Maid agency in Singapore

Because of high profit (maid agency may be able to earn $800 to $2000 per transaction), maid agency industry in Singapore is easy to attract who just want to make some quick money and disappear.

But now this has become harder and harder, thanks to effort by government to improve the service standard of the maid agencies in Singapore On its website, the Ministry of Manpower provides important information about each licensed maid agency in Singapore

First and foremost, it provides reviews of employers who had engaged the maid agency before. This could help the new employers who are looking for maid for the first time. It also encourages maid agency to invest time and effort to improve their customer service.

Many people may believe that the more established one usually provides good service because of the belief that only good one can survive the test of time. What we have found out from the MOM data  does not agree with this point of view. For example, there are a few maid agencies with 10 years of history has a rating of 3.2 which is much below the average.


Furthermore, transaction volume is not able to tell the quality of service as well. We found that average service rating of those big companies (defined as company that has a transaction volume of 1000 per year) is much lower than the average. For example, one company has applied more than 1162 work permits for maid in the last one year, but its service rating is much lower than at 3.3 only.

To select the best maid agency, the prospective maid employer should look at the customer service rating directly as all these are based on true feedback of the employers and is collected and published by the government. This makes all these data reliable.

The employer can also look at the retention rate. The higher the better as it is an indication of maid's performance and employer's satisfaction about maid's performance. Based on our observation, there is only one company that achieve 100%. It is believed that this company will not be able to maintain this high rate as it places more maid with employer. It is considered good if a maid agency can achieve more than 65% of retention rate.

Last is to look at the transfer rate, The lower the value, the better the service of the maid agency. There are many agencies which achieve 0% for the transfer rate. Hence, prospective maid employer do not need to give too much weight for this parameter when selecting the best maid agency.

Income Requirement For Hiring Maid

To hire a maid in Singapore, you will need to have a stable annual income as the Ministry of Manpower will consider this when it process the application of work permit for the foreign domestic helper. It has been estimated by many maid agencies that the income requirement should be around $30000 per year.

To help needy families, elderly or disabled person in applying for work permit for maid, the ministry of manpower in Singapore also has two schemes joint income scheme and sponsorship income that families can apply under which.

Joint Income Scheme
Under the Joint Income Scheme, the employer can combine income with one of his or her immediate family members (rather than spouse). This immediate family member must live in the same residential address as the main applicant.

This immediate family member can be a sibling, relative, parent or child.

Sponsorship Scheme
This scheme is for senior citizens who are not earning an income.
Under this scheme, an employer can apply for a work permit for domestic helper based on the income of up to two sponsors. The sponsor can be employer’s children or children’s spouse, grandchildren or grandchildren’s spouse, or employer’s sibling.

Other than the income requirement, the employer may need to meet other requirement such as mentally fit in order to fulfill the role as an employer.

Source: Income requirement for employing maid.

Maid Agency Fee in Singapore

Maid agency fee in Singapore

There are about 1300 licensed maid agencies in Singapore, these maid agencies offer different packages. For one maid agencies, the package for maids of different nationalities is also different. Because of this, many employers find it confusing when they consider the maid agency fee.

For maid agencies, the following will usually determine their package fee:
1.  Recruitment cost. Maid agencies in maid’s home countries charge employment agencies in Singapore a fee. This fee may vary from one maid agency to another as there is no standard recruitment fee in maid’s home countries.
2. Operating cost. Many maid agencies are operated at the shopping center like Bukit Timah shopping center, Lucky Plaza, City Plaza in Singapore. Other than the rental fee, maid agent will also need to hire manpower for customer service.
Because of intense competition, many maid agencies also spend a lot of money on advertising their service.

Government restricting factor
For Filipino maid and Indonesian maid, the maid agencies are not allowed to charge maid a high placement fee. Because of this, part of recruitment cost, in the end, will be bear by the employer. This explains why agency fee for Filipino maid and Indonesian maid are usually higher.

Profit consideration
It has been estimated that the maid agency will be able to earn $800 to $2000 if they are able to successfully place a maid in Singapore.

