Advise on Baby & Maid Exps

2005,
i m due in end Jan so getting my maid end Dec.

I m paying 280 for Indo maid. Mine is a transfer maid. she is my aunt's maid's relative.

i haven't start to draw up a schedule but think got to start thinking abt it soon. maybe after that we can exchange pointers and the schedule to see how we can modify it to be better.

what about yours? when is she coming?

vone,
yah, i m already planning to save up for my next place. one thing is my hb doesn't want to move too near my parents (prob MIL will comment) cos now my MIL already complain we stay too far (when we are staying nearer to her than to my parents) so i can imagine if we move near to my parents, she sure will say something.

actually u r right, easy to reduce workload but hard to increase. i was thinking sweeping floor is quite easy so i will ask her to do everyday. but for mopping maybe not everyday.

when u ask her to write down your bb's schedule, will she not be honest abt it?

tamarind,
do we need to give maid a separate budget for buying her food? my mum always buy all the food and her maid will eat whatever we eat. we will set aside her food before we start to eat.
 


tamarind/ vone/ janet/ SY,
thks for tips and info. thru all these suggestions i shd be better able to cope with my new maid.

keeping a notebook is a gd idea. thks! for the 1st 3 mths when im around i can monitor for myself dat shes recording the activities accurately... e tip abt keeping flrs clean also v helpful! but since bb wnt b put on the flr yet, mayb twice a week shd be gd enuff.. later then every 2 days or wad loh.

just to check when shd i put those colorful soft place mats in bb's room for her to play n crawl around? when do u start leaving bb to play on the flr? do they get v dusty? will get maid to wipe the mats everyday next time...

abt food mayb ask her cook 2 meals at once loh... den evening dnt hafta cook again.. i dnt hv a hse phone so hubby n me tinking of buying her pre-paid card to make only emergency calls to us..

do u ladies let ur maid use modern tools like magic mop/ magic clean to clean hse? or conventional broom n mop? was tinking she quite gd life ley cos hubby n me got all the v modern tools, wld make her life so simple...

SY,
im delivering dis mth. maid shd be coming mid-dec if everything goes well.
 
SY,
If your maid eats with you then there is no need to give her a separate budget. I gave her a budget because I don't eat at home everyday, so most of the time she only needs to cook for herself.

2005,
I also use magic mop ! I even have a dryer so the maid doesn't need to hang adult clothes or bedsheets, I only ask her to hang baby clothes. My maid told me she is so happy that my house has all these convenient tools.

Actually when your baby starts to crawl, she will crawl out of her play mat very quickly. It's very tiring to always carry her back. After a while I just let her crawl around on the floor, and ask the maid to follow her in case she falls.
 
2005,
hope everything goes well for u.
are you expecting a boy or gal?

tamarind,
so as long as i have things in the house for her to cook for herself, i don't need to give her a separate budget right? the only meals she needs to prepare wd be lunch cos i would be working.

yah, was thinking whether shd let her use all the vacuum cleaner and magic mop. even when i do clean the floor, i prefer to use cloth to clean so that's it's cleaner. but if i wan her to focus on bb, then maybe got to use all these convenient tools.
 
SY,
Yes if you buy for her, then don't need a separate budget. In my case, I don't go marketing every week, so I let her buy for herself.
 
tamarind,
magic mop really takes the pain out of mopping loh, cos i hate to wring mops! but MIL was saying only conventional mops can reach tricky corners, which is true! mayb make my maid use mop haha... dryer i dnt hv but intend to get one cos my hubby dnt like me to hang our clothes and sheets out..

may i ask how often does ur maid wash bb's clothes/ beddings?

dats true. dats why i intend to install those make-shift gates to prevent her from climbing out...

SY,
thks for the well-wishes!

im expecting a ger
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2005,
When the babies are small I ask her to hand wash their clothes everyday. Now that my younger one is 14 months, I allow her to wash using washing machine on alternate days.

Congrats for expecting a baby girl, you will have lots of fun buying clothes/shoes/hair accessories for her hahaha
 
2005,
mine is a boy. i find girls' clothes so much cuter and nicer.... very very cute!!

tamarind,
will bb have a lot of clothes to wash everyday? most pple tell me bb change quite fast cos sometimes they dirty their clothes when drinking, or when changing diapers etc so each day also got change quie a few times.
 
tamarind/ SY,
im v particular abt hygiene, i hope she does a gd job wiv soiled nappies n sheets! as long as she handles my bb wiv hygiene (clothes, sheets and bottles), hsewrk i can close 1 eye... do u now wash ur boy's clothes wiv adult clothes? wad abt maid's clothes, when does she wash them?

i agree girls' clothes n accessories r v cute!! as it is, im oredi having such a fun time buying tings for her. also duno practical anot, just buy cos cnt resist!! n everything's so pink in her room heehee!
 
