Any Mommies in mid-late 30s or over 40 with small children?

Hi Pantone,
CPF's website should have the details - let's hope they don't keep increasing the minimum sum and that the interest rate will stay constant.

Hi Tam,
Your son is very creative. I like the crisp action and clarity of plot in the comic strips he's come up with
happy.gif
 


Hi mommies

I am new to this thread.
Find the Math question cute, just wanna share my answer:
110 x 2/5 = 44.
If simply put, it is asking for total men in the audiences, I think?
Thus to work backwards, women audiences : 110 x 3/5 = 66.
Therefore Total is 44+66= 110...

Aside to Tamarind, had been wanting to say a Big Thank you to you since June. You have no idea how your blogs had helped me coached my boy successfully, after his tormenting phonics learning process failed prior to that (from enrichment school).
 
Ginger3,
I am happy to know that your boy is doing well
happy.gif
It's my pleasure to share with other parents.

The key word in that PSLE maths question is "max". If it is "min", then the answer is definitely 28.
 
mumusings,
Actually my boy's drawings are too simplistic, and his stories are incoherent, but I am really happy that he is motivated to learn about world history, and he is imaginative enough to incorporate himself into the stories. Nowadays teachers give high marks to compositions with flowery language and advance vocabulary. What about knowledge and imagination ? As a result, students spend too much time memorizing model compositions, instead of acquiring a wide range of knowledge.
 
Hi pantone,
Check out this link :
http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/my-Cpf/reach-55/Reach55-2.htm

Minimum sum is now $139,000. Note that the minimum sum increases every year due to inflation. It has increased $59,000 over the past 9 years. 10 years later, it may be about $200,000.

Like mumusings said, I really hope that the interest rate remains the same, and the minimum sum does not increase too drastically. The fact is that gahmen is really very afraid of looking after old people, so they make sure that we have enough savings.
 
snowball,
Take care. I remember how tough it was for me earlier this year, and my renovation was much simpler compared to yours.
 
Diana,
It's vacation time for me, have been attending many training courses.
I just attended this course : "educating for character through games and activities". Many MOE teachers attended this course. I think parents should also attend, very interesting.
 
helen,
Being able to read very well, especially in English, is essential for child to enjoy schools nowadays. Both my kids are far more advanced than myself at the same age, they read far better than me in both English and Chinese. If I were in primary school now, I would be struggling because I was weak in English, since my parents were illiterate in English. I attended PAP kindergarten and only knew ABCs. I remember that I could not even understand the P1 teacher who spoke in English.
 
Hi,

I dun think we can rely on our CPF for retirement when happily zheng hu will change rule on how we can withdraw the money out.

Being a more practical person, I have been exploring on a better way to earn my retirement now. I know investment is one of the better way, but as I dun hv tat kind of $$ for investment nw, so it was nt my option.

Thus, I decided to do what I am doing now to earn the passive income that will be my source of retirement income in future. Especially I am not that type of people that wan to rely on my kids in future. As to me lah, in my view that with only 2 kids, I will be their burden in future lor...

Furthermore, what I am doing is also helping people to be more healthy, pretty and confidence which is really very satisfying to me.

;-)
 
Hi Diana,
I think the course if opened to everyone, but it is expensive. $980 for a 2 day course.

I agree with you that we definitely need passive income in order to live comfortably. I know nothing about finance and investment. I will probably just rent out 3 bedrooms when my kids get married in the future, since I have 4 bedrooms in my flat.

Bloom,
The minimum sum is made up of the money in the ordinary and special account. According to CPF Board : "If you are unable to set aside your full Minimum Sum in cash, your property, bought with your CPF savings, will be automatically pledged for up to half of your Minimum Sum."
 
Tamarind,

Your kids are lucky to have you to teach them reading at a young age, so they are more advanced in learning at their age. It is a privilege that not every child has unless one of their parents takes the time to teach them reading at a young age. For kids in the poor family, they do not hv that kind of privilege. I hv learnt in this forum that intervention at a young age can help a child speed up in developing his/her overall skills. Now I understand why middle class or rich parents starts to bring their kids to classes at a young age. It is sad that our society has become a rat race for our kids.

I just feel if the current situation continues, the gap between the poor, middle class and the rich will become wider, as long our govt do not change their ways of governing Singapore.
 
Hi moorspa,
Singapore already has the highest income gap among developed countries. This is all thanks to the influx of foreigners pulling down the wages.
I also think that my kids are fortunate, especially my boy who is of average ability. Since I single handedly taught him to read very well, I know exactly how children should be taught to read. Judging from the way primary school teachers are teaching English, kids cannot possibly read confidently without any parental support or tuition.
Sadly, the low income families have no choice but to depend on school teachers to teach. I have encountered many bright students who ended up in poly because their English is poor. Many people think that if a kid is smart, then no tuition is needed. However, no matter how smart a kid is, someone must teach him how to read, otherwise, it is going to take many years for him to catch up, and he may lose the motivation to study due to the many levels of streaming.
 
