Parent-child studios boon for staff

Two parent-child studios have been established at Shanghai Financial Valley and Yingta, an air-conditioner manufacturer based in Jiading.

The parent-child studio is a daycare center which makes it possible for employees to take their children to work.

Two months ago, Shanghai Financial Valley found that among the employees in its 22 enterprises over 100 workers had the same problem: They were unable to take care of children who were left at home during daytime. In addition, most of the employees hoped their children could have lessons in subjects including foreign languages and Chinese literature during the holidays.

As a result, the Financial Valley cooperated with the Happy Island Language School to bring quality educational services into the parent-child studio.

“My son likes his humorous foreign teacher Alex,” said Hu Yaling, the employee at Shanghai Financial Valley. Hu’s son spent the whole summer holiday at the studio with teachers tutoring his homework.

The parent-child studio recruited the chef who used to work at a three-star Michelin restaurant to ensure a good experience for the children. “My son eats better than we do,” said Hu.

“The studio can not only solve workers’ problems but also strengthen their sense of belonging to their companies,” said Carrol, the responsible person of the parent-child studio. Carrol said that the studio will further collaborate with training and teaching institutes to build a professional nursery class.

In future, more facilities will be added, including a 400-square-meter nursery class for underage children, a room for mothers and a library.

The parent-child studio in Yingta is free of charge to its employees.

Ding Li, a human resources specialist at Yingta, left her child at the studio on August 4. Ding has worked in Jiading for 14 years. She used to let her daughter receive education in their hometown because she can’t afford good educational resources in Shanghai.

Many employees at Yingta shared the same situation with Ding. During this summer holiday, over 50 children came from other places to the Shanghai studio to reunite with their parents.