2005,
i agree. hygiene is most impt when taking care of baby.
i think maid's clothes they have to wash separate. i m planning to handwash my bb's clothes instead of mixing together. i have a fren who still does that even though her boy is already 2 years old....
 
SY,
Babies might spill or vomit milk, so you may have to change a few times. You can also let them wear bibs, it is easier to change the bibs when they are dirty. You can use small handkerchiefs to wipe their face of milk or saliva, will save a lot on tissue paper. All together not too much clothing, you can ask your maid to handwash everyday.

2005,
We wash baby clothes separate from adult clothes, because I don't think it is hygienic to mix. I ask my maid to wash her clothes by hand everyday. I don't let her use the washing machine to wash her own clothes.
 
tamarind,
thanks.
i think the reason we separate bb's clothes from ours it cos we go out and come back with a lot of germs on our clothes. not good for bb.
 
Hi first_mum,

My children's clothes are hand-washed. In fact, I have 3 washing tubs - 1 for children, 1 for husband's working shirts/socks, 1 for maid.
The washing machine is for bedsheets, towels, and clothes (home-wear).

Baby girls have so much choices of clothes. For my son, it was so much easier to buy him clothes but now I tend to spend more time in the children's dept just looking at my girl's clothings. If I don't control myself, no amt of money is enough. Everything is so cute and beautiful.
 
SY/ tamarind,
ok in dat case ill tell the maid to wash her own clothes every 1 to 2 days, handwash all bb's clothes n adult clothes separately... washer wld be for home clothes n sheets.

janet,
thks for the precise description, v helpful tip!.. ure rite, no amt of $$ wld be enough haha! my bb hvnt even come out i oredi spent a small fortune n bought clothes all the way to her 1st year! just cnt resist! ive been spending the last few mths in bb n toys dpt too! never realised b4 they were so interesting.

ladies,
im having trouble sorting bb's clothes, duno how to pack! i bought some on my own, some r hand-me-downs. there r rompers, cardis, long pants/ shorts, tops (long n short sleeved), socks, bootess/ mittens... n all in diff sizes!! there'll never be enough compartments for me! any suggestion?
 
Hi ladies, can share how you intend to pay your maid? By cheque- just issue cheque and don't track to see how she spends it? By cash? Or open bank acct for her? Or joint acct such that needs BOTH employer-employee signatures to withdraw (so she has to inform you if she needs to withdraw)?

I'm looking to employ a maid, primarily to take care of my toddler, so I can hopefully worry less when my newborn is out mid-next yr. Thinking of hiring now cos in case of problems, can change/ train maids til satisfactory.
Childcare rather than Housework will be my focus, so like Tamarind, I will ease her load there as long as she does a competent job with my girl.

Eg, in my case, I'd allow washing machine for ALL clothes incl. her own (I'd even buy some clothes for her so she doesn't have to do laundry too often). I've been using washing machine since Day 1 for my #1, so I don't need handwashing even for newborn #2. I'm going to try cloth diapering (the modern type of cloth diapers) for #2, so she will need to load specifically dirty cloth diapers only, at least once every 2 days.
I have a dryer but will use only for cloth diapers if necc, cos it consumes quite abit of electricity and makes our normal clothes difficult to iron.
Also thinking of trying out at least partial batch-cooking for toddler and adult meals (I've been doing batch cooking for my #1 since weaning anyway). Then less daily mess in kitchen. I think anyway, she'd be busy cleaning up my toddler (and her surrounding chair) who's on self-feeding learning phase.
And use of Roman Magic Mop, Magic Clean wipes for mopping/ sweeping. Floor will have to be swept daily due to my shedding dog.
Buy more milk bottles cos I'm not sure I can wean #1 off milk bottles by the time #2 comes... newborn especially, will feed at frequent intervals. Easier to batch wash and sterilise alot bottles, to free up time and effort.
She'd be sleeping in same room as #1... again I'm not sure #1 will stop her night-wakings by then, she will have to handle the night-wakings too cos I'd have a newborn nightwakings on my hands.
Use of hipseat/ sling/ stroller when out- a gf's child refuses sling, stroller, highchair, can only carry in arms or chase about (walked early, ran early!)... it's very siong on the maid and herself too. Fortunately my #1 seems ok with these aids, hopefully #2 will be amenable to such aids too.

