SingaporeMotherhood | Parenting
May 2015
Mummies Tell Us!
Our favourite day of the year (Mother’s Day, of course!) is just a mere five days away! We hope you have picked out those gifts for Mum, or better still, finished crafting them with your very own hands. In accordance with keeping up the spirit of Mother’s Day and staying updated on child and family associated trends, we decided to speak to some notable mothers! We asked them to share with us their favourites under the categories of children’s fashion labels, child-friendly local hang-out spots and child-friendly holiday destinations. All five mothers are successful entrepreneurs who have played significant roles in CRIB, a social enterprise that empowers women to become decent businesswomen through networking, matchmaking and business incubation. Read on to see if you share similar tastes!
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Who: Cheryl Gan (above), Managing Director of Mount Sapola, Founder and Managing Director of Barn & Potter Manufacturing and 365 Days
Favourite Kids’ Fashion Labels: My four children are growing up with different labels which suit them at different stages of their lives. Brands usually do not matter to me as long as my children look good in them and the material is comfortable. Currently, my thirteen year old son, Nicholas, and my twelve year old son, Nigel, are usually dressed in brands like Quiksilver Boys, Billabong Boys, Nautica and Ralph Lauren. My third son, Niven, aged five, usually wears the hand-me-downs from his two older brothers, unless they are clothes meant for the new year or for official events and birthdays. For my 8 month old daughter, Natasha, I like brands such as Calvin Klein, Gerber Childrenswear and OshKosh B’Gosh.
Favourite Items from The Labels: My boys are very active, hence they like to be casually dressed. Favourites would be the polo tees and bermudas from Ralph Lauren. For my baby girl, I love the dresses offered by the labels mentioned above – she looks lovely in them! It’s a refreshing change to be shopping for dresses after having shopped for only shirts, tees and pants for the past thirteen years!
Favourite Local Child-Friendly Spots: Singapore is generally a very child-friendly place with many establishments offering facilities such as diaper changing rooms. Some restaurants also have their very own play areas for kids. One such restaurant that we frequent when we want a Korean barbecue is Ju Shin Jung Korean Restaurant. My three boys usually dash to the play area once they are done with their food! Our libraries are also favourite places of ours to visit as the boys enjoy borrowing new books during each trip there. This is usually a monthly affair.
Favourite Child-Friendly Holiday Destinations: Currently, there are no plans to go on a holiday with the entire family as Natasha is still too young to travel. However, past favourite destinations would include Hong Kong and Tokyo, mainly because of their Disneyland which keeps the kids occupied. My kids prefer locations with theme parks!
Who: Sabrina Tan (above), Founder and CEO of Skin Inc.
Favourite Kids’ Fashion Labels: My kids are their own stylists, they like to pick out their own clothes. My daughter is into H&M and Zara Kids and loves to accessorise with nice shoes and bags from Prada Kids! As for my son, he tends to favour Zara Kids and Paul Smith. As I travel quite frequently, they will also get some funky clothes along the way from countries like Japan, USA and Hong Kong.
Favourite Local Child-Friendly Spots: We love the parks, especially the Singapore Botanical Gardens! There’s plenty of space for the children to roam around and enjoy nature as well as feeding the turtles! We also like to visit Bishan Park because of the designated dog training area.
Favourite Child-Friendly Holiday Destinations: We love holiday spots like the Maldives, Hawaii, Koh Samui and Spain! This is because my children love places which offer the sun, sand and sea!
Who: Elaine Kim (above), co-owner, Trinity Gallery Singapore and Trinity Bridal HK, Palliative Care Physician, HCA Hospice Care and co-Founder, CRIB
Favourite Kids’ Fashion Labels: Baby Style Icon, because they offer really cute and quirky pieces and they are also a locally-grown online store. Not Too Big; they carry a great range of brands with lovely prints. Kids21, because they offer beautiful stylish clothes by some of my favourite designers. Last, but not least, Armani Junior – their outfits are perfect and very cool and stylish for little boys!