Source: maid agency fee in Singapore

菲律宾女佣

据估计，新加坡有接近24万个女佣，其中有7万个女佣来自菲律宾。

在今年的五月份，菲律宾大使馆要求女佣介绍所将菲律宾女佣的最低工资从550调高到570，说是因为汇率的问题。相对于上一次调整，这次的涨幅较小，上一次调整从500调高到550。这一次的调整也让菲律宾女佣的工资成为最高工资的女佣，比缅甸女佣高出3成。比印尼女佣则要高出20新币。

当然，如果比较其他国家女佣的工资，菲律宾女佣的工资其实也不算高。据说，菲律宾女佣的工资在中国可以高达2万人民币。

菲律宾女佣，相对于其他国籍女佣，个性比较乐观。她们也比较有组织，时常周末会跟朋友相聚，分享食物或者其他工作点滴。据一些雇主反应，女佣周末放假回来，总学到一些应付雇主的新方式。

由于曾经是美国的殖民地，菲律宾人的英语水平比较好，这使得她们比较容易于新加坡雇主沟通。这可以说是她们较高工资的主要原因。

如果你想聘请菲律宾，可以参考菲律宾女佣，有很多菲律宾女佣供你选择。

缅甸女佣

缅甸女佣由于工资较低而且性情比较温驯，越来越多的新加坡雇主更愿意聘请缅甸女佣。

缅甸女佣的基本工资为430，相对于其他女佣要少120到140新币，这对很多家庭来说都是不小的节省。

缅甸女佣性情比较温驯，这也使得她们容易成为一些雇主虐待的对象。最新的一个就发生在今年的6月份（6月是见报时间，具体应该更早）根据我个人的读报的统计，女佣被虐待的案例中，绝大多数是缅甸女佣。离乡背井来新加坡打工，却受到雇主无理对待。雇主的这些行为应受到法律的制裁，女佣的遭遇则让人无比同情。

相对于其他国籍女佣，缅甸女佣的英语能力比较差。也因此很难按照雇主的要求来做事情。如果遇到没有耐心的雇主，很可能就会经常受雇主的责骂了。

我家曾经有一个缅甸女佣，拿着缅甸护照。可不会缅甸话，按她自己说。是因为家住于缅甸印度边界，然后缅甸护照比较容易拿，所以就在中介的帮助下拿了缅甸护照。

如果你想聘请缅甸女佣，可以点击缅甸女佣，有很多女佣供你选择。

新加坡女佣

据估计，新加坡有接近20万个女佣。基本上每五户家庭就有一个女佣。在我住的那层楼里有10个家庭，有三个家庭有聘请女佣。


相对于其他国家和地区，在新加坡聘请女佣的费用比较低。菲律宾女佣的基本工资相对其他国籍女佣要高，但也只是570新元。相对于她们在中国一个月一两万人民币的薪水，570新元实在是太少。 在新加坡，印尼女佣的最低工资则为550新币，缅甸女佣更低，为430（有说450）。

在新加坡，很多家庭都是夫妻都有工作。新加坡人工作勤劳，因此也没有什么时间打理家务，做饭，照顾小孩。很次这些任务都交给了女佣。也使得很多家庭都非常依赖女佣。

由于年老的父母通常不与儿女住一起，很多儿女为了照顾身体不好的老人，也聘请女佣。

除了女佣基本工资，雇主也需要支付女佣税以及女佣一切其他开销。这就包括了三餐，水电，日用品，医疗保健。如果全部加起来，大概可能是在1000新元左右。相比一些高学历女性的收入，1000新元不到他们收入的五分之一。

如果你想聘请女佣，你可以访问新加坡女佣查看女佣个人资料。

Kindergartens in Bishan

There are 14 kindergartens in Bishan, a town which is well connected by public transport. 

Out of these 14 kindergartens, 5 are managed by PCF. The rest includes Divinity Kindergarten, Agape Montessori House Kindergarten and Marymount Kindergarten.

Fee for each term in kindergarten range from about one hundred to seven hundreds dollars a month. 

Fee will be different for children of different age. As your child grows during preschool years, the school fee will gradually reduce. 

Just yesterday, Singapore government hope to increase the number of preschool vacancy by 40,000. I believe the increase will not be observed in kindergarten as most of the young parents now prefer child care centre which can help to take care of their children during office hours. 

If you are interested in the Kindergarten in Bishan, you may refer to Kindergarten in Bishan for more information. 

Diarrhea in Baby

Diarrhea is a condition in which watery stool is discharged from the bowels frequently.

