Eh starlight,


Can explain your logic? I think if you buy a 2nd hand car, the main thing you would be checking for would be ARF for the PARF rebate rather than COE? Unless you're talking about renewing COE for a car in good condition, then yeah it might be a good deal if the car can last with minimal issues.

starlight1968sg:

I was told if I paid 50k for the coe, each year cost 5k.
So if one buys a used car say of 8 yrs old, its price would include 50/10*2 as coe?

There is absolutely nothing \"wrong\" with using formula milk. Just use whatever makes you feel happy. :celebrate:

Some people like to invest in cars (improve their lives), others in property, and some others in financial instruments!

love1001:

My girls, now P3 and P4, will drink a cup of FM before going to school. I will still continue buying as long as they are still enjoying. Many of the school going kids that I know are also still drinking FM. Nothing wrong I feel and not require to switch to other alternatives.

For real?? :lightrod:


Ok.. saw it now. LOL. No, this is new to me. I've not been in Singapore for a couple of years.

MyPillow:

Yah , they r building Indian intl Sch there, din u see it :roll:

Our old Punggol flat has been rented out for 8 years now. So it’s almost paid for itself. That said, at 13 years of age and 5 tenants later, it’s getting worn. Sigh! Have to mini reno soon. Then rent out to next tenant!


I read today that Punggol will be the new IT hub or something. So the area might continue to have a healthy demand for rental despite the number of units there now. So if you have a Punggol HDB and are thinking of selling it off… consider holding onto it and rent it out! (provided you have somewhere else to stay of course!)

LOL, that's task no. 2 for me. DS2 needs to use potty for poo poo. Right now, he will go to his mini urinal to pee if I ask him. But I don't think he knows how to do it automatically yet. Still using diaper mostly.

slmkhoo:

Our finances were such that we heaved a sigh of relief each time a baby stopped drinking fm and was eventually potty-trained!

@jetsetter


Wow, no wonder you seem to find these excellent links on formula milk! Semi-insider! :pokeeye:

I just wanted to add that you are right on about the marketing. I look at these cans and they make me go wow wow wow. Holy crap, I looked at those cans in NTUC and almost felt guilty thinking about switching away from formula milk!

The fonts used, the way the text stands out surrounded by white space, colors, highlighting etc. It's not even boring mumbo jumbo compared to our parent's time. Now the words literally slap you in the face and pull your nose.. making sure to grab your attention. Almost like the computer game boxes in my younger days.

My wife used to buy GainIQ. I mean let's face it. IQ... you'd think Intelligence Quotient right? But it's Intestinal Quality. Why the deception? To make us think the formula milk will boost our children's former IQ? Kinda disgusting actually. I don't have a grudge against formula milk. I'm just moving away from it.

jetsetter:

As a consequence of falling revenues in the infant/follow-on FM market in the West, FM manufacturers swiftly moved to Asia, particularly China, where it's likely for them get the buy-in of 望子成龙 parents with singletons They invented 'fanciful' formulae for ages up to 5-6 and promote them aggressively to excited parents there.

Psst, I'd dealt with (not worked for) a leading FM manufacturer before, but I'm not allowed to speak more!


It’s just in the last five years that toddler milk has “become really popular,” Lauren Bandy, an analyst with Euromonitor International, tells Quartz. Now more than “one in three dollars spent on infant formula globally is going on toddler-specific products,” she said.

*Gain “IQ Growing-up milk” touts “nutritionally important ingredients” that “support brain and eye development.”

*One of the biggest buzzwords is “DHA,” or docosahexaenoic acid, a substance that occurs naturally in breast milk.

Health-care professionals say formula makers have been incredibly savvy in creating a new market after being banned from advertising their mainstay product.

So there...welcome to the world of marketing! :rahrah:

@ fried chicken (omg I love your user name)


Are you sure you're ok? You're a fried chicken!! :rotflmao: Just kidding around!

In all seriousness, you make a very valid point. Many of us grew up without expensive formulas or supplements yet turned out ok.

However, this being kiasu age and I'm recommending people consider dropping formula milk and switching to a non-fortified milk.. this was something I felt I had to add... for most people anyway. I feel that those who have never seen the need for supplements would have switched away from formula way before reading my post! Don't you agree?

And for those who have not, they will probably see no point in using supplements anyway - on their own accord! But having them in there helps to ease the minds of others who feel they need some form of compensative nutrition.

Fried chicken:

Maybe it's just me, but I've never considered dousing kids with supplements! If they have a balanced, nutritious diet with proper foods (not processed junk but real foods), then is there really a need to add supplements? Pretty sure I grew up with no extra pills or oils or gummys, and I'm perfectly fine!

Hercules,


That is a good point! I will provide both options as supplements that a reader can consider if he/she is lazy to go look around. Iron is indeed a mineral that should not be over-supplemented!

We have been using the one without Iron as both my sons get a regular diet of beef and liver etc. But including one for parents to consider (depending on their diet) is probably a good idea too.

I do avoid supplements that have a too high a nutrient value. While kiasu people like us tend to think they look better for value, too much is indeed no good like you have said. Hence, a lighter supplement is usually enough.

Thanks for the good reminder!

hercules:

Unless you can't get your child to eat well enough (well doesnt mean it has to be expensive), then perhaps can consider supplement/s, else you risk having your kids 'over-mineralised' and can into other health problems.

Nowadays more people die of over-nutrition than under-nutrition. More can be less in many situations. Lay the kids' fundamental developing cells well so that these cells have a lower risk of getting 'deformed' when they grow into adulthood.

I just had a quick look at iHerb.com and they sell a variety of children's supplements that include Iron (on top of the usual multivitamins). I'll probably grab one soon and update the blog post eventually. Just so other parents have a more nutritionally complete supplement option (that is linked off the page) right off the bat. :rahrah: *need an emoticon that looks like Ironman*

I agree too that breast milk is the best choice! There has never been any doubt about that whatsoever.


Actually, I did not dismiss anything. I even highlighted the areas where normal whole milk is lacking. This was an impartial post and I have no agendas. I even discussed briefly how one might compensate for switching to fresh milk. You have to realize that I am not a nutritionist who is paid to draft up a 7000-word complete nutritional plan. I wrote the blog post to highlight an alternative. It is up to the parent to follow up on their own choice of supplements etc and ensure a complete plan themselves. I simply mentioned the two supplements I AM using myself and it so happens not to include Iron. So someone concerned about Iron intake might need to find one that includes Iron.

Even with formula milk, one still needs supplementation to meet RDA in other areas. Or eating a diet tailored to provide those nutrients.

Thanks.

lee_yl:

@Funz:

Regarding the daily iron dietary intake, it's misleading to just dismiss the quantum difference as it's merely in mg without saying that the difference between equal servings of fresh milk and FM is 30 times lower. And if one were to try to compensate by eating iron rich food, that's approximately the amount a child needs to take. That's why even adults (especially old folks) also need to take supplements to cover the shortfall for various trace nutrients lacking in our diet. Again, it's up to individual lah.

I believe that the best is still breast milk and it's free, haha. I am impressed with mummies when they told me they were still breast feeding their toddlers and I would never advise this group to switch to FM. Some parents chose FM due to many reasons like not supplying enough breast milk for their brood, unfortunately for my case, and not necessary as \"enrichment\" for the rich.