Favourite Items from The Labels: Glow-in-the-dark black and white skeleton pants from Baby Style Icon. Joules snow-boots, wellingtons and raincoats from Not Too Big. The cute and colourful Paul Smith Junior shirts which Kids21 carries. Matching Grey Suits by Armani Junior for my boys on very special occasions!
Favourite Local Child-Friendly Spots: Universal Studios – we have an annual pass so we can drop by for a few hours in the afternoons and evenings on a weekday when it’s not too crowded, and each time feels like a special adventure! Paragon shopping mall – there are lots of family-friendly restaurants and a playground for the kids while the Mummy shops! Gardens By The Bay – there’s a lovely water park for the kids and on hot days it’s nice to go to the Flower Dome and have afternoon tea at Pollen!
Favourite Child-Friendly Holiday Destinations: Bali – it’s just a quick plane ride away and so perfect for a short family getaway. I love Alila Villas Uluwatu and Soori; lovely luxury retreats and very welcoming to little ones. London and Norfolk; we go here every summer. London is a great city, bustling, but with lots of things for the kids to do, such as rowing on the serpentine or having a picnic at the observatory park in Greenwich. The boys also love the countryside with fresh air and acres of garden to run around at our home away from home in Mergate Hall, Norfolk. Niseko, Japan – it’s not too far away. We usually stay at The Vale so we are right on the slopes and there’s a kids’ club for the kids to learn to ski right next door! The Hamptons – renting a house on the beach in summer made for one of our most memorable holidays! There is so much for the kids to do – the beach, farms, berry-picking and small fairgrounds.
Who: Tjin Lee (above), Managing Director, Mercury Marketing and Communications, and co-Founder, CRIB
Favourite Kids’ Fashion Labels: Bobo Choses – they offer fun prints and soft fabrics. Beau Loves –cult style fashion for cool kids. Baby Style Icon – we carry all the swag-filled outfits and other awesome clothes that I love to dress my son,Tyler, in and can’t find anywhere else! Whistle and Flute, because I love supporting mummy-grown businesses, and they have these really cute yet modern designs.
Favourite Items from The Labels: Baby Style Icon’s Dinosaur Pants as they look so adorable on Tyler, and he also happens to be a fan of dinosaurs! Whistle & Flute’s Cloud Print Tee as it’s a very simple and cute design.
Favourite Local Child-Friendly Spots: Relish Restaurant – lots of space for my boy to explore and run around in the surrounding area. Gardens By The Bay (air-conditioned dome) – Singapore can get pretty hot, and also, Tyler loves running up and down the ramps. Universal Studios -I think mummy secretly enjoys this more than Tyler, but it’s a great place for us to spend spontaneous afternoons at. Sentosa – Tyler loves the cable cars!
Favourite Child-Friendly Holiday Destinations: The Nam Hai in Vietnam – a hotel that truly takes care of children. (they even provide baby bath robes!) Sanchaya Resort in Bintan – it offers spacious villas that can accommodate baby and family. Perth, Australia – it’s the closest cool weather Western destination that’s just five hours away by flight. Bali, Indonesia – they offer many family–friendly villas that are a great setup for groups of families and friends.
Who: Wanying Lim (above), Business Development Director, CRIB
Favourite Kids’ Fashion Labels: Petit Bateau, Seeds, and Ralph Lauren. These brands offer both style and quality in all their clothing items.
Favourite Items from The Labels: I like their onesies, tee shirts, shorts as well as dresses.
Favourite Local Child-Friendly Spots: Turf City, the Singapore Botanical Gardens, playgrounds and the Tanglin Club swimming pool. I like being outdoors with my kids because I think this is when they are most free to interact dynamically, especially toddlers. As for rainy days, Turf City is a great option because there are sport gyms plus PasarBella for us parents.
Favourite Child-Friendly Holiday Destinations: Favourite close by destinations would include Phuket and Bali. (close by is key here because travelling with kids is not easy especially with a ratio of two toddlers and one infant) We also fly home towards Brussels and London (my side) and Sydney (my husband’s side) now and then.
All images are courtesy of the respective ladies. SingaporeMotherhood wishes all of them a very Happy Mother’s Day!
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