On rules, among other stuff... I won't allow mobile, won't allow use of my phone during day- must ask permission to use at night and only after #1 has slept. I've seen some maids in Gymboree class yakking on their mobiles while their caucasian charges whizz dangerously about. I feel mobile phone will be distracting and put my child in danger, if the maid is not "sensible". Won't allow lying, stealing, beating my kids (scolding I will allow cos I feel #1 will be old enough to be verbally disciplined by an adult), dropping my kids, sexual relations in Singapore, black magic- if I discover any of this, I'd send her off within 24hrs. 1 off-day mthly to give her a break. Saw someone's suggestion to keep house keys in sealed, signed envelope for emergency use only- will try that cos I'm terrified she'd sneak out while my toddler is sleeping, very dangerous for my toddler!
 
Hi Medusa, for the first 7 months, my maid only had $10 as she had to repay her loan to the agency. Under the agreement, her pay is to be kept by the employer. So every mth, she signs the slip and puts the money into an envelope. If she needs to buy anything, I will pay first.

I taught my maid to use the Kaarcher water-based vacuum cleaner. She vacuums the floor every day. Mops the floor twice a week.

She sleeps in the study room on a mattress. My kids sleep in the room with me & hubby. If she sleeps with the kids, they will be too attached to her.

First_mum, my girl's going out clothes are put on hangers. Night and home wear are folded in drawer cupboard together with PJ, socks, mittens/bootees. Don't worry too much how to sort nicely. When the baby comes, there isn't much time to fold them very nicely esp in the first few months.

The important thing you have to remind the maid is to wash her hands before touching her feeding utensils every time. Demonstrate to her how you want things done and don't change after that. water. For eg, the kitchen tends to be more 'dirty' as compared to other parts of the house. That's why there are 2 mops.

Sorry to be so naggy, but you can't take chances with a maid.
 
janet,
thks for the reminder.

guess having 1st bb is lidat, everything wana pack n arrange nice nice, i get alot of satisfaction from all that haha! but like u say aft bb comes out, diff story liao priorities wld hv shifted...

yes hygiene is foremost on my list. at the v least she has to be clean esp when handling bb. hopefully she doesnt come from some sua-ba without proper sanitation n hygiene.. i wld let CL train her on taking care of bb 1st then i teach her how i wan wrk to b done ard e hse.
 
Janet,
need some advice from u. my hb and i can't agree on where to put the bb cot. one thing is to put in our room is quite squeeze. but i dun want to leave the bb with the maid right from the start. we have a spare bedroom and the other room is used a study. as i have both CL and maid in the first month, my plan is to let CL use the spare bedroom and maid to sleep in study room temporarily. after that the maid can sleep in the spare bedroom. or shd i just continue to let the maid sleep in the study room? still trying to convince hb to put cot in our room even though it's very squeeze. i told him it's only for a few months.
 
Hi first_mum, do give the maid some time since she is new & has to learn how to look after a newborn and do housework. Some maids come from 'ulu' kampongs and they have never seen electrical appliances before. Even our modern flush toilet is new to them.

I gave the maid her own set of cutlery - fork/spoon, plate, bowl & cup for hygiene reasons. On top of that, 2 sets of single bedsheets/pillow cases & blanket.
 
Hi SY, we are all learning. So don't make me seem like I very clever. HaHaHa. Still hv problem with my maid too. But honestly, what I've gone through, I would like to share with you so that will know what to expect.

My kids sleep in the room with me & hubby from start. I have a cot & we put it in our master bedrm too although it is also very squeezy. No choice because can't put in any other place.

There are 2 things you have to decide: Either let the maid sleep through the night OR the maid sleeps in the same room as the baby and wake up to do nightfeeds.
 
Hi Janet,
hee, we newbies always look up to more experienced pple for advice!!

actually my concern is also that if i put bb with her, then the maid will keep waking up at night and in the day, how will she have the energy to look after baby? esp after i go back to work, i prefer that she focus on taking care of bb and not be sleeping all the time. will have to discuss with hb again. made a fuss over putting the cot in our room. hb still quite insistent that there's no space but he said he may change his mind later cos he can't bear to put baby in the other room. keeping my fingers crossed!
 
