# Infant childcare / maids



## ab1982

Hi,

I am moving from Mumbai to Singapore in March and my family will be relocating to Singapore in May. Since my wife plans to work as well, we were evaluating the option of 
a. Full-time maid OR
b. Infant child care

Can someone share their experiences of full-time maid (reliability of maids in handling infants) or child care centers (we are vegetarian, so I am not sure regarding the food served in the child care centers)?


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## simonsays

question: have you been to Singapore ?

You should do a scouting visit .. 

Singapore has all and more .. 

Maids, yes, if you are willing to pay a bit more than the 'established' rate of 350 S$, you can get good maids, heck, for about 700 $ you could even land an experienced nursing grad (yah, for most of them, back home the pay is low, they end up as maids .. ) 

As for veg food - no clue .. unless you scout for an Indian day care .. which means, you may not have a day care near your house ..


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## ab1982

Yes .. I have been to Singapore earlier but that were brief business meetings, so never really bothered about these aspects.
Im willing to pay for the maid .. the question is how reliable are they (given that my wife will also be working)





ecureilx said:


> question: have you been to Singapore ?
> 
> You should do a scouting visit ..
> 
> Singapore has all and more ..
> 
> Maids, yes, if you are willing to pay a bit more than the 'established' rate of 350 S$, you can get good maids, heck, for about 700 $ you could even land an experienced nursing grad (yah, for most of them, back home the pay is low, they end up as maids .. )
> 
> As for veg food - no clue .. unless you scout for an Indian day care .. which means, you may not have a day care near your house ..


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## simonsays

to give you a reply, there are 100,000 or so maids here .. 

A lot are great, and a few are not-so, as it could be anywhere..

Then again, the employers too count. 

Like the employers who are very 'strict' that the maid can only use a phone on her off day, and she should not 'splurge' on expensive shampoo and all - essentially counting every $ they spend for the maid .. and swear that a maid is going to be spoilt if she gets her off day .. etc. etc. .. in other words, they shouldn't have a maid 

And I know an indian couple, who have been changing maids every 3 months or so .. till MOM banned them from any more maid changes .. 

And there are enough and more employers who totally trust the maid, so the maid can also head to town, with the toddler and not be seen in compromising situations etc. etc. and are responsible, spend their free time productively .. 

So .. it is a two way street

The issue is, if you are insisting on an Indian Maid, they do cost a lot more (or Indians are spoiling the market paying more for 'native' maids) and .. well, not stereotyping, again, and possibly due to the paranoid and terrified employers who even possibly plant CCTV in the maids room and all, Indians maids have a unproven record of doing runners 

So .. well, maids are reliable and there are maids whom I have come across, with the same employer for more than 10 years, and also those who earn three times or more than the minimum specified by MOM .. and who are quite happy 

And there are maids who get exactly the minimum pay and don't get to even wear proper shoes, and proper dresses, and who are looking for the chance to 'transfer out' or do a runner

Does that confuse you more ??  

Again, you can find more than a maid, a maid who can be a family member and whom you can trust your kid with even when you are overseas .. if you are going to reciprocate the same .. in terms of being considerate (and no, it's not about just paying) ..

Oh, in my volunteer work, I have seen enough maids, as I said, who are certified midwifes, nurses, and so, who are taking care of special needs people and not so special needs people too ..


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## ab1982

Thanks for your reply. 
I do understand it is a 2-way street .. however, it was just the apprehension of unknown maids. In India, we have had servants working for us since 10+ years - but those were through referrals.
What is the best way to get maids in Singapore - is it through agencies (netmaid)?
Do maids insist on a maids room (I have been searching houses on propertyguru and very few of them have maids rooms).





ecureilx said:


