See Part 1
Things here are getting more and more expensive to live. With the current GST hike, the property prices and the rice crisis, we are opting for alternatives for food and eating at places where they dont require "service charge at 10%". Sometimes a dinner for $45.00 may sound reasonable, but after adding 17% (GST and service charge), you end up paying above $50.00.
Anyway I digressed. We've racked our brains on how to try to keep our baby here while both of us are working and came up with these solutions together with what we think of the pro and cons:
1. Infant care centre
Pros:
They have qualified nurses on station and qualified caregivers. They have all the facilities and they located near the CBD area so you can pop by during lunch to see your baby. In an effort to encourage babies, the Government gives subsidies for parents who put their baby is approved infant care centre. The full subsidies are however restricted to Singaporean citizens. PRs get half of the subsidy and with effect from year 2009, there will be no more subsidies given to PRs
Cons:
Bloody expensive and restricted hours 7am-7pm only. Lots of viruses can spread as the caregiver to babies ratio is 1:4. I've heard cases where the baby below 5 months old has been hospitalised 5 times. So in addition to the cost of the infant care, you would have to save for hospitalisation bills. Note the HFMD is spreading like wildfire now in all infant care centres. Some infant care centers are closed because of this and parents are left in a limbo where to place their child. Some had to take leave to put their child at home. Do you still dare?
Things here are getting more and more expensive to live. With the current GST hike, the property prices and the rice crisis, we are opting for alternatives for food and eating at places where they dont require "service charge at 10%". Sometimes a dinner for $45.00 may sound reasonable, but after adding 17% (GST and service charge), you end up paying above $50.00.
Anyway I digressed. We've racked our brains on how to try to keep our baby here while both of us are working and came up with these solutions together with what we think of the pro and cons:
1. Infant care centre
Pros:
They have qualified nurses on station and qualified caregivers. They have all the facilities and they located near the CBD area so you can pop by during lunch to see your baby. In an effort to encourage babies, the Government gives subsidies for parents who put their baby is approved infant care centre. The full subsidies are however restricted to Singaporean citizens. PRs get half of the subsidy and with effect from year 2009, there will be no more subsidies given to PRs
Cons:
Bloody expensive and restricted hours 7am-7pm only. Lots of viruses can spread as the caregiver to babies ratio is 1:4. I've heard cases where the baby below 5 months old has been hospitalised 5 times. So in addition to the cost of the infant care, you would have to save for hospitalisation bills. Note the HFMD is spreading like wildfire now in all infant care centres. Some infant care centers are closed because of this and parents are left in a limbo where to place their child. Some had to take leave to put their child at home. Do you still dare?
You can get a list of government approved infant care centre in Singapore from this website: http://www.childcarelink.gov.sg/ccls/home/InfantCareServices.jsp
2. Maid
Pros:
Cheaper. Does housework too. Sometimes they would love the baby as their own.
Cons:
Who knows what they will do when you are away? You would need to take time off to ensure that they settle to a routine that they should be doing and supervise them. Some of them are relatively young and may not know how to take care of a baby.
3. Nannies
Pros:
Cheaper than infant care centre. Caregiver may not be "qualified". But they certainly are experienced in taking care of babies as they are mostly housewives. In addition to taking care of your baby, they do take care of their own school-going children which may make your baby more sociable.
Cons:
Have to find someone who is recomended and capable + nearby your area. That combination can be quite hard to find.
You can find nannies in Singapore through these websites:
http://www.a-team.com.sg/ (also offer maid services, part time or full time)
There are many others available, not listed in the above website. You could ask around for recomendations. But as a start, you could surf the above website to see what are the prevailing charges, and see if your recomended babysitter is charging for the same services.
In all cases, you would need to provide all the babies needs such as diapers, toys, food, clothes etc. You would want your baby to be comfortable even though they do provide these things. Sometimes your baby only wants certain food/items/toys.
I have not even covered the educational aspect of this.... obviously the infant care centre would provide better in this aspect. The rest of the options would probably plonk your baby infront of the tv and let the tv educate them (I am quite adverse to this concept.. looking how Hubby Yap turned out to be a TV addict). Most probably we would consider a nanny when she is younger and move her on to a childcare centre (fingers crossed, no more HFMD anymore) so that she can interact with the others and hopefully learn.
Unless Hubby Yap is able to find a better job which pays well, I will still be working full time. We would be able to scrape by if I were to quit for awhile, but we have to think about saving for her future. ^_^
Any suggestions?
I have not even covered the educational aspect of this.... obviously the infant care centre would provide better in this aspect. The rest of the options would probably plonk your baby infront of the tv and let the tv educate them (I am quite adverse to this concept.. looking how Hubby Yap turned out to be a TV addict). Most probably we would consider a nanny when she is younger and move her on to a childcare centre (fingers crossed, no more HFMD anymore) so that she can interact with the others and hopefully learn.
Unless Hubby Yap is able to find a better job which pays well, I will still be working full time. We would be able to scrape by if I were to quit for awhile, but we have to think about saving for her future. ^_^
Any suggestions?