Hi SY, there's always that problem. If the maid is going to look after the baby during the day, I feel it's advisable to let her sleep through the night although it would mean you will suffer the sleepless nights.

You will be at home for 3 months ML. During that period, have to teach the maid and hope that she is able to cope when you go back to work.
 
Hi Medusa,
My maid doesn't want to keep cash herself. She wants me to keep her salary for her. I keep a log book to record her salary, whatever money she spends and the balance.
I wanted to open an account for her, but she never seem to have enough money because she always sends all her money back home. I think you need at least $500 to open an account in POSB right ?
When she has enough money, I will probably open an account in her name only. I think even if she wants to run away with the money, it is her hard earned money anyway and she deserves to keep it anyway.
In any case, if your maid does run away, immediately inform MOM and cancel her work permit. After 24 hours of cancelling her work permit, she will become an illegal immigrant and the police will be after her.

SY,
When my baby boy is small, I put his cot in the living room ! I let him sleep there throughout the night. My 5 room flat is not very big, his cot is only about 5 meters from my bed. I leave my bedroom door open so that I can hear him easily. My maid sleeps in the bomb shelter, which is just next to the living room, so she can also attend to him easily.
New born babies make a lot of noises when they sleep, it can be quite disturbing to mommy's sleep. That's why I put him further away. If he needs anything he better cry loud loud.
 
tamarind,
i don't want to have the nagging worry that one fine day she will suddenly withdraw all money, run away... WHILE my toddler is sleeping
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. If she can't withdraw all her money, lesser likelihood of running away. My concern is my toddler, if maid run away w/o jeopardising anyone, her own problem :p .
 
Janet,
yah, that's the problem. can only take it one step at a time.

tamarind,
my hb will need the air con at night so i can't put bb in the living room. one thing is that my hb can sleep quite soundly at night so i think it's ok to put in our room. the only thing is the space issue....
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Hi Tamarind, my maid always sends home money even though her parents are not hard-up for her salary. But I always make her keep aside $400.

Just yesterday, I've decided not extending her when contract ends. Let me vent out my frustrations here ok ? Yesterday, she made pancake for my son's breakfast. It was so yucky. BTW, I've taught her before and it wasn't the 1st time she's making it. So I told her not to make it so thick since pancake is supposed to be thin like Mcdonalds. The whole of yesterday, her face was so black and trust me I didn't even scold her. I just said make it thinner. Anyway, I pretended not to know her face was black.
 
Hi SY, my son must have the air con or he won't sleep. Anyway, we make the room just cool and set the temp at 25 degrees. My girl wears long pants to sleep. So don't have to worry about her being exposed to aircon. My husband sleeps like a log. Usually I'm the one who wakes up to check on the kids.

Medusa, having a maid is to relieve us of housework but they end up giving us headache sometimes. It's worse for working mothers as they are not home the whole day and the maid is in charge.
 
Janet,
Are you a SAHM? is it very tough?

i think i will hate it if the maid give me black face over something so small. that was something my fren couldn't stand her maid. always give black face.

my room is usually about 25 degrees so i dun think it will be that cold.

so we must set the rules with the maid clearly on the first day right? at the end of the day, even if we try to be nice, we still must let them know that since they are working for us, there are some rules that they need to follow. how do we do that without sounding overbearing? i worry that i will end up sounding unreasonable.
 
Hi SY, I am a SAHM. It is tough in the sense there is no such thing as a break as compared to housework. My mum helps with the marketing. Maid does the cooking. The headache is planning what to eat. From next year, will get my hubby to do the marketing. Not fair to impose on my mum to do it.

When my maid shows black face, I pretend not to know nor see. Otherwise she will know that I know what is black face. My hubby always tells me I spoil the maid by helping out in the house. To me I can't sit down and let the maid decide everything in my house. But it looks like with the next maid, I will tell her each time she is wrong. It sounds overbearing but no choice.
 
Hi Janet,
Yah, my mum is also a SAHM and she says that planning what to eat is one of the hardest thing! so now that the house has less pple, sometimes she won't even ask the maid to cook or she will just leave it to the maid to decide what to cook.

How long have you been a SAHM?

i also dun think i can sit down and let the maid decide. i will still want to do some cooking etc but the cleaning will be left to the maid.
 
Medusa,
I understand your concern. I am also afraid of leaving my maid alone at home with the children. In that case you will need to keep a substantial amount of her salary in the account. But sometimes she may ask to send everything back home like my maid, because her family really needs the money. If you are going to open a joint account and keep a minimum sum in it, you should include this in your contract and make her sign it. Otherwise she may turn around and accuse you of withholding her salary.