Hi mommies,
Front news today :
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1230163/1/.html

"The woman who posted offensive comments on her personal Facebook page on Malay weddings at void decks said she's terribly sorry."

Quote from Amy Cheong:
How can society allow people to get married for 50 bucks ?

I read her comments and I am really shocked that a woman who is obviously highly educated and highly paid can write such things. I think it reflects the failure of our education system to teach good character. Some of these elites appear to be rotten to the core.

Talking about Malay weddings, my hubby always wish to be invited to one because he loves Malay food and dislikes the lavish 10 course dinner. In fact, my hubby and I did not have any Chinese wedding banquet or even void deck wedding. According to Amy Cheong, society should not allow us to get married ? Ridiculous !
 
Hi Tam/all,

About the NTUC staff fiasco

Sorry to say that Ms Amy Cheong forgets that when the Chinese hold wakes at the void deck (which is usually more often than other joyous events), Malays/Indians/Other-races have always been patient + understanding. Such is the racial harmony I take pride in as a Singaporean.

My hb and I are always very happy to hear Malay drums beating heartily to welcome newly weds!! Such a nice day to start with knowing that there's a rousing event
happy.gif
I also admire the way they keep things traditional and straightforward.

Compared to show-off weddings (that run up to tens of thousands) which do not guarantee happy-ever-after, Malay/Indian weddings are grounded and meaningful. I enjoy attending these weddings too because I can feel the community spirit and family-unity. Everyone's having fun without having much pressure to boast/compare/criticise. And yes, the food is usually very delicious and representative of their respective cuisine. No need to be very conscious of ang-pow money and profiteering, unlike many Chinese couples who rack their savings/brains to cook up a cheesy wedding with lots of gimmicks, fancy photography, big cars, expensive gowns, many tables (to break even through $$ collection) and very often, lots of "noise" too.

The NTUC lady's comments put Singaporeans to shame. Totally uncalled for and made out of sheer malice. Being a rather well-positioned staff at NTUC (which is supposed to be fighting for the good of the common masses like you and I), she's proven herself to be a total racist and bigot. Even if she couldn't stand the "noise", there wasn't a need to pinpoint the race and mention the S$50-ROM fee. Shallow + wicked.
 
hi ladies
re-amy cheong saga

i think she has also forgotton that or maybe she is too naive that she does not know that Chinese get married at the void deck in the earlier days! mayb her own grandparents were married at the void deck! geezz....Malay wedding at most 2 days during weekend. Chinese wakes minimum 3 days lor! Tsk tsk tsk....she did not pay attention during her Social Studies eh?
 
Hello mummies!

Long time no post- hope everyone is doing well....so what are hot topics these days? Amy Cheong, S'pore education system?

My kids just finished their year-end exams- NYPS pushed all SA2 to this week, as the school is perparing to part-relocate to a holding school due to massive school reno starting in Dec hols...aiyoh- very busy helping kids prepare for their exams- even took precious annual leave, I am embarressed to say...

GEP:
Any mums with P3 kids going for round 2 of GEP screening? Tam, Rona? I thought round 2 kids are in the top 10% of the cohort, but I see my gal's class about 70% of kids all going into round 2, and for regular classes, about 40%- which means so many kids qualified (about 50% of NYPS P3 cohort)- sounds quite scary...I know my gal's capability- very hardworking type, but not brillant/ gifted, so I hope my gal can get into the "inter-mingling" classes in P4 which will join GEP kids for some of the lessons...that will be the best of both worlds- not in the pressurizing GEP programme, but can learn some content from them....we will see...
 
tam, even with OA + SA i am a far far way away from reaching minimum sum... doing pte tuition as in quit ur full time job? agreed that imagination is important...

used to use fb to complain abt work/ hb (haha)..but nowadays very dangerous..anyone can just take a photo and spread... (heard my colleague said that even setting view to friends only is not enough.
 
Hi Tam,

Yes! Its very stressful and can get frustrating as we got an ID coordinator but things still goes wrong. We still have to personally monitor very detail.....Another 1 week and reno shd be done....now, start to pinpoint defects for rectification while the final works are being done.

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure
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7637569.jpg
7637570.jpg
7637571.jpg
 
Hi Snowball,
Where did you get the lighting from?

Hi Bloom,
I find fb a very dangerous platform. Taking a screenshot and sending it to the cyberworld are done within a minute!


