the association's website, the stay-at-home mum organises Wednesday afternoons of storytelling and reading, the journalist organises meetings with personalities... in short, if we are united, we can be effective and influential."

It is important to prepare the child well, regardless of their age, for this first separation from their parents, especially their mother, because they risk being upset by this stage. We must also explain to the child that they will meet other people and play with other children at the crèche. Furthermore, it is better to have them visit the school establishment before the actual start of the school year. This approach reassures them. The smooth running of the first stage of schooling is beneficial for the child's psychological development. Even if we leave the baby with a third person at home, we must prepare them because they risk reacting to an early separation by losing their appetite or crying. Furthermore, several criteria determine the choice of the right crèche. The most important thing is to ensure that the training and continuous training of the supervisors have a primary place in the chosen establishment. Furthermore, corporal punishment must not be tolerated there.

-* Some crèches install surveillance cameras in changing rooms.

-* This concept reassures parents.

-* It can allow parents to monitor their children live from a computer or smartphone.