# Nurseries/Maid



## Dazcat (Aug 7, 2008)

Im after some advice and guidance if anyone can help.

We have an 8 month old son, my wife is now ready to go back to work. She's having quite a bit of luck with being offered interviews so far.

We cannot decide on childcare though, do we go for a live in maid? What would her salary be? Visa costs etc?

Any help and advice on maids or good nurseries (with summer schools accepting children around his age) would be great.

Thanks in advance

Dazcat


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Your son is only 8 months old. In my humble opinion, that is a very young age to place a child in daycare. I am no expert when it comes to daycare, but I do believe that some of the nurseries lack the standards required to care for children that young. It would be best if you could personally visit some of these daycare centers and then decide. You can find a comprehensive list of schools/nurseries etc on the link below:
Dubai schools

As for live-in maids, a lot of families sponsor maids to look after their kids while they're at work. This however is a huge hit or miss. You will find that sometimes, the people you sponsor are great but change within a couple of months. It also depends on how you treat the person as well. I would recommend that you sponsor someone at least a couple of months before your wife starts working full time as this will give you a good idea of whether the person you have hired can be trusted and also give you enough time to train them on how to care for your child.

Good luck and Congratulations on the birth of your son!


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## Dazcat (Aug 7, 2008)

pamela0810 said:


> Your son is only 8 months old. In my humble opinion, that is a very young age to place a child in daycare. I am no expert when it comes to daycare, but I do believe that some of the nurseries lack the standards required to care for children that young. It would be best if you could personally visit some of these daycare centers and then decide. You can find a comprehensive list of schools/nurseries etc on the link below:
> Dubai schools
> 
> As for live-in maids, a lot of families sponsor maids to look after their kids while they're at work. This however is a huge hit or miss. You will find that sometimes, the people you sponsor are great but change within a couple of months. It also depends on how you treat the person as well. I would recommend that you sponsor someone at least a couple of months before your wife starts working full time as this will give you a good idea of whether the person you have hired can be trusted and also give you enough time to train them on how to care for your child.
> ...



Thank you for the advice, we are obviously not just going to dump our son with anyone or any nursery. We have looked at British Orchard which was excellent and well equipped for children his age. 

Anyone any ideas on salaries & visa expenses for a maid?


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Dazcat said:


> Im after some advice and guidance if anyone can help.
> 
> We have an 8 month old son, my wife is now ready to go back to work. She's having quite a bit of luck with being offered interviews so far.
> 
> ...


While live-in maids offer a lot of convenience, you have to be comfortable with having another person in the house all the time - very much a personal decision
In terms of costs, there is 5K Dhs fee per annum to the Dubai govt, + initial visa processing which should be another couple of thousand Dhs. 
Per month, the salaries could be 1000-2000 (I know of people who pay less as well as more), and you also would need to get her some sort of medical insurance. Also, you would need to pay for her return flights once every year (or two years). This is just a rough idea. You may also check the following link or research more on the internet or talk to people who have maids or the admin guys/PRO at your office
Dubai Government Information and Services Portal


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Also, it is a usual practice (not entirely sure of the legality) that people try out a maid for a month or so on a visit visa, and then sponsor her. Obviously the maid would be at her best behaviour during the trial period so not sure how much this would help


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## terf (Apr 21, 2010)

We're in the same situation as you and I'm trying to decide over childcare. I wouldn't however consider leaving my child with a maid who has no qualifications in dealing with children. Time and time again I've come across situations where children are left with unqualified carers and the outcomes haven't been happy ones.


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## MaggiO (Jun 20, 2009)

If you have concerns I would go for daycare otherwise you maybe better off getting a nanny rather than a maid to care for your baby. Maids are what the word implies although I have met some great maids who are capable of caring for babies and young children, probably best to go through an agency.

Some expats underrate their maids, they know their worth especially if working long days....old adage applies....pay peanuts get monkeys!!


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