When you go to the US, you will find that people do not have a maid unless they are quite rich (especially with the minimum wage laws).


On the other hand, there are plenty of services to help working parents. You can get a nanny that comes during the day or at night, but doesn’t live with you. Unlike Singapore, there are tons of people willing to babysit (especially high school students who want to make a little extra money) since there is a big demand for babysitting services. However, they come to watch the kids-- not to clean your house or do laundry etc. Cleaning services are readily available, and most working parents put their kids in daycare or after school care (a full-time daycare in the US costs $900-$1200 USD per month… and that’s a daycare that doesn’t even have to teach anything, just watches your kids for you).

But really, for the most part, people in America do their own housework after they get back from work. It’s more economical than paying others to do it when you have to pay at least the minimum hourly wage.

I have to admit, I was pretty shocked to hear that maids here only get to take home $450/mo. It’s no wonder there are so many people with maids as it is more economical to have one than it would be to have a bunch of services do these things for you. In contrast, in the US, a live-in maid can pull in as much as $25-30k USD per year.

You can’t reason with a troll. You will never win. They don’t care about the truth, they just care about getting a reaction. Even if you gave them every scrap of evidence possible, they would still assert that it’s false.


Just ignore it. It’s not worth your time or energy.

kabalevsky wrote:

> she is saying that now I (Kabby) and ExpatMom are the same person. cos I said Expatmom
> knows me, seen my 3 kids, can vouch for me.

LOL!!! Too funny.

Why the hell is this person picking on you so much? Doesn’t he/she have better things to do than be a troll?

And yes, for the record, I have met Kab and her kids. She is most definitely not a teacher (unless teachers are able to take long morning coffee breaks with their kids on a school day).

Just ignore the troll. It’s probably just someone who wants to be obnoxious and make trouble.

LKVM:

kabalevsky:

My nature inclines towards not doing such a stressful thing. I prefer to volunteer in the school my child is actually studying in, cos that is meaningful. I get to know the school better, what my child is doing, learn more about the programmes, the teachers and other parents..

I agree with your thoughts :celebrate:

Me too.

Being a foreigner, I did not have the option to do PV. But even if I did, I wouldn't have done it. The school system in Singapore has an excellent reputation, leaving me to believe that even the least popular schools are better off than many of the school options back home.

That said, Corporation Primary in particular has been a pleasant surprise. The teachers have been very responsive. The principal has impressed me. The grounds are great. And considering it's one of the 16 schools in Singapore that's on the pilot program for PAL ... well I feel pretty lucky that it was an option for us.

They have a photo machine at the US embassy. It requires $10.

I've actually been (mostly lurking) around here for a while, but realized I never did an intro thread. Hello everyone!


This website has been very enlightening, and I appreciate all of the great input and support from the Kiasu Parents community. For a foreigner trying to learn the ropes, it's nice to have a welcoming place to go and ask questions. Thank you!

kabalevsky:

ExpatMom:

Is anyone else going to the Parent Volunteer meetup on Monday?

no? i didn't hear about this?
was there a letter or did you sign up during orientation or something?

i think i didn't hand in the Parent Support Group form during ds1's orientation even though i filled it up, so technically I'm still not a PSG member or Parent Volunteer.

but we did offer our services to the school via emails through the teachers. and we do go on field trips to help out.

I hope to join formally when dd is older and I can be more active and \"useful\" to others. haha.

Please update us over here after the meet up ok? See what else we can do to help.. Or at least for me, what I can prepare myself for in the meantime.

They had a signup sheet at orientation for it, so I got a phone call about it. It's Monday morning (28/3) from 8-10am (I'm going to be a bit late). It's a couple of rooms down from where they sold the uniforms. If you intended to volunteer, I'm guessing they probably will not mind if you show up. Hm... unless it's specific to P1... well you could call the school and check.

Is anyone else going to the Parent Volunteer meetup on Monday?

Hi Mary Ellen, check your PM.