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Maids?

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Pooveshnee
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Maids?

Post by Pooveshnee » Sat, 03 Jan 2009 2:43 pm

Hi Alll
Just moved to Sing in Dec. we are very confused about conflicting and sometimes nightmarish maid stories.We have 20month old who will start kindargarten soon-but most of them finish at 3:30pm and both my husband and myself work till 6pm. Decision to make- let little one stay in Day Care after pre-school and contract part time cleaning service OR get a full time maid who can also look after him once he gets home. Also heard that maid agencies are shocking here!

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 03 Jan 2009 6:30 pm

It's pot-luck.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

danialgoh
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Post by danialgoh » Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:54 pm

The above posting was very helpful indeed.

True, frightening maid stories are everywhere. But there are maids which are helpful too. What I am about to write may be helpful to you.

Go to Bukit Timah shopping centre. From level 1 to level 4 there are lots of Maid Agencies. If rates are of no issue to you, the better. The 2 most common maids in Singapore are the ones from the Philippines and Indonesia. The maids from Philippines may be favourable to you because they have better command of English. Only a limited few from Indonesia can speak English.

Once you have narrowed down your preference, talk to the manager of the agency. The ones who keep pushing are the ones who are not sincere. The ones who do not mind talking to you are the better agencies. They are willing to hear you and your concerns.

But the best option would be locals. Locals do not mind looking after your baby. How to get these locals? Well, talk to your colleagues who are locals. Their mums, aunts may be free to help you out. No agent fees even.

Cheers...

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DimWit Kid
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Post by DimWit Kid » Sun, 04 Jan 2009 1:27 am

danial, more English lesson here. How to get a maid is NOT what he/she asked. It's whether to get a full-time live-in maid or to use daycare.

I don't get to help him/her with the inquiry with the above, but I do hope that it will help you realize your weaknesses before you start criticizing people. :cool:

Oh and for what it's worth, OP, we chose a fulltime maid because where we live (and where our kids go to school) there is no daycare that will open until 6pm or later. We tried before and we can only find one which opens until about 5.30pm. And if we are late in picking up (eg. there is an urgent issue in office that needs taking care of) then they charge something like 50 bucks per 30 minutes or so (can't exactly remember but you get the point). One month and I spent much more than what we planned so it's out.

That, plus that we have experience hiring maids anyway .... so the decision in the end wasn't so difficult for us (and if I were you I won't hire local - but that's just me).

danialgoh
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Post by danialgoh » Sun, 04 Jan 2009 1:40 am

I really love this forum. I get to learn English for free.

Blue Sapphire
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Post by Blue Sapphire » Sun, 04 Jan 2009 2:05 am

There are daycares that keep kids till 7pm. Look around. A friend of mine places her kid in one by Turf city but I guess it also depends on your location.

Getting a full-time or part-time maid is solely your decision. There are pros and cons for each. All depends on your needs and budget. You can also get babysitters + part-time cleaners.

Alot of people here where both parents are working usually get a full-time maid if they have kids. They find it cheaper and less of a hassle. Especially because they have no other family/relatives to help them out here.

danialgoh
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Post by danialgoh » Sun, 04 Jan 2009 2:09 am

Check this out. http://www.amahsonwheels.com

Cheers...

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 04 Jan 2009 7:03 pm

And now danial is taking the links from my links page that everybody checks anyway. Go danial! You are a real winner you are!
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

cutebunny
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Post by cutebunny » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 4:19 pm

there are pros and cons of getting full time maid....

It also depends on luck....but if you have a kid that is still very young...I would think that child care will be better...

Maids Vs Child care
Maids: get a experience one... you should check with your friends around you to see if they have maids that they want to let go... they take care of your kids and also clean the house...

(My aunty have a maid who was an english teacher in her home town and she is so hard working to take care of the kids and even read to them when they were young....)

Childcare: you get professional taking care of your kid... your kid get to mix around with other children... teach them to learn "social life" since young...schedule for the child everyday is very fixed, they learn discipline

cbavasi
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Post by cbavasi » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 9:05 pm

hmmm.... i was going to stay out of this one b/c i don't like to get into the maid/no maid argument. *but* i do think the advantage with having a maid if you're both working is that if your child is ill and can't go to daycare (which will inevitably happen when they pick up germs at school) you don't have to take that time off of work. also, they can come home - nap, have supper, bathe.... etc. rather than staying at school the whole day. also, it's fine to say they are being looked at by trained professionals at the school - but those trained professionals are also looking after several other children at the same time. whatever decision you make will be fine as long as you are comfortable with it :)

hookedtothenet
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Post by hookedtothenet » Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:08 am

I struck lucky with a really good Agency who were very helpful and made the whole process very easy.

PM me if you would like to know more and I can supply you with the details.

Hookedtothenet

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