The symptoms of diarrhea may last for 2 to 4 days. This infection of the intestine is known as gastroenteritis in medical field.

Symptoms of diarrhea

Frequent stool and water stool are symptoms of diarrhea. Other symptoms of diarrhea may  include stomach pain, vomiting, abdominal cramps, bloating, weight loss and fever.

When to seek doctor’s help?

As stated in KKH (KK women and children’s hospital) HealthPedia, majority of children suffers from diarrhea do not need any medication. Parents just need to ensure their babies remain well hydrated.

If any of the following happens to your child who suffer from diarrhea, parents should consider seeking doctor’s help as soon as possible.

1. Has a fever of more than 39 degree celcius.

2. Has bloody stools. This can be a sign of viral infection.

3. Has not wet diaper in three or more hours. This is can be a sign of severe dehydration.

4. Cries without tears. This can be a sign of severe dehydration.

5. Diarrhea condition does not improve after 24 hours.

6. Has black stools.

7. You baby looks unusually sleepy, drowsy, unresponsive or irritable

Source: Diarrhea in Baby

Low Lying Placenta

What is placenta and its function?

The placenta, also known as afterbirth, is an organ that connects the growing fetus to the uterine wall. It plays an important role in keeping baby alive and healthy.

First, the placenta acts to provide oxygen and nutrients to the growing baby via umbilical cord.  It also helps to protect the growing fetus from infections because it filters the blood from mothers.

Lastly, the placenta also produces large amount of female hormones estrogen and progesterone.

What does it mean by low lying placenta?

Low lying placenta, also known as placenta previa, is a common problem during pregnancy.

There are three different forms of placenta previa which is detected through ultrasound scan.

When the gynecologist informs you that your placenta lies low, you may want to know the exact form of placenta previa that you suffer from.

Why cesarean delivery (C-section) is needed if condition does not improve?

Gynecologist will tell you that you may need a Cesarean (C-section) delivery if the condition does not improve. When the placenta lies low, it will cover all or part of the cervix which is the opening to the birth canal. A vaginal delivery is impossible in this case. Vaginal delivery in such case can cause severe bleeding which is very harmful to both the mother and baby. That is the reason why gynecologist will suggest you to do a cesarean delivery.

Will my placenta move up as pregnancy progresses?

In many cases, the placenta will be able to move up gradually as pregnancy progresses.

If the placenta still lies low in the third trimester, you may need to prepare yourself for a cesarean delivery.

Precaution to be taken at home

First and foremost, always follow the instruction from the gynecologist. Usually, the gynecologist will ask you rest more and do not carry heavy objects. In some severe cases, hospital bed rest may be required. For the health of both mother and baby in the long term, expecting mother should slow down the daily activities for a few months.

Exercises should be banned. If placenta previa is detected during early pregnancy, you can still enjoy light exercises like brisk walking. However, if the condition does not improve in second trimester, all kinds of exercises should be disallowed.

Please take note that you should seek gynecologist’s help if you experience any severe cramp or bleeding.

Source:  Low lying placenta

Infant care service in Singapore

As of end of 2016, there are 471 child care centres offering infant care service. This means that more than 1 out of 3 child care centres offering service to cater children that ages between 2 months and 18 months. Sengkang, Jurong West, Woodlands and Yishun are the towns with most child care centres. 

Infant care services is not cheap because it is labor intensive as these children will probably need attention as long as they are awake.

Of course, most of the time, they are sleeping. One parent even say that my child is just sleeping in the infant care centre and play with us at home.

This does not mean the child care teachers do not need to do anything. In fact, they need to feed these children often as the tiny stomach cannot store a lot of nutrition and therefore need to be fed more often.

Most of the time, infant care service will cost parents more than $1,300 a month. However, this is far less than the average income that many mummies can earn now. According to latest data by the government authority, the median fee for infant care service is $1357 and the average is $1477. It should be noted that these fee is still high as some mummies may not earn more than $2000 a month.

For details, you can check infant care centres in Singapore to find more information about infant care centres in Singapore such as contact,address, details of fee and map of its exact location.

Top 100 baby girl names

In a recent survey conducted by https://www.babyment.com, parents in Singapore picked up the top 100 baby girl names. 