Hi all,
Anyone's using a washer-dryer before? I'm wondering how long it takes to wash and dry the clothes from beginning till end.
 
snowball,
Your lighting looks great. Did you source for them yourself ?
How much did you pay the ID coordinator ?

bloom,
I think I can only do full time tuition after I retire. I need to continue to earn employer CPF at least 55 years old.

FB is dangerous only when you post too many personal information and photos. I have several facebook accounts, only used it to post comments on other FB pages, no personal info at all.

mumusings, helen, Diana,
Turns out that Amy Cheong is a Malaysian and she has already fled Singapore.
 
Fairyprincess,
Many parents send their kids to GEP preparation classes, or many enrichment classes since 2 years old. It is definitely possible to train an above average kid to pass the GEP screening tests. NYPS probably has many parents who are willing to spend this type of money, either that or the parents mostly have good genes. Also, nowadays parents will tell you that they never prepare their kids to get into GEP even though their kids attended many enrichment classes, and these parents will also tell you that you should not try to squeeze your kids into GEP. They prefer you to think that their kids are naturally gifted. A truly gifted child does not require any special education to learn.

BTW I heard that almost all GEP kids require tuition.

I opted out of GEP for my girl. She is in a neighbourhood school where the majority cannot read well at P1, so only a very small % will make it. I have assessed GEP kids' project work before, and I do not think that the program is worth changing school for.
 
Hi Mumuings,

I was advised by a salesman not to get 2-in1 washer dryer. The drying time is double that required by a tumble dryer. Hence, using lots more electricity.

Hi Tam/Mumuings,

We paid $2k for design (2D blueprints) & coordination.

We sourced for lights n fan ourselves. The light that looks like a flower is actually a fan cum light. The "petals" open up as fan blades we turned "on".

Lights are from Philips Lighting shop in Bukit Timah. There a re limited selection of kids lightings in those standard lighting shops. We searched the Internet & found this shop selling the lights we are looking for ;-)
 
Hi Snowball,

Thanks for the info and feedback. Okay will skip the 2-in-1. That's what I read on the USA review website too.

Yes, I visited the Philips lights centre and they do look like a worthy investment 'cos their bulbs last a long time. The one on my Ikea lamp is now 2 years and still going strong (switched on for 4 hours every night).

How much is the light+fan? Great idea
happy.gif
 
Hi mommies,
I want to share this wonderful Chinese novel that I have been reading in the past week :
三生三世 十里桃花
The entire novel is published by the author in this website and free for all to read :
http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=318972

I love it so much, I read it 5 times in one week. It is fantasy romance about ancient gods and goddesses in China. Highly recommended for all (not for children). Very interesting and original plot, lots of action, humour and great dialogue. It's chick lit like twilight, but 100 times better.
 
Hi mommies,

I am searching something and hit upon this thread, which I remembered I was part of the slice, I posted here before but MIA (haha.. sorry).

I am bitbit. I recognised some of the mummies' nick here like Tamarind, Bloom, snowball, very long time members!

Please allow me to pop back here again, I am trying to catchup with the posts. Trying hard hopefully, I am a FTWM, so might not have time to 100% online though.

Hope to share our experiences here coping with our young kids at our "age". I think some of you are younger than me!

:)
 
Hi Tam,

How's your Ikea kitchen so far? Am toying with the idea of using them (for practicality sake when it comes to replacement of parts and measurements). Thanks!
 
mumusings

i use dryer only after i air dry the clothes. i have never used it for damp clothes. the energy consumption is very high and your bill will sky rocket. I bought it cos i do not dry my clothes out of the house. Elder gal has skin prob, so PD recommend sun-drying. got the dryer as it serves the same purpose and it is cleaner. do not have to worry bird droppings nor inconsiderate neighbours dripping water etc.

Re:Fan cum light
Just changed my master bedroom light to fan cum light too. pretty useful and affordable. got mine from midview city. The person who came to install was nice enough to touch up my ceiling after the removal of the previous light which left some unsightly holes. The light came with 2 Panasonic Energy saving light bulbs too(the last round we got cheapo light bulbs from one of the lighting shop at balestiar and it blew up very fast...).

Tam
love the quote...i still remember when i was young, all weekends were play and tv time. was sharing with my hubby the other day: last time no enrichment classes for us(cos not rich plus it was not common like today), so we will need to think and come up of games to entertain ourselves. well, creative thinking comes in then. now kids rush from one enrichment to the next, they do not even have time to "think creatively".

Parents send kids for intensive pre-exam tuition classes but when exam is over, they stop everything till the new year begins. There is no continuation and children become programmed to study when exam is near and totally switch off when exam is over. sad huh? That is also one main reason why I hate giving tuition!

