Childcare Centre Open House

There are about 1300 childcare centres in Singapore, catering to needs of young parents who are both working.

Most young parents will choose child care center near homes or near workplace, a small percentage will choose one that is close to their parent's house.

Another important factor influencing parent's decision is the childcare fee. This can vary a lot from one child care centre to another child care centre. For example, some child centres charges about $400 a month while some child care centres charge more than $2000 a month.

Pre-school open house is a good opportunity for young parents to know the child care centre near your house or workplace. Another reason why you should join the open house is that there is an opportunity to save money on child care fee. This is because the operator of the child care centre will offer discount when parents sign up during open house - a strategy used by child care operator to entice parents to come during open house.

Open house is also an opportunity for parents to know the teachers and the environment. Although it may be hard to tell the professionalism of a teacher or principal through open house, it still gives parents a good idea of how good the teachers and principals can be.

To help parents to find the preschool open house in Singapore, Babyment has created a page for this called preschool open house in Singapore. You can visit the page for more information about preschool open house in Singapore.

Childcare Centres at Eunos

Eunos is located at the Eastern part of Singapore. It is a relatively developed town with less young couples as compared to other districts in Singapore.

Because of this, there are very few child care centres operating in this area: based on what we gather, there are about nine child care centres in this town.

There are MAPLEBEAR SCHOOLHOUSE PTE. LTD., PCF SPARKLETOTS GEYLANG SERAI, PCF @ GEYLANG SERAI KINDERCARE, KIDDY CAMPUS, THE LITTLE CHAMPIONS (TLC) PTE. LTD., SPRING BRAINY KIDZ GROUP PTE. LTD., CHILD'S ATELIER PTE. LTD., AMAZING STAR MONTESSORI HOUSE (UBI), OUR JUNIORS' SCHOOLHOUSE @ UBI TECHPARK PTE. LTD..

I have visited some centres in this town, the number of children in the centres are also very limited.

You can refer to Childcare Centres at Eunos for more information in this area.

Childcare Centres at Sengkang

Sengkang is located in the North East part of Singapore, it is a new town with many young couples. Probably because of this, it is the town with most child care centres in Singapore - there are about 100 childcare centres located within this area.

Childcare centres located within this area include the followings: MY WORLD PRESCHOOL LTD., PCF SPARKLETOTS PRESCHOOL@SENGKANG WEST BLK 469B (CC), BEYONDTALENT (EDEN) COMPASSVALE LIMITED, SCHOOL HOUSE BYTHEGARDEN @ SENGKANG PTE. LTD.

These childcare centres can be divided into three categories, one is childcare centres which are linked to government such as childcare centres run by PAP Community Foundation and My First Skool.

Fee charged by these childcare centres are usually lower as compared to those run by private companies.

Another categories of childcare centres are run by private company but charge a relatively low fee. As a new town, the number of rich people staying within the area is limited as compared to mature town.  For these organization, the school fee for full day child care services are below $1000.

Last categories are childcare centres which are run by private sector and charge a high fee.

You can refer to childcare centres in Sengkang to find out more information about the preschools within this are such as childcare centre contact information, service types and corresponding fee.

Childcare Centres at Bukit Timah

Bukit Timah located in the website side of Singapore. It is an area where you cannot find any public housing, but private property such as landed property or condominium. It is an area where many riches are located.
The childcare centers here cater to the needs of the rich people and therefore the childcare fee here is high.
There are about 40 child care centres, most are famous brands in Singapore which include Etonhouse, Maplebear, Kiddiwinkie and learning vision.
Because many expats are located here due to its closeness to central business district, some of these preschools in this area are international preschool.
Childcare centres located in this area include HALIFAX MONTESSORI CHILDCARE PTE LTD, LEARNING VISION @ WORK PTE. LTD.and MAPLEBEAR EXPERIENTIAL PTE. LTD.
Fee charged by these preschool can exceed $2000 a month, this can be more than some ordinary workers can earn in a month.
You can refer to childcare centres at Bukit Timah to find out more details about the preschools in this area such as school fee, school contact address, program offered and fee for each type of services.

Attending Preschool Open Houses

I think that parents should definitely attend preschool open houses when choosing a preschool for your children. It's extremely important to visit a preschool to get an idea of the kind of environment there, whether the teachers are kind and nurturing, and to observe whether the space is conducive for your child. When I was choosing a preschool for my children, I attended many preschool open houses because I wanted to ensure that my kids would have a nurturing and enriching learning environment when I am not with her.

Here is a list of preschools in Singapore that are currently having open houses coupled with attractive promotions:

1. Little Green House
- 21 May to 2 June 2018
- known for their great literacy programme
- promo: $100 off school fees for first 12 months

2. School House by the Garden
- 21 May to 2 June 2018
- promo: $100 off school fees for first 12 months

3. NASCANS Student Care
- 18 to 30 June 2018
- promo: 2 sets of uniform for FREE and registration fee waiver worth over $80

Do check out this link here to sign up and get those rewards!

