MP Louis Chua on Child Development Co-savings (Amendment) Bill

[@musico3415]

As an early childhood professional, I feel that young children below the age of 3 should not be exposed to too many children in childcare centre just to "build up their immunity". Young children can build up their immunity at home, or by playing with a few children for a few hours each day, and not in a full day childcare. Thus, infant care centre is a place where children constantly fall sick till adulthood because of their low immunity and they affect their parents as well in terms of their health and work. Exposing young children to a mass sickly environment too early in childcare centres has the reversed effect. All my children rarely fall sick, even today, because they all don't go to childcare centre. They only started to attend half day kindergarten from the age of 4. They played with some neighborhood children when not in the kindergarten. Our house helper cooked well, thus my family had good nutritious food daily, compared to eating outside food or childcare centre food. Thus, the sg gov could consider helping young parents cope with raising kids and still keep their career. The mandatory insufficient childcare leaves is not working because young children in childcare centres are being over exposed to poor childcare environment, thus it keeps causing children to fall sick throughout the year. Some suggestions: 1. Consider paying/subsidizing the hire of good home helpers, be they locals such as grandparents, or foreigners, to help with childcare and nutrition for young children below 4 years old to grow at home. 2. Increase the number of places for kindergarten and pre-kindergarten (N2) places within primary schools or in private kindergartens. 3. Mandatory flexible working hours for parents with children below 6 years years old.

[@musico3415]

Most fathers are mot able to take patenity leave due to work commitments. As such these fathers already have difficulty taking own annual leave. In addition, they also have reservist liabilities every year. Thus parental leaves may sound good but not workable. I would rather suggest giving subsidiaries to parents with young children to hire their own relatives, especially grandparents to help with childcare, and not just sending kids to childcare centres which often make children more sick then not.