28 December 2009
I had an Indonesian maid whom I had problems with. She was actually hired to take care of my mother. But when we had our child we developed problems with her because she wanted to assume the role of the mother. She was with us for a year before we had our baby. But she wanted to do the bonding when the baby came. She wanted to do everything and I had to put a stop to that. I said I brought you here to take care of my mother, not my child. And then she started showing her true colours because she started doing a poor job even with my mum. My mum's forehead was bruised after she fell down one night. I don't know what happened.
I then decided that I didn't want an Indonesian maid so I decided to send her back and go for a Sri Lankan maid because of the language. A Sri Lankan maid would be able to speak in English and she would be able to converse with my child and husband too. When I applied for this maid I specified that she would have to take care of an elderly parent but also that she would assist me sometimes in taking care of my child. I've not hired the maid for the child because I prefer to be a hands-on mother and I'm at home all the time. Actually I always take my daughter Renelle with me when I go out.
I gave it a few months to see how the maid and Renelle interacted. Then slowly I would leave her downstairs with the maid and go upstairs for a while. I observed that she was okay and that they would play. Renelle thought the maid was another child, someone her own age because they'd run around and play with the ball. But I would still take Renelle out with me. I don't want her to be brought up by the maid. That's the whole idea of parenthood. I'm also fortunate because my retired sister lives with us and she's at home too. So on the few occasions I do go out without Renelle, my sister is there to keep an eye on things. - Maureen Nagle, mother of a 21-month toddler
Religious maid
My children are grown up so it's not an issue anymore. The maid that we have has been with us for four years. She's capable and trustworthy. Initially when she first came I kept an eye on her to make sure she was okay with my kids. She's actually quite a religious person and I trust her. So far there's nothing that she's done that has upset us. We cannot just be suspicious of her for no reason. Moreover the children like her. Unlike the previous maid whom the children didn't like. If your children don't like the maid I think that means she must've done something for them not to like her. - Shoba Raman, mother of two boys and a girl aged between eight and 14
When I took my two maids on, they were referred to me by previous maids. They are relatives of my previous maids so we know the family, we know where they come from. So far so good. We also monitor them. I was thinking of putting a surveillance camera to monitor them but my husband said he is the best monitor we could have because his schedule is not fixed. So he can just pop in at noon or 4pm, in between his work he can just drop by so it's not easy for them to plan anything. – Maznida Mokhtar, mother of three girls and one boy aged between two and eight years old
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