Coconut water during pregnancy

In the recent years, there have been increasing popularity in drinking coconut water. Coconut water is safe for pregnancy when it is drank in moderation, and in fact very beneficial for the mother and child.

Some of the health benefits of coconut water is as follows:

1) It detoxifies the body and prevents infection.
The presence of potassium, magnesium and minerals increases the urge to urinate, which helps to detoxify the body by clearing the toxins from the body.

2) It provides essential electrolytes.
Electrolytes are important to the body as they maintain water balance. Common electrolytes include sodium and potassium.

3) Alleviates constipation
Coconut water is rich in dietary fiber which helps to move the bowels.

4) It helps you to maintain a healthy weight.
It is fat-free and low in calories, making it a healthier beverage than the average soft drink.


Read more on the benefits of coconut water during pregnancy here.

Eating durian during pregnancy

It is safe to eat durian during pregnancy, but pregnant women should avoid over-consumption.

Durian is rich in sugar and has high energy. Two seeds of durian has 60 calories of energy. If pregnant women eat too much durian, she may give birth to a large baby. It also increase the risk of childhood obesity.

Pregnant mums with gestational diabetes should avoid durian due to high sugar content of durian.

If you eat durian in moderation, you will be able to enjoy the health benefits of durian which are listed below.

First, durian is rich in antioxidants which are beneficial to the pregnant women and the unborn baby. Some studies have found that durian contains antioxidant like zinc, organo-sulphur and tryptophan. These antioxidants help to protect the fetus and the expecting mother from attack by free radicals and pollutants. Vitamin C found in durian further enhance this property.

Durian is also rich in minerals like copper, manganese, iron and magnesium. Copper and iron help to make red blood cell. This is beneficial for pregnant women who need larger blood supply to support the growing fetus.

Source: can I eat durian during pregnancy?

baby sweat while sleeping

It shocked me as a new dad when I found my newborn sweaty during his sleep. His clothes was so wet that we had to change his clothes as we worried that he may catch a result. We thought the room temperature may be too high, but that was not true as the baby slept in air-conditioned room.
This repeated many nights, so one day, I decided to do a search online. To my relief, it this is normal for baby to sweat during his sleep.
According to online research result, the cause of this may be due to

1. overbundling. This simply means that your baby wear too much clothes. In Singapore, it is hot everyday. It is not necessary for baby to wear too much clothes. 
2. deep sleep cycle. Baby spends more time in deep sleep cycle and baby tends to sweat during deep sleep cycle
3. immature nervous system. For newborn baby, his or her nervous system is still developing and this can cause him or her to sweat excessively while he is sleeping. 

It should also be noted that this can also be caused by problem that need parents' attention.
For example, if baby also sweat excessively during feeding, parents should seek doctor's help as this may indicate heart problem.

Other medical conditions can also contribute to this such as hyperhidrosis. Parents should seek doctor's help right away for this kind of conditions. 

You can refer to why baby sweat during sleep for more information on this.

Enrichment Classes in Singapore

There are many enrichment programmes offered to toddlers and preschoolers in Singapore. Mainly, these programmes can be broken down into four categories: academy, musics, arts or crafts and sports.

There is a term “kiasu” which is used to describe parents in Singapore. The terms literally means “aftraid to lose”. Because of kiasu, many parents enroll their toddlers or preschoolers in to learn abacus, reading classes, music class, dance class and many more.

Research has added fuel to this phenomenon. Some researches suggest preschoolers learn better at the age of 3.

As a parent of three children age 6, 4, and 2, I am also a kiasu parent. I have enrolled my eldest kid in the abacus class and playing class (which suppose to enhance his creativity), i have also intended to send him to some reading class as I worry about his reading ability and vocabulary (we speak mostly Chinese or Teochew at home, that is why I worry about his English and want him to expand his vocabulary through the reading classes).

I believed the abacus lesson is beneficial. My observation can tell that his mental calculation is good and is able to solve problem given by the teachers himself in a quick pace. Of course, he may have inherits good genes from me who has won several prizes (LOL) in many Mathematics competition such as Mathematics Olympiad. Anywhere, he enjoys the class and progresses well and we will continue to support him for the rest of this year.

I once want to enroll him for swimming lesson. I believe swimming is a life skill which he should pick up either now or later. I have postponed this to next year.

A trend I have noticed that there are more and more enrichment centres that offers robotics programmes. These centres usually give children some lego-like toys and children are able to learn some simple coding that can help to control the toys. It is fun for many children that I have observed. Given the prevailance of digital technology, i believe it is good for children to learn some coding skills.

