They look after youngsters, but it seems they too need care.
At least one out of 10 nannies (or ayi in Chinese) in Shanghai are suffering from loneliness and depression, a recent survey by a local hospital found.
"Many of them feel they are the victims of distrust and discrimination," Ma Jing of the Shanghai Rose Women's Hospital said. He set up a hotline over the weekend for nannies to express their worries and anxieties.
"Some become bad-tempered, suffer insomnia or often burst into tears due to their heavy workloads or loneliness," Ma said.
The hospital has been working with an employment agency to provide free medical checkups for nannies.
A number of them were found to be suffering from psychological problems.
The hotline - 51068666 - has been set up to ease their concerns, and to speak up.
Most of the more than 300,000 nannies in Shanghai come from other provinces, often leaving their families and children behind.
"Often they find it difficult to integrate into the family or the city," a psychotherapist surnamed Hu said. He is one of the staff manning the hotline.
"Statistics show crimes committed by nannies are on the increase," Hu said.
In 2005, a nanny from Jiangsu province put a spoonful of nitrite into a 15-month-old baby's milk formula.
The baby died. The nanny said in court she did it because the baby's mother had often criticized her work.
"Nannies rarely communicate with their employers," Hu said.
Families should also increase communications with their nannies, he said.
Source: China Daily
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