I’m not a mum (yet) but they surround me. And on a daily (if not hourly) basis, I get a very informative feed via Facebook wall posts – and now even on my WhatsApp – of issues that keep them awake at night: Childcare costs, tuition necessity, school admission wars, domestic helper issues, mother-in-law woes, and sexual (or lack of) frustration, just to name a few.
And while most of you would like me to skip to my analysis of the last issue, I say, one crying toddler at a time, let’s start with discussing Childcare Costs, (because when you hear about the cost of having and raising a child, it might put you off sex! Haha.)
Lots of chatter out there right now that daycare/childcare is eating up the lion’s share of family expenses in the Lion City, so I do a little bit of digging around.
Through speaking with my sister who is, imho, a prototype good Singaporean and a loving, responsible mother-of-two, I learn of a list of necessary expenses (food, pacifier, vaccinations), unnecessary expenses (aerodynamic pram, supersonic dual breast pump, tap dancing classes), and some unforeseen expenditures (destroyed iPads and new ones needed) that come with having a kid.
In fact you can go ahead and slap on another $1400 (less $800 working mum subsidies) for daycare (and already she is opting for the more affordable centres*).
I immediately think how I could better spend that money.
$1400… that’s a year’s worth of yoga classes; 20 sessions of nail art; an all-in week-long holiday in Bangkok…
Read on to find out why there’s a need for the 6th C – Childcare costs and what it really takes – dollar wise.
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