You may refer to Enrichment Classes for various enrichment courses offered to preschoolers and toddlers in Singapore.

Confinement Nanny in Singapore

In Singapore, many women will go through a period called confinement after childbirth. It usually last between 28 days to 42 days. A confinement nanny is hired to look after both baby and the new mothers and also advise new mothers on what to do and what not to do. 

There are less and less Singaporeans who are willing to work as confinement nanny. One possible reason is that there is low stability in the job. Unless you work for a confinement nanny agency, otherwise you have to consistently look for new employer as each employer will only hire you for 28 days. After 28 days, you will have to change employer. 

Second possible reason contributing to this may be the fact that you have to stay in the employer's house and probably cannot meet your family for one month once the job commences. 

For Malaysian, because of exchange rate, working as a confinement nanny can earn them good money for some experienced nannies. For 28 days, they may be able to earn about 3000 dollars which can mean 10,000 in their home country currency. 

It is not convenient for new mothers to hire foreigner like Malaysian as work permit is needed for foreigner to work in Singapore. That is why there is confinement nanny agency in Singapore who can help to do all the paper work. The confinement nanny agency can also help to change the nanny if the employer finds her unsuitable for the job. Not just the work permit, the confinement nanny agency can also help to apply for insurance that is needed for the application of work permit. 

It is not unusual for new mothers to change nanny during confinement period. Some confinement nannies are also inexperienced that they are not able to help employers much. This is another reason why many prefer to hire nanny through agency instead of hiring freelance confinement nannies. Once you find the nanny unsuitable, you can change. Usually, there is no additional fee needed unless you want to give new nanny a red packet. If you hire a freelance one, it may be difficult for you to change as it will take time for you to confirm a new one. 

To work as a confinement lady, she needs to have a good idea about some properties of various food so that she can advise new mothers whether or not to eat a food. She also needs to know how to take care of small babies in area such as feeding, diaper changing and make him or her sleep so that the new mother has sufficient to rest and recover from the childbirth. Lastly, she should be able to advise new mothers on breastfeeding. 

Lastly, some confinement nanny agencies also provide training to their confinement nannies. This is to ensure that they have the right skills and updated skills to meet the increasing demand of standard of services. 


To choose a suitable confinement nanny agency, please visit confinement nanny for more information.
Confinement Nanny, Food or Massage

Baby Food Recipes For 5 Months

If your have baby has lost tongue extrusion reflex, an instinct which prevent him from choking, but cause him to push food out naturally, he or she is ready for baby food even at 5 months old.
He or she may not have any teeth, that is why you have to puree the food.
Food that are suitable at this stage include:

1. Apple
2. Pear 
3. Mashed banana
4. Rice soup
5. Porridge
6. Rice cereal
7. Sweet potato puree

If your baby cannot finish the food, it will be fine to freeze it and use it next time. However, do not refreeze the food once it is thawed.

Do wait for a few days before you introduce a new food to make your baby is not allergic to any particular food.

Please refer to food recipes for 5 months old baby for more.

What food to avoid during pregnancy

When you find that you are pregnant, you make want to make a few changes to your lifestyle for the healthy development of your baby. For example, you may need to stop alcohol and smoking. 

You may also want to switch to a healthier diet for the good of your baby. Indeed, many health authorities around the world also recommend women to avoid certain food during pregnancy. 

Alcohol

First and foremost, you should avoid alcohol. Pregnant women should stay away from alcohol as it increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Many studies have confirmed that even a small amount can negatively impact the brain development of your baby.

It can also cause fetal alcohol syndrome. This syndrome involves facial deformities, heart defects and mental retardation.

Uncooked or undercooked fish or meat

First, any uncooked or undercooked fish or meat is not allowed. Uncooked seafood and rare or undercooked beef or poultry should be avoided during pregnancy because of the risk of contamination with coliform bacteria, toxoplasmosis and salmonella.

Soft cheese

Do not eat soft cheese made from unpasteurized milk. This includes Brie, Feta, Camembert and Roquefort.

Cheese made from unpasteurized milk may contain the virus E.coli or Listeria.

Caffeine

Coffee, tea, chocolate and some soft drinks have a high level of caffeine. Pregnant women should limit their consumption to one or two cups in a day.

This is because the caffeine can be passed to the growing fetus very quickly. Furthermore, the unborn baby do not have the enzyme to metabolize the caffeine, causing the caffeine level to build up.

According to one study published by the National Institute of Health, high maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy is associated with the risk of low birth weight in babies.

Caffeine is also a diuretic, this will excerberate frequent urination that pregnant women face. 

You may want to refer to what foods to avoid during pregnancy for a complete list of food to avoid during pregnancy

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