> to give you a reply, there are 100,000 or so maids here ..
> 
> A lot are great, and a few are not-so, as it could be anywhere..
> 
> Then again, the employers too count.
> 
> Like the employers who are very 'strict' that the maid can only use a phone on her off day, and she should not 'splurge' on expensive shampoo and all - essentially counting every $ they spend for the maid .. and swear that a maid is going to be spoilt if she gets her off day .. etc. etc. .. in other words, they shouldn't have a maid
> 
> And I know an indian couple, who have been changing maids every 3 months or so .. till MOM banned them from any more maid changes ..
> 
> And there are enough and more employers who totally trust the maid, so the maid can also head to town, with the toddler and not be seen in compromising situations etc. etc. and are responsible, spend their free time productively ..
> 
> So .. it is a two way street
> 
> The issue is, if you are insisting on an Indian Maid, they do cost a lot more (or Indians are spoiling the market paying more for 'native' maids) and .. well, not stereotyping, again, and possibly due to the paranoid and terrified employers who even possibly plant CCTV in the maids room and all, Indians maids have a unproven record of doing runners
> 
> So .. well, maids are reliable and there are maids whom I have come across, with the same employer for more than 10 years, and also those who earn three times or more than the minimum specified by MOM .. and who are quite happy
> 
> And there are maids who get exactly the minimum pay and don't get to even wear proper shoes, and proper dresses, and who are looking for the chance to 'transfer out' or do a runner
> 
> Does that confuse you more ??
> 
> Again, you can find more than a maid, a maid who can be a family member and whom you can trust your kid with even when you are overseas .. if you are going to reciprocate the same .. in terms of being considerate (and no, it's not about just paying) ..
> 
> Oh, in my volunteer work, I have seen enough maids, as I said, who are certified midwifes, nurses, and so, who are taking care of special needs people and not so special needs people too ..


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## simonsays

if you have had maids, then you are exempt   I mean, unlike those who never had maids and are at a loss on how to treat maids 

Well, netmaids is ONE OF THE AGENCIES.

yes, maids, are either through agencies, as the agencies handle the paper work and all, and the alternate is to scout for local transfer maids, i.e. maids who have been here and need a new employer, if their employer is leaving or releasing them .. the transfer maids do have their pros and cons - pros being, since they are here, and have experience, they can start off immediately and don't need the time to teach them where to buy stuff, or how to take public transport etc. Cons ? You may need to see the reason for the transfer 

New maids, come with their own problems, i.e. could be homesick, or be totally struggling in a new environment.

It is not a MOM requirement to have a maid room, but .. if you are taking a room, HDB lacks maid rooms, and most condos have a maid room .. if you want a maid who appreciates you, the room is a good thing to have, unlike letting her sleep with the child, as some do so, or in the kitchen floor (not a nice thing .. ) and having a maid room means she can have her own time resting and doing what she needs to do, when she is not working .. and a lot of privacy .. 

Again, it's about 'perks' and keeping the morale up i guess...

Oh, if you can afford, a better choice would be to pay up the placement fee upfront, so the maid doesn't have to forego deductions or work salary free for upto a year, as the agencies do, in lieu of their service fee - they deduct maid salary for upto a year .. 

If the employer requests that the payment be taken off the employer and let the maid get her pay from day 1, that is a great morale booster .. unlike a maid who is working half heartedly knowing that she is not going to be paid for 6 months or so .. 

I am not allowed to recommend agencies, but .. if you need some pointers, PM .me ..

I think you need to clock up some posts before you get PM ..


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## simonsays

oh, btw, MOM has a compulsory exam for new employers of maids, which covers the dos and don'ts .. as well as the legal obligations like medical and all ... 

You will need to clear it (it is an online exam and pretty simple anyway .. )


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## ab1982

any agencies you would recommend?


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## simonsays

*I am not allowed to recommend agencies, but .. if you need some pointers, PM .me ..*


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## ab1982

ecureilx said:


> *I am not allowed to recommend agencies, but .. if you need some pointers, PM .me ..*


Sorry Im new to this forum .. so couldnt understand what you meant by PM


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## simonsays

PM: private message .. I think you need to make a couple of posts, before you can click on my NIC and a drop down menu will show 'send a private message' or something like that ..


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