... gma alisto: mga yaya na nambubugbog ng kanilang alaga ... (life coach, counsellor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, Philippines, manila, quezon city)

Why do yayas beat up their alaga?

- Ignorance:  They might not have the skills for disciplining children or might not know that child abuse is a crime.

- Stress and burnout:  When yayas get tired, stressed, or burned-out, their emotions might get the better of them, causing them to lash out their anger on the kid.    

- Parental modelling:  If the yayas were physically abused as children, they might have become abusers themselves now that they have become nannies.

- Kids with special needs:  Taking care of children with ADHD, oppositional defiant behaviour, mental retardation, etc. is certainly a challenging task.  Yayas may resort to desperate measures just to get the child to behave. 

- Abused yayas:  Sometimes, yayas are abusively treated like slaves and can retaliate by harming their boss’s children.

- Yayas with personality disorders or mental illness:  Yayas with psychological and emotional disturbances can become abusive towards children.

- Immature yayas:  Yayas who are teenagers or young adults, because of their emotional immaturity, may have low frustration tolerance and thus be mean to their wards. 

Perhaps, the simple lesson for parents here is never to fully entrust your children to the care of their yayas.