ECDA's Home-based Infant Care Pilot Launches In Dec, From $16.50 For 5 Hours

Three childminding operators have been appointed for a pilot aimed at giving parents here another infant care option from Dec 1.

Parents with Singaporean babies aged two to 18 months can contact EduNanny by Butler, Kidibliss, and NannyPro Care to engage childminding services at a childminder’s home or a community space.

During the pilot, they can choose the number of days a week they need help and opt for more flexible hours. At infant care centres, parents usually leave their children there for a fixed period of time.

The childminding pilot, which will run for three years, was announced in March by Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.

It aims to grow childminding services to be an affordable, safe and reliable infant caregiving option for parents, said the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) in a statement on Nov 21.

This is part of the Government’s commitment to offer parents greater assurance in the first stage of their child’s life, added ECDA, which will fund the appointed operators.

Each childminder will care for one to three infants at any one time.

The services will be offered at the childminders’ homes, but ECDA said it is trialling a new model of using community spaces to provide more convenient locations for parents.

Tampines East and Nee Soon East Community Centres have been identified as suitable spaces, ECDA said.

Parents can register their infants for childminding in these community spaces in the first half of 2025, and more spaces in locations with high demand for infant care services will be secured.

Under the pilot, the services will be provided in five-hour or 10-hour blocks between 7am and 7pm from Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays.

The childminding services during these time periods are subsidised, costing $16.50 for five hours and $33 for 10 hours.

Parents using the services full-time will pay $719.40 a month (10-hour block for five days a week for four weeks, with GST).

If they need the services for more than 10 hours, or if they require childminding services outside of 7am to 7pm on weekdays, they can make separate arrangements with the operators, based on regular rates.

The three operators currently also provide childminding services outside of the pilot.

For the pilot, they must ensure that childminders’ homes and community spaces used are clean, safe, and conducive for infants. The locations must be outfitted with necessary amenities like baby cots and play areas, ECDA said.

Before the childminders are deployed, they must undergo mandatory training on infant first aid, food safety and preparation, as well as how to care for infants. The training can be provided in-house by the operators or by external sources.

Approved childminders would also have passed medical and background checks, which include criminal history, for the children’s safety.

EduNanny told The Straits Times it aims to have more than 120 full-time childminders to look after more than 300 infants in 2025. It currently has 10 trained childminders available when the pilot starts on Dec 1.

Its childminders range in age from mid-20s to 70s, and are primarily locals. They include stay-at-home mothers, empty nesters, retirees, and early childhood education professionals. 

Kidibliss said it aims to provide around 100 childminders by 2025.

One of Kidibliss’ childminders is 40-year-old Jessica Ng, a stay-at-home mother. She started being a nanny at her home in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She had heard of friends and neighbours who struggled to look after their young children while they worked from home, and decided to offer childminding services.

The decision was an easy one, as she had always dreamed about venturing into the early childhood sector. She was saving up to study for a diploma in early childhood education, but realised childminding was an ideal alternative.

“Rather than working in a childcare setting, I can cater to my family’s needs better as a childminder. Though my kids are a bit older, they’re not exactly ready to be on their own and it’s better for me to still be around them at home,” said Ms Ng, who used to work in the beauty industry. Her sons are aged 11 and 15.

“I was a bit worried at first... Children can be cranky and fussy, which might disturb my boys who were attending school online during the pandemic. But I’m very lucky because everyone here loves babies, and they have been very accommodating and supportive.”

She signed up to be part of ECDA’s pilot so that she could maintain a steady stream of customers.

She said: “It’s so fulfilling for me to be a childminder because you witness many milestones. The children come to me at three months old and they leave when they can walk and talk. I had trouble saying goodbye when they were ready for pre-school, it would always bring tears to my eyes. I keep in touch with all the babies I cared for.

“I’m happy to be doing this so that parents have a safe place to leave their children when they go out to work.”

This article was originally published on The Straits Times.