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.
Monday, 12 March 2018
Sunday, 11 March 2018
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
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
Sunday, 28 January 2018
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:
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.
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:
- Apple
- Pear
- Mashed banana
- Rice soup
- Porridge
- Rice cereal
- Sweet potato puree
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.
Wednesday, 10 January 2018
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
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
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.
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.
Sunday, 19 November 2017
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.
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.
Sunday, 12 November 2017
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
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
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