Janet,
Wow you must be very good tempered to tahan your maid's black face. How long has she work for you already ?

SY,
OIC. I got aircon in the living room also
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My aircon super-cold, can only turn on at 28 degrees. Anyway my babies cry very loud, I can hear them clearly even with the door close.
The best is to list down all your rules on a piece of paper, and let her sign it. So long as you talk to her nicely and matter of factly, she should have no complains. The maid works in our house, and receives salary from us, she must follow our rules, it is just a job requirement, nothing unreasonable about it.
Especially if you are very concern about hygiene and safety, write everything down on a piece of paper and paste it in a prominent place for her to see. It is better to do it right on the first day, then you can tell her you are just helping her to get familiar with the job.
 
My maid arrived last Wednesday evening. So far so good. Have left her alone at home with the baby on a few occasions for the whole afternoon. She can handle baby well during the day but have yet to let her sleep with baby at night.

Only problem is she can't cook local food, so have to teach her how to cook. But luckily she picks up things quite fast and don't need me to repeat and repeat the same instructions again and again.

Great to find some time out with hubby and elder daughter going out shopping and eating without the baby. Allows me to find back some sanity!! Hahaha.....
 
tamarind,
so you on your aircon in the living room at night also? i have aircon there also but that wd be a substantial amt of electrical bills!

yah think i will state everything to her on the first day.

kelly
sounds quite good so far...
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anyone got recommendation for installing security cameras?
 
Currently my maid is sleeping on a mattress (but thick kind) on the floor. But I am looking out for a cheap bed frame for her because if she looks after baby at night or changes baby on her bed, it is quite tough if she has to climb up and down from the floor.
 
Hi Tamarind, if my maid knows that I know what is black face, she will show me more often. So I bochap lor. What can she do right ?

Hi SY, I decide what I want to eat and let the maid cook.

My maid sleeps on a mattress on the floor.
 
Hi ladies,

I have a question regarding food & beverage consumption for maids.

My Filipina maid arrived 3 weeks ago. She is experienced in taking care of babies..so far, she seems to be cleaning and taking care of my baby ok - though she has admitted that she is quite afraid when my baby (he is quite big and strong for a one-month old) struggles w her during feeding time. Housework - I would say she is only so-so, and she is a little bit slow.

Anyway, she eats a lot !! (She told me that her clothes were too tight for her after 1 week with me!)Which is actully ok with me, since there is enough food for her, and she eats what we eats anyway. BUT - she has gone berserked over coffee. She has polished off one large bottle of coffee and one large packet of coffee mate in ONE week. These could previously last the whole family at least 1 month - and I was a regular coffee drink last time) Thing is - she does not ask us what she can drink / eat..and just helps herself to everything. I do not want to be seen as too calculative..but at the same time, this is really getting overboard. I am not dissatisfied with her work..but I think there has to be some control. I am also worried that with the 6 to 8 cups of coffee that she drinks each day, she is really going to get addicted.

I have tried to be considerate - by providing her with a phone card to call home every month..buying her all her toiletries. She wants bread for breakfast each morning, so we make sure there is bread for her.

Ladies..have u experienced something like this? Any advice on how I shld handle this now? Should I just let it be or shld I say something to her? She is handling my baby now, and will continue to do so after I go back to work..


Kelly - is it safe for her to change baby on her bed? Just wondering..
 
Hi Chin, I'm experiencing what you are going through.

My maid can polish off 1 bottle of jam & peanut butter within 3 weeks. Like yourself, I am not comfortable either because the jam & peanut butter could usually last us for 1 month plus. Even if I am satisfied with her work (she has been with us for 1 yr), that is not the way to eat. So what I do is just buy either peanut butter or jam.

She stopped eating seafood (prawns/sotong) because her mother said that is the cause of pimples. But when we eat out, she eats BBQ sotong and prawns. If I were to ask her, it seems like I am very calculative.

I guess you don't have much of a choice since she is going to look after your baby and you are going back to work. Unless you are thinking of changing the maid. Otherwise you really have no control over her eating habits.
 
chin,
actually her food consumption sounds less alarming to me, than the fact that an experienced babycare giver claims she's afraid of a 1 mth old bb! Bb's going to grow bigger and stronger and hit the trying 2 yr old phase (often before 2 yrs old, heh).
 
