After having our second child, we decided to hire a domestic helper. As my husband and I are both working parents, having an adult at home when our primary schooler returns from school is necessary. When weighing student care vs. helper, we had to consider financial planning aspects such as the cost of having a domestic helper, including mandatory domestic helper insurance, and the adjustment to living with a stranger.

We also considered sending him to after-school care. Singapore has so many student care centers that we need to weigh the pros and cons to choose the ideal one for our family’s needs.

Thus, if you’re preparing your child for Primary One and are in a dilemma whether to send him to a student care versus getting a helper, here are some questions to discuss and hopefully, help you decide:

A helper who engages well with kids can guide them to pick up life skills like cooking and cleaning while learning to be responsible.

1. Do you or your child prefer a more structured after-school routine?

Kids thrive with a routine, and a schedule ensures things run smoothly. My initial plan was for the helper to pick Gideon up from school, prepare his lunch, and allow him some free time to engage in activities, including finishing up his incomplete assessment books.

However, he quickly grew bored with staying at home due to his familiarity with the structured routine of kindergarten. Amusingly, he even requested to attend student care, which offers another opportunity for social interaction and supervision of spelling and homework.

2. What’s more important for your child – social interaction versus personalized care?

At the student care, your child will have the opportunity to interact with peers which may or may not be from his school (depending on which student care you choose), promoting communication and social skills, teamwork, and friendship building. On the other hand, some parents may worry that older kids expose their younger ones to undesirable language or unexpected behaviour, which they are not ready to deal with.

If a helper takes care of him at home, she can give him dedicated attention for his needs, such as meals. If he wants to go to the playground downstairs or to the nearest library in your neighbourhood, she can take him too. In this aspect, having a helper provides more flexibility compared to enrolling at a student care.

3. Do you need support with the housework and home?

Having a helper is unlike a nanny who solely takes care of children’s wellbeing. A domestic helper handles household chores, cooks meals, looks after your kids, buys groceries, and picks them up from school. If having an extra pair of hands is helpful for your family’s needs, this could be a better option.

4. Do you have more than one child or planning to have more soon?

With 1 child in preschool and the other in primary school, it’s still somewhat manageable since technically, only 1 child is back at home from 2pm onwards. However, there must be an adult at home if he doesn’t go to student care.

If you have more than 1 child, plan out the logistics for school dismissal – who will pick him if he’s coming home straight? Can the school bus service send him, and do you have the budget for this transport? If he’s going to a student care near school, will the student care staff pick him? Who will pick the child from the student care in the evening? Now factor in the considerations for your other children, their schedules and yours. How feasible is it for things to run like clockwork with the number of reliable adults available?

5. How flexible is your (and/or your spouse’s) schedule?

If your primary schooler is sick and needs to be picked up, can a parent leave work urgently and pick him, send him home or to the doctor and take care of him for a few days? There needs to be a designated parent for such surprise situations. Without a helper, can a parent knock off from work on time to pick up the child daily from student care before closing time?

With the limited activities and the basic facilities for an after-school care service, this explains why the fees for school-based student care are more affordable compared to community-based student care providers.

6. Is school-based or community-based student care better?

Most parents opt for school-based student care because they are located within school premises, simplifying logistics in terms of transportation and safety. However, as these centres are in the same school environment, the adults (not teachers) only supervise homework without providing additional teaching. This is to avoid confusion from potentially conflicting teaching methods with school teachers. Since P1 kids have minimal homework, many children find it boring to remain in the same environment from 7:30 am until the evening.

That said, fees for student care centres vary from $350 to $2,000+ and the type of programmes and “childminding” services and expectations can differ. Some student care centres offer enrichment programmes too, so the fees are expectedly higher. Unlike infant care and childcare where subsidies are available, there are subsidies for student care fees are only for lower income working families, so do work out your finances and budgeting too.

Why I decided to enroll my son in a community-based student care near his primary school

Having considered different options, our family’s schedule and with consideration to my child’s character and needs, I’ve enrolled Gideon in a community-based student care, which offers several advantages. This includes a diverse environment where children interact with peers from different schools, enhancing their social skills and broadening their social environment. There is also a balanced approach; academic support is provided with equal emphasis on play, rest, and learning.

Jenelle’s tips for choosing the right student care: Look for centres that host many students from the same school. When most students are from the same institution, the centre often makes special arrangements with the school, such as providing a school bus service exclusively for them. Additionally, such centres are usually well-acquainted with the school’s curriculum, schedule, and pace of learning. They often prepare for, and revise based on the school’s tests, even keeping copies of spelling lists. This connection can significantly reduce the time parents spend managing and keeping track of their children’s school responsibilities.

7. Unpredictable circumstances may lead to changes in family routine – do you have a Plan B?

Fortunately, I opted for student care, which proved wise given the unpredictability of relying solely on a helper— she needed to return home unexpectedly to manage personal matters. Thus, I was “forced to” re-evaluate our arrangements.

The costs of having a helper and student care fees are comparable.

Enrichment classes in Singapore include more than academics, such as mindfulness courses or sports that benefit kids.

8. How about after-school enrichment classes for primary school children?

While there are no exams from P1 to P3, and the curriculum in P1 is relatively light, many parents have shared that their children struggle to catch up in P4. At this stage, parents often feel compelled to enrol their children in multiple tuition classes simultaneously. Furthermore, with the addition of Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) which typically starts in P3, children’s schedules become significantly busier.

For my children, I aim to prepare them not just for academic improvements but to ensure they have a smooth transition at different school phases. Thanks to our preschool which focused on both academic and soft skills, Gideon adjusted well to Primary 1.

Since we’re not paying for a helper now, I’ve set aside a budget to enrol Gideon in enrichment classes to help ease the transition from P3 to P4. Preparation is a gradual process and, I believe with these classes, he will face less stress. The abrupt increase in subjects and tuition from P1 to P3 can be overwhelming and, in my view, excessively stressful. I hope to raise an emotionally strong and well-adjusted child in the long run, who isn’t just bogged down by academic expectations.

With the above in place, sending him to different enrichment classes involves time management and planning too. As my line of work is more flexible compared to my husband’s, I’ll have to ensure that on those days, I’ve to be MummyGrab. Such adjustments are inevitable when it comes to raising children.

We had a discussion with our son to talk about the commitment and resources dedicated to his enrichment classes. Thus, we will withdraw him from student care once we hire a reliable helper. This will allow him to focus on enrichment activities while giving him the freedom to enjoy his leisure time after school as he pleases.

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I hope this helps give you some clarity and points to think about when deciding to enroll in a student care or hiring a domestic helper. Ultimately, the best choice will depend on what aligns most closely with your family’s needs, goals, values and at a comfortable expenses level too.