Helper baby care training: teach her one task at a time

You'll do most of your helper's baby care training yourself, at home, one task at a time. MOM's Settling-in Programme, which first-time helpers must attend, covers living and working in Singapore, not bathing or feeding a newborn. So show her each task, do it together, then watch her do it alone while you're still home. An infant first aid course and an emergency card on the fridge cover the rest.

How to train your helper in baby care, step by step

1. Ask what baby care she has done before, task by task. If you're still hiring, our helper interview questions cover this.
2. Book her Settling-in Programme if she's a first-time helper. MOM says a first-time migrant domestic worker (MDW) must attend within 7 days of arrival, excluding Sundays and public holidays, and can start work only after it.
3. Decide what she does and what stays with you, and write it down. Our guide to raising a baby with a helper helps you split the work.
4. Show each task yourself while she watches, one task per session. HealthHub's advice is to set clear rules from the start and get her to follow your methods of child care.
5. Do the task together, then watch her do it alone while you're home. HealthHub suggests checking she understands what's expected and explaining again where needed.
6. Hand a task over once she does it your way without prompts. Keep the others with you until each one is ready.
7. Teach the safety rules before any task. From HealthHub: support the head and neck whenever you carry baby, never shake a newborn, and give a young baby constant support in water.
8. Practise bottle feeds before your leave ends. HealthHub suggests swapping one or two feeds for a bottle given by someone else, starting two weeks before maternity leave ends, so check your dates with our maternity leave calculator.
9. Stick a one-page routine and an emergency card on the fridge. The card lists 995, your mobile numbers, your GP or polyclinic, your full address, and the nearest children's emergency, such as KKH's at 100 Bukit Timah Road.
10. Book an infant first aid course for her. The Singapore Red Cross Basic Child and Infant First Aid Workshop takes 7 hours and costs $163.50 with GST, and its page names domestic helpers as learners.

What the Settling-in Programme covers

MOM describes the Settling-in Programme as a 1-day orientation for first-time helpers on safety precautions and living in Singapore. Its topics are adapting to working and living here, conditions of employment, working safely, and relationship and stress management. It's taught in her native language. MOM lists fees of $76.40 to $92.65 including GST, and you pay them.

Baby care isn't on that list. MOM's employer guide says a new helper may find your language hard at first, and may be used to other ways of caring for children. Its advice is to take time to orientate and train her, especially in the early stages. That's what the steps above are for, and our new helper arrival checklist covers the paperwork around them.

Baby care tasks to teach, and our guide for each

Teach these in order. Safety comes first, and each guide has the full steps, so read the one you're about to teach together with her before you show her how you do it.

Teach her the put-down plan for crying

Give her a plan for crying before she needs one. NUHS suggests holding the baby against your chest, rocking or walking, and lowering noise and light. If she feels annoyed or angry, NUHS says to put the baby in the cot, leave the room for a while, calm down and call someone she trusts.

NUHS says shaken baby syndrome usually happens when a baby is crying inconsolably and a frustrated caregiver momentarily loses control. It advises not shaking a baby under any circumstances, because gentle shaking can rapidly escalate. HealthHub adds that shaking a newborn can cause bleeding or swelling in the brain, and even death.

Then say it plainly, so she knows nobody will blame her: "If the crying gets too much, put baby in the cot, step out and call me. That's the right thing to do."

MOM rules to plan the training around

Keep training inside her working days. MOM says she's entitled to one rest day a week. If she agrees to work on it, you pay her at least 1 day's salary, and at least one rest day a month can't be compensated away. Our guide to helper rest day rules has the detail.

If you use a baby monitor with a camera, MOM's rule is that you tell her about each device and where it's placed. MOM also says you must not put one where she sleeps, changes clothes or bathes.

Night feeds need a plan too. If she takes some, agree when she sleeps instead and put it in the routine. When a task isn't going well, show it again and talk it through. Our guide to managing a domestic helper covers those conversations.

When to see a doctor

Teach her to act first and call you second. Put these on the emergency card in plain words.

• For an emergency, she calls 995, as KKH advises, then calls you. KKH lists loss of consciousness and seizures among the emergencies.
• Go to a children's emergency for fever or illness in a baby under 3 months old, which KKH lists as an emergency.
• Go straight away for difficulty breathing, wheezing or noisy breathing, or a baby who looks pale, ashen or blue (KKH).
• Go for poor feeding or persistent vomiting where baby can't keep fluids down, or drowsiness, persistent crying or confusion (KKH).
• Go after a fall from a height or a head injury, or if baby may have swallowed poison or a small object (KKH).
• See a doctor urgently if anyone suspects a baby has been shaken, NUHS says. Our family violence help guide lists who to call in Singapore.
• For a non-emergency, KKH says to see your family doctor or a polyclinic doctor, and our fever checker helps with fevers. KKH also runs UPAL, an online advice line its page lists as a pilot, open 8.00am to 11.00pm daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I train my helper to care for a newborn?

Teach one task at a time: show it, do it together, then watch her do it alone while you're home. Start with holding, bath safety and the put-down plan, then move on to feeds, bottles and nappies. Hand each task over when she does it your way without prompts.

Is there an infant care course for helpers?

MOM's Settling-in Programme is compulsory for a first-time helper, but baby care isn't one of its topics. Agencies and private centres run baby care courses, so check what one covers against the task table above. Either way, she learns your baby's routine from you, at home.

Which first aid course should my helper take?

Look for one that covers infant CPR and choking. In the Singapore Red Cross Basic Child and Infant First Aid Workshop, learners pack a first aid kit, manage common child medical emergencies, clear a blocked airway and do CPR on a child and an infant. It runs 7 hours over 1 day for $163.50 with GST. Afterwards, stock your kit with our baby first aid kit checklist.

How do I teach my maid to take care of my baby if her English is limited?

Show more than you tell. MOM lists understanding your language as one of the early difficulties a new helper may meet, so use photo cards of each step, taped where the task happens. Learn the main words in her language too. Then ask her to show you the task, instead of asking "Do you understand?"

How long does helper baby care training take?

There's no official timeline, so go by the task, not the calendar. Washing bottles clicks fast, while bathing a newborn takes more practice. For feeds, HealthHub's tip to start bottle practice two weeks before your maternity leave ends gives you a start date.

Can my helper look after my baby at my parents' home?

Yes, if you notify MOM first. MOM's rule is that a helper works only at the address declared to MOM, but it accepts that families may need her to look after a child at a relative's house, as long as she has agreed in writing and doesn't carry the full housework load in both homes. MOM's penalty for illegal deployment goes up to $10,000, so send the notice before her first day there.