Day Care Or Hiring Maid Which One To Choose

I was also in similar confusion. Finally took maid option. Each has its own pros and cons. Day care will be good if your office hours is flexible(9 to 6). Maid is an option when you need to work long hours. There are many good day cares in singapore with options. Hiring maid will cost arund 800 per month. Day care 1000 per month

 

Hi OP, at around 19 - 20 months or max 24 months, kids need to be with other kids. If you do not have play group, then daycare/school. So decide based on that. If you hire nanny now, after couple months, you will need to think daycare option. If you need to switch, will it be easy for you? Also if you are joining new job specially if it is IT company job, then I would say first adjust your kid in some stable environment. Because it takes some time, they get sick a lot in daycares in the beginning, and you might have to go in between many times.

 

Please go with the daycare option. But get the reviews of the daycare first. There must be lot of good daycares there. Maid would be a good option when u have some elderly person at home to monitor the maid.Else, it is good to look for daycare option.

 

DAY CARE ADVANTAGES:

1. Your child will have a peer group (If you are lucky you will get a good maid who will entertain your child or else most of the time they would be left to watch tv at home.)
2. He will be under supervision with educated adults and involved in lot of learning activities. (All maids might not take care of the hygiene, again how will the child be engaged for the whole day ???)
3. You can be sure your child is not being threatened or abused as there are cameras and many other faculty members in a Day care. ( I have seen many maids in Singapore threatening or forcing the chldren to eat...Even if you install cameras at home.They know to find a spot where they will not be seen.) Sorry if I am scaring you ...
4. Your child will be more independent and well mannered as they learn to do things on their own in day care.
( Having a maid might make them more dependent because she is doing everything for them.)

Of course, it might get hectic for you as you have to come home and do the house hold chores. So again, your child might not get your attention in the evening. This you can sort out with your husband like maybe you take turns like one of you take care of the child when the other finishes the house work. Or you can hire a part time maid to the house hold work. Might work out expensive...But worth it till your child grows.

Or if you have the option of your in-laws or parents staying with you..then you can consider having a full time maid.

AKRITII

 

Your kid is very young so I would suggest you go with a nanny. Daycares are best for age 2 or more. In the US, most daycares have rigid time like after 6 pm they charge a dollar for every minute we are late so one has to leave work on time to avoid the extra charges. You can be more flexible with a nanny . A 16 months baby needs lot more attention and a rigid schedule and a daycare won't be able to provide that kind of attention. In fact most of the daycare workers are overworked and stressed out .You can good nannies on websites which has genuine reviews from people who have worked with them or through reference from your friends . Most are quite trustworthy and so professional. Kids also get sick a lot in daycares and you will end up taking a lot of sick leave because daycares won't let them in and that doesn't just eat into your holidays but mentally it's very stressful for everyone in the family .At 16 months , they don't really do a lot in daycares and still don't have the idea of playing together with other kids. All my nannies always took my kids to park and libraries where they met other kids and infact my nanny made so many friends with other moms and nannies so they all planned activities together and the kids got used to each other . Even my kids nap time and meal times were always spot on and I never had any reason to complain. I actually think that my kids were more well behaved with my nanny than me. They slept on time , had good dining etiquettes, put their toys away in bins and not much tantrums with them . Best was a clean home to come back to after a long day at work . A maid will help with basic chores like laundry , kids meal , chopping vegetables, basic cleaning which are quite a burden when you will be working full-time so it's good to have an extra hand at home . The only thing with a nanny is that they end up being quite expensive but we were ok with that because they all did an excellent job in caring for my kids. Never had any issues with any of them .

 

Child cares in Singapore take in 18 month and above only.
Depending on your child, there will be an adjusting period. May kids tend to fall sick often in a child care, at 18 months their immunity is low. Choose one that is not/partially air conditioned, the chances of catching infections in a closed environment is high. Parents cannot afford to take leave every time their children fall sick and wait for complete recovery, so you will find kids who are still having cough, stuffy nose coming to the childcare. Factor what you will do if your daughter falls sick often. If you are choosing a child care, choose find out the food they give, their routine, and start training your child gradually.
Maids are a blessing if you find the right one. Talk to the maid face to face, seeing how they interact with the child and use your gut feeling. A trained one is better, unless you can stay with her atleast a month and train her up. Find one that is good with children, other chores are secondary. Of course they bring their own set of headaches . One would be handphone use. Have very strict rules about this during work hours.

Best option if you ask me is the expensive one. Get a maid and train her to take care of your child. Enroll your child in for half day in child care - start with 2 hrs and slowly work it up to 4 hrs. This way if she is slightly unwell, you can keep her home. After you come from work, you can spend all your time with the baby and she can take care of the other chores. on week ends you dont have to worry about cleaning and other stuff, you relax and spend time with your child.

Personally for me the money spent was well worth it. I have found the ones from Darjeeling quite reliable. They have a tight network, and will demand on off day per week but when it comes to work, they are sincere and hardworking.