It\u2019s also one of those unique things about being in Singapore \u2013 that grandparents are typically \u2018roped\u2019 in to help look after the next next generation.<\/p>\n
My parents for certain joke about it a lot when they\u2019re asked what their job is these days: \u201clooking after grandchildren\u201d. It helps too that space is aplenty at Lentor, and it\u2019s large enough that if need be the both of us can easily move there and stay for as long as need be.<\/p>\n
The requisite though is that parents will need home helper assistance to do the household chores at Lentor i.e. we\u2019ll need to engage a maid. But there\u2019s \u2018risk transfer\u2019 too since the helper will primarily be staying at Lentor, and she\u2019ll never be alone at home there. And mum has plenty of experience managing home assistance over the periods my four nephews and niece were at Lentor.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tempting option to be sure with lots of wins in many respects. Parents enjoy Hannah, lower risks of helpers running amok, and double-income! Mmmmhmmm\u2026<\/p>\n
But there\u2019re potential challenges too. For starters, my parents aren\u2019t getting any younger. Secondly, the both of us are a little unsure about moving to stay at Lentor long term. Ling will feel a little awkward initially at least, and me; well, I\u2019m wondering how would I bring over my Plasma TV, my PS3, all my blu-rays and DVDs, all my photographic equipment, all my computers and notebooks etc. etc. I can’t live without my precious toys…!<\/p>\n
Jokes apart, that we haven’t placed the first option as our preferred choice has to do with our conviction that we should try to bring Hannah up ourselves and seek a balance between care-giving and income without looking to parents as the first resort. And as much as they enjoy Hannah, I think they should be looking after grandchildren at their convenience – and no matter how one chooses to look at it, full-time looking after grandchildren is <\/em>an inconvenience to their retirement years.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Alternatively, we could continue to stay at Rivervale but bring Hannah to Lentor every day and pick her up on our way home from work. But it turned quickly into a non-starter as soon as Ling worked out the necessary wake-up times to expedite that arrangement. Ling must be in school by 7:20 am every morning, and the traveling time works out like this:<\/p>\n Rivervale to Lentor \u2013 20 minutes<\/p>\n Lentor to workplace \u2013 35 minutes<\/p>\n Workplace to Ling\u2019s school \u2013 25 minutes<\/p>\n And that\u2019s the most optimistic estimates assuming no traffic holdups. Translated into wake-up times, it works out to 4:45 am every morning. I\u2019m fine with that since I\u2019m already waking up every morning at that time. But not Ling \u2013 it was difficult enough waking her up every morning before birth at 6:00 am LOL.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the option of Ling choosing to teach in a school near Lentor. That\u2019s a possible workaround since it\u2019ll cut traveling time somewhat, so we\u2019re keeping that option in view.<\/p>\n All that said, the option we\u2019re leaning towards is Ling going on half-teaching load and we\u2019re engaging an infant care-center around Sengkang to help take care of Hannah in the mornings. More on this later, and I\u2019ll ask Ling to blog about that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s also one of those unique things about being in Singapore \u2013 that grandparents are typically \u2018roped\u2019 in to help look after the next next generation. My parents for certain joke about it a lot when they\u2019re asked what their<\/p>\n