Top 10 baby girl names are Emma, Olivia, Charlotte, Hannah, Alyssa, Scarlette, Chloe, Mikayla, Leia and Grace.   

Close to 1000 parents have participated in the survey, and the top 30 baby girls names are:
1. Emma
2. Olivia
3. Charlotte
4. Hannah
5. Alyssa
6. Scarlett
7. Chloe
8. Mikayla
9. Leia
10. Grace
11. Meredith
12. Sophia
13. Averie
14. Natalie
15. Chevelle
16. Mia
17. Ainsley
18. Elena
19. Amelia
20. Adela
21. Charlize
22. Kalley
23. Megan
24. Krystal
25. Cassidy
26. Kraylyn
27. Seraphine
28. Belle
29. Xandria
30. Naomi 

You can refer to top baby girl names for a complete list of  top 100 baby girl names selected by the parents in Singapore. 

Sore nipples causes and prevention

Sore nipples:causes, treatment and prevention

Sore nipple is different from temporary pain which lasts for about 30 to 60 seconds.

Researches have shown that the most important cause of nipple soreness is improper positioning of the baby on the breast which causes the baby not take the nipple deep enough into his mouth. The baby ends up sucking on the nipple rather than the breast. This causes the nipple pain.  

Other causes of nipple pain include:

(a)    Infection in the milk duct which is called mastitis in medical field.

(b)    Breast engorgement which is another breastfeeding discomfort. 

(c)    Baby is tongue-tie or lip-tie.

(d)    Strong suckling by baby

(e)    Unusual nipple anatomy such as inverted or flat nipples.

(f)    Teething. If your baby has tender gums due to teething, she may change the way she moves her tongue. If she is not able take in a big mouthful of breast, she may end up biting your nipple.

Treatment of sore nipples

In most cases, nipple pain can be solved by adjusting the positioning of your baby during breastfeeding.

A good position occurs when the baby is able to take the nipple deeply enough into his mouth. He is able to have the entire nipple and part of the breast in his mouth, so that the nipple is near the back of his mouth. A proper latch also means that the baby latches on with his head tipped back and his chin is pressed into the mother’s breast with his nose away from the breast. 

Prevention of nipples pain

You can do the following to prevent nipple pain:

1. If you feel your baby nipple-chewing, break the suction, remove your baby from your breast, and try attaching him again.
2. If your baby is sucking his tongue, you may hear a smacking sound and see his cheeks caving in. Take your baby off your breast and reposition him.
3. Ensure proper release by inserting a finger between your baby's jaws to break the suction before removing him from your breast.This can prevent your baby from clinging to the breast and damage it when you remove him or her. 
4. Allow your nipples to air dry after each feeding. This can help to prevent any infection.
5. Keep the nipple area free from Irritation by avoiding breast cream that is dry or contain alcohol. This helps to prevent infection or kill the germs.

Nursing room Suntect

Cheap baby milk powder

There are many brands of baby milk powder sold in Singapore: Similac and Isomil series by Abbott, Enfa series by Meadjohnson, Friso, Nestle Nan series, Bellamy, Karihome goat milk, Aptamil and Dumex by Dannone. All these are established brand and it comes with a price: baby formula milk in Singapore was sold at a much higher price compared to other countries in the world. I can only help you to buy cheaper than normal selling in supermarket or online.

First, it is not a good idea to go to baby fair to buy baby milk powder. It is not a good investment of time and transportation cost as the saving is not significant compared to your time spent and the transportation cost, especially if you stay in the north or west which is far away from common baby fair destination.

Second, you should buy online only when there is significant discount like more than 10%. This is because you have to buy large quantity in order to enjoy free delivery. You usually have 2% to 4% discount for members when you buy it at supermarket, provide that you have the membership. Online stores usually do not provide time-independent discount.

Third, you may not need to wait for any promotion for stage 1 formula as retailers, distributors and manufacturers are not allowed to promote or market stage 1 formula milk as instructed by the Health Promotion Board under the Ministry of Health.

Fourth, you should consider buy from Malaysia, Products sold in Malaysia are similar to those sold in Singapore, but at a much cheaper price. If you buy from Malaysia, you can enjoy at least 30% discount. Please note that AVA has a restriction on the amount of processed food that you can bring into Singapore.