Hi mums, with every maid, we as employers learn something new. The maid agency advised me to get new maid after the contract ends. I think I understand what she means now. When I get a new maid, I will lay down some rules & be strict with her. No choice, can't be too nice with them or they just literally climb on your head.
 
chin,
You should control the amount of food that your maid eats. Over eating can cause a lot of health issues, and if she gets sick you will need to pay for her to see the doctor. Also if she gets too fat it will affect her work.
If you normal consumption is one bottle of coffee a month, then if she finishes the whole bottle in one week, do not buy anymore until the next month. Tell her you have no money. I think she is already addicted to coffee. You can tell her when you buy a new bottle, that it is going to last one month and you are not going to buy anymore.
For my maid, I have a reasonable amount of budget for her food every month. She does not eat any other food in the house unless I told her to. If your maid eats a portion of the food cooked for the family, you can always take out a reasonable portion for her, rather than let her take whatever she wants. In fact when my maid eats with us outside, she will always ask us to take out a portion for her, she does not want to take herself.
I think no matter how competent the maid is, we definitely need to set some limits to how nice we treat them.

SY,
Sigh...ever since we have babies our electricity and water bills really goes up.

Jamie,
My maid sleeps on a bed in the bomb shelter.

Janet,
I myself cannot tolerate bad attitude as much as incompetency. That's why I change so many maids already.
 
Janet, you are right that experienced maids are full of "tricks". Mine has worked in HK for 6 years, 4 of which were with Canadians. Her child care credentials seemed quite good on paper. I have laid down some rules for her 3 days ago (She seems to be trying to follow the rules)..but I did not mention anything abt food / beverage consumption. Thought it was a bit much to do that...until yesterday (when she told me to buy coffee / creamer for her.

New maids - have to teach everything from scratch..another set of problems also.

Medusa - my boy really struggles a lot, with a lot of strength. I agree that I am a bit surprised that she admitted that she is afraid when my son struggles or cries - during feedings. That's why my mum said that she doubts that all her credentials are real..i.e. she was helping out with caring for baby, and not really the only person caring for the baby (as claimed).

But - overall, based on my observation, she does know how to take care (clean, bathe, change nappies) of a baby. She is even better than my confinement lady! BUT - she seems to be a loss at feeding...so perhaps, she did not feed the baby much previously.
 
chin,
just to share. last time my mum had a maid who takes a lot of sugar and we always tell her that it's not good for health. in the end it's up to them whether they want to listen or not. but it sound really unhealthy to be taking so much coffee.

tamarind,
to sleep in bomb shelter, is it stuffy? i find it to be quite stuffy. yeah, i cannot imagine my utility bills. maybe shd get the posb card so can get some savings..
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chin,
hmm maybe unlimited coffee is a new to her. Need to place limits, I think. Even though she's an adult, she may have been unused to some stuff and not acquired self-discipline in some areas. Eg. I remember as a child I went crazy over Ribena, then Milo, when I was 1st introduced it without limitations imposed.
 
SY,
We put a fan in the bomb shelter, and she sleeps with the door open. The bomb shelter door faces the kitchen, and we have a door to the kitchen which can be closed, so she still has a lot of privacy. Our house is small and we cannot to afford to give her a bedroom, so no choice.
 
Tamarind,
We can't afford to give her a bedroom either. She sleeps on a mattress in the study room. Told her to leave the door open but after a while she ended up closing the door. My hubby sleeps like a log.

Chin, filipino maids who have worked for ang-mohs have a lot of privacy and freedom to do as they wished. Another thing is, expats have excess money and thus maids can eat and drink as much as they like. The new maids who arrive in Singapore have never tasted coffee, Milo, Horlicks, Coffeemate, Ribena and soft drinks. So they will definitely go beserk drinking if there is no control.
 
Hi ladies, with maids, you can't have 'buffet' style with them. Otherwise, no amount of beverages are enough. That is the hidden cost of having a maid.
 
kelly,
When a baby starts to roll, she will fall off the bed very easily. You need to make sure the maid has her eyes and hands on the baby all the time.

Janet,
You are so right about not allowing the maid to have "buffet" style.
 


Hi Tamarind, when I have a new maid, I'm going to set down a few rules to abide in. Firstly, NO talking back. Secondly, she is to apply only margarine on bread. It seems like I am so calculative and mean. But then I find it ridiculous to have to buy a cheaper brand of jam just because my maid doesn't know what is the limit.
 

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