hello mummies! I love the cool weather now in SG! Had a great time with the little fella...not kite flying but cycling!
anyway, i received the invite to go for this MP-led forum on raising the birthrate ytd at east coast. there was makan after the forum...lasted about 2+ hrs. there were two or three Dads and i think one of the Dad said it right that if the govt is serious abt making parenthood a shared responsibility, things should not be given in piecemeal..but to be a whole lot more holistic (create better family centres near neighbourhoods such as soft-play areas in comm ctrs, free bfg consultations, FOC vaccines, and gasp, FOC season parking or FOC bus/train rides....) haha, i think some of u here hv really good ideas and shld have been a part of the feedback session ytd! quite sure the slimming one - though it may be popular, won't see the light of day for sure!
anyway, here's some feel abt what was said ytd:
1) make child-bearing part of a compulsory marriage counselling course - that way, a couple would have a good idea what sort of living arrangement / funds etc would be required. i agree with this - i would stop at 2 max.
2) mindset change (thru campaigns) for grad women. i think alot of my peers have yet to settle down. all are rather ambitious and career-minded - so good luck to the govt for that. after spending 20 years of your life mucking around for exams...would u suddenly want to give up a high-flying career..interesting thing was, the 2 MPs chairing the session are high-fliers and they kept saying..you can balance work-life...
3) I suggested giving a salary to one parent to PARENT the kid for 2 years - up to a max of 3 kids. what's the pt, i thought, of having children only to cart them off to second-rate caregivers? No offence to many here..but I think what the kids need most is not money, not clothes, not toys, not auntie, not granny but the Mummy or Daddy. So to make that happen realistically, is to give the parent that means to Stay-At-Home for 2 years at least. And ensure they are paid to do that cos SAH is not an easy thing to do and shouldn't be treated as free work. Take a long shot...kids brought up under the watchful eye of a loving parent are likelier to turn out better as adults, less delinquency etc. When asked how much was good enough, I replied, around $1,600 - or tied to a % of the sacrificial parent's last earned salary...this is with the view that most grad mums' opportunity cost is also higher.
4) One of the session's mums happened to be a biz owner and she grumbled that she had not one, but two mummies who left her employment after consuming all their maternity leave of 4 mths. guess some really spoiled the market, cos the MP agreed that this is actually one factor that's making it harder to up the burden from the employers.
5) CC cost..actually if u opt for govt CC centres i.e. PCF, it's really cheap and doable for most here. I don't think I can quibble too much here cos we are speaking of private operators who are there to make a profit in the free market...it's also obvious that despite the ridiculous fees, most of us here will guai guai pay those fees cos we believe it's the best for the kid. Best is, vote with your attendance..if u don't think that place deserve to charge that much, then don't send your kid there. Matter of time, the really bad ones will close shop. Otherwise, I really find it hard for operators to keep afloat..the rentals keep going up, the cost of food is up...so even if the teachers' salaries don't go up...there are many things sucking away at the bottom line.
English standard > One thing I'd like to say here abt the places I've visited before settling on CH. Degrees aren't everything k. Dre's teacher now is a Malay lady with just N-Levels (she's trying to work her way up to a Dip so good for her!) but guess what, her English is decent, she's very patient, pleasant and is really good with kids. I've visited a brand name place whose teachers were all Dip holders and the P was a graduate, evidenced by the honorifics attached in her namecard but goodness me, she ought to be sent back to kindergarten (what irony) to revisit her grammar! So don't tint expectations solely on qualifications...prolly the best thing is to get in touch with the actual teacher for your class and judge from there.
nlimm > even at $2,400/mth, doubt they can attract many degree holders....cos that fig is like the ceiling?
lucas > same here, i'd stop at two max. in fact, maybe i close shop already. one is enough with the scary inflation or else i don't have to save for old age liao.
joyce > your joy would be sweeter than most!! keep encouraging Nathan!
funzee > need a dictionary? hehe, don't be so modest lah..i am sure u are really powderful too! oops, what baggage?
76> not many value preschool education that much unfortunately. or they don't do the maths and realise that for peanuts (real peanuts ok), u get monkeys.
ting > good spotting there. for these sorta disbursements, i think they got to hire an army of pp to key in the credits. so june hols u'd see them recruiting part time data entry to help. govt dept not big enough!! hahaha...