Furthermore, you should visit baby milk powder promotion to check the latest baby milk powder promotion from all supermarkets or online stores in Singapore.

Also, you should join the membership club of the manufacturer, you can get the free sample of 400g in some cases. You can visit free sample baby milk powder to request sample. You can also enjoy very good discount on some special occasion like birthday of your baby, national day of Singapore. The manufacturer may also inform you when there is a promotion through newsletter.  

Lastly, you should try to practice breastfeeding. If your baby is fully on breast milk, the saving can be more than 2000 a year. Of course, the benefits of breastfeeding is not just about cost saving. 

Cheap baby milk powder

Cause, treatment, prevention of breast engorgement

Source: Breast engorgement: cause, treatment and prevention

Breast engorgement is a condition in which new mother’s breast is painfully overfull of breast milk. 

It happens when nursing mother's milk first “comes in”(right after birth, which usually occur in day 2 to 5 after birth delivery. Most breastfeeding mothers will experience breast fullness or slight pain during this period. New mothers do not need to panic first.

Breast engorgement can also occur when your baby suddenly breastfeeds less than usual due to various reason like poor appetite.

To prevent it from happening, nursing mothers can look for signs first.

Common signs of breast engorgement:

1. Swollen and painful breasts. 
2. Flattened nipples.
3. Slightly swollen and tender lymph nodes in your armpits. 

Treatment of breast engorgement

Before nursing, you can take a hot shower or soak in a warm bath. Heat can improve circulation and help the milk let-down. Warm compresses or a heating pad can also be used to achieve the same effect. 

Furthermore, you should use pump to express a small amount of breast milk from both breasts before you allow your baby to latch onto the breasts. This will soften the breast and makes it easy for your baby to latch on. 

Lastly, you can also massage your breasts. Gentle breast massage improve circulation. 

How to prevent breast engorgement

First and foremost, do not skip breastfeeding, especially nigh time feeding. Instead, you should try to nurse frequently and practice breastfeeding on demand which mean you may need to nurse your newborn about 8 to 12 times in a day in the first two months after birth.

During breastfeeding, you should completely empty one breast before you switch to other side. Your baby will ‘signal’ you when to switch side.

(a)    Your baby's sucking slows down a lot or stops for a minute.

(b)    You can no longer hear your baby swallowing.

Lastly, you can wear a supportive bra. But make sure it does not have under-wire and don’t bind your breasts as it can lead to plugged ducts.

Should I call doctor?

In most cases, breast engorgement can be treated at home without any medicine. Nursing mothers must take action immediately to relieve the engorgement before the situation becomes worse.

If you experience fever associated with breast engorgement, you may visit the doctor as it can be a sign of infection.

Breastfeeding

Pumping for newborn

Source: Pumping Breast Milk For Newborn

Premature babies are babies who are born before full term. Their muscle movement is still not mature enough and they may not be able to latch onto their mothers' breast.

In this case, pumping helps babies to enjoy the benefits of breast milk which include better immune system, lower risk of obesity, cancer and other diseases.

Timing of the first pump

You can use a breast pump soon after delivery, as desired. Early and regular stimulation of the breast encourages the breast milk secretion.

However, if you are feeling uncomfortable after delivery, you may want to wait for one hour or two. This will not affect success of pumping or breastfeeding. If you are going to a c-section, you may wait a bit longer.

Frequency of pumping
When your baby is under three months of age, it is recommended that you pump once in every two to three hours, or 8 to 10 times a day if you decide to pump exclusively. This is the frequency whereby most newborns will need to be fed in the first three months.

How long should I pump for?

If you are exclusively pumping, you should be pumping for about 120 minutes per day. 

How much breast milk for each pumping section?

You would probably pump small amount like 3ml or 4ml each time on the first day. This amount is sufficient to fill the tiny stomach in a day. The amount of breast milk produced will gradually increase to about 90ml each time when your baby reaches 3 months old of age.Ideally, 

How long can I store my freshly expressed milk?

This will depend on the temperature of the surrounding where your expressed milk is stored. The following is a guideline.* At room temp: 4-6 hours* In the refrigerator: up to a week*  In the freezer above or below a refrigerator: up to 3 months* In a deep freezer: 6-12 months* Once defrosted milk is thawed, it must be used within 24hrs.

Nursing room in Singapore