Lagos State has urged daycare owners and caregivers at preschools to prioritise the health and safety of children in their care.
Director General of Lagos State Safety Commission Mr. Lanre Mojola gave the advice at a training in collaboration with Sufumonde in Alausa, Ikeja.
Mojola, represented by Director of Public Safety and Well-being, Mr. Adeyinka Adebiyi, said caregivers needed to be trained to protect children from harm.
He said: “We are aware that at their tender age, children are vulnerable because they pick things from the floor, they crawl and they don’t know about hazards around them. This can endanger their lives. This is why we have initiated this training so caregivers will have foreknowledge of how to take care of these infants and take responsibility for their safety.
“…The government has a policy, which has to do with how schools and daycare centres should operate. We also carry out safety audit and risk assessment of these centres and their environments, to ensure these underage children are kept safe.”
Managing Director of Sufumonde Mrs. Bolanle Adesan said: “We need to assess safety and be more vigilant because of children with special needs, who are on the rise. We need to take more care as the brain of a child develops predominantly in the first five years and harm may occur within this time frame, which can affect their adulthood.”
Greensprings Schools Managing Director Mrs. Lai Koiki, represented by Mr. Sulyman Fasasi, said child safety was a collective responsibility.
She advised caregivers to report any concern they had about children’s safety in the communities where they worked to the appropriate authorities.