Re:reno
love the kids lighting. so cute! still using old light from previous owner as we still cannot decide if we want to swop the gal's room with study room....so tempted to shift again but hubby very scared cos house agent fees very high heeheehee....every time I look at advert, I think he is praying very hard I don't go into another round of house hunting again...
 
snowball, the kids light are so cute!!!!!!!

i got a fan-cum-light too (the normal kind). one thing i dont like about it is that bcos we only have 1 switch in DD's bedroom, the control of the light and fan speed is by those 'chain' dangling from the light itself... which cannot be managed by DD now (she uses stool to reach the wall switches now).

anybody's kids in berries for primary school? DD is in K2 now, and yesterday we had received the notice for 'booking' for P1... am wondering if I should risk and drop her and hope that her future chinese teacher can teach w/o sending her to chinese tuition/enrichment

hi bitbit, i also just come back recently. had been super busy for the past 6 months. i am also 100% ftwm (and no maid)

mummusings, forget to say hi to u!
 
Hi Bitbit
happy.gif


Hi Bloom
happy.gif


Hi Helen,
I already have a dryer and it's very useful on very damp days and for drying bedlinen. I don't buy cheap bulbs anymore 'cos they really don't last. Mine blew up within 2 days (Ikea table lamp) and the Philips energy-saving bulb which we quickly bought to use soon after has lasted us 2 years (still in use)! S$2 for 2 days vs S$7 for 2 years!
 
Hi BitBit,

Welcome to this forum
happy.gif


Hi Mumusings - My hb bought the fan cum lighting direct from the Distributor. Think he paid $800+ for it. He told me we saved about $100 from buying from retailers.

Hi Bloom/ Helen - Thanks for the compliments for the lightings. My kids chose the lightings themselves & we trusted their taste
happy.gif


Dun think I will want to move again as there are too many logistics to coordinate. My hb teased me that its time for me to apply what I do at work (Logistics) to this house shift. Then, he will be the "Supervisor" overseeing the whole shift.

Over the weekend, I forced hb to clear his staff & he managed to throw away 4 BIG trash bags of his rubbish....He has championed with the most of the packaging belonging to him.

We are done with about 70% of the packings...
Already have about 40 big and small cartons.... Still have clothings and balance kitchenware to pack which will be done this weekend (by hook or by crook) as we are shifting mid next week!

Hi Bloom - I dun think I will be enrolling my DD1 for any Chinese Enrichment classes...I believe that she will be OK if she continues with her regular reading after she completed the 四五快读 series.

Fan cum Light - We removed the fan cum light left over by the previous owner as we do not like the idea of the dangling chains to control the light and fan speed. The current one we got is via Remote control.
 
Hi Snowball,
Happy moving house
happy.gif
Where is the 'Distributor'? Do you mind sharing the name of the place/person? (via PM if not convenient to post here)
 
Hi mommies... im newbie..

Mumusings- you're so dedicated made chicken rice at 8am in the morning.

Snowball32 - very nice kids lights..love it.
 
Hi Kat,

Welcome. Kid wakes up around 6am - 7am everyday and so we cook a big meal in the morning to fill our stomachs first thing
happy.gif
 
Tam,

She is nt even Singaporean? But in Malaysia, I thot the wedding affair is a even bigger issue and it is the whole kampung celebration le....How she managed to live and grow up back in Malaysia then?

Btw, I juz finish regsitering my gal into the same CC as her brother. Will start her this Dec. So letting go of my hard to find and super good nanny. sob sob....but no choice, coz she hv to go to school and learn more things mah. + her kor kor hv been asking when is mei mei gng to sch with me.....
 
Hi mommies,
I am still reading 三生三世 十里桃花, 6th time already. Great way to escape reality.

Diana,
I think in Malaysia the Chinese live in condos, weddings are probably in function rooms. She would not dare to write such comments in Malaysia.

Hope that your gal likes the CC.
My kids could not attend full day CC because they used to get sick easily.
 
mumusings,
The ikea kitchen is installed in my old flat, which now belongs to my mother. I used the abstrak red doors which look new even after 3 years. It is best to choose the solid wood or more expensive doors. The frame and shelves are more solid compared to those made by carpenter.

For my new flat, I did not use ikea because of the shape and length of my kitchen, ikea cabinets are of fixed dimensions and cannot be customized.

Note that ikea cabinets are installed by their contractor, not be ikea staff.
 
Hi Tam,

Thanks for the review. Had to ask you 'cos you're the only person I know who's tried the Ikea kitchen.

Yes, I've gone through the catalogue and showroom. Definitely will use their solid oak series. Warranty states 10 years for all fittings/finish/hinges/parts except knobs/handles. Better to pay for solid wood and better fittings in order to prevent any regrets later on.
 


Tam,

I thot, getting sick is only for a short period of time? my gal, shld be able to adapt fast coz afterall her kor kor in the same CC mah.....

But I do gif my kids G3 to boast up their immunity too lah...
 
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