Posting as I'm at my wits end spending days googling/phoning to try and arrange something in the near term for our baby.
We are both full time workers and parents of an 18 month old toddler, having just moved to HK from England. In London, it was common (although pricey) to have full-time nursery that would take kids as young as 6 months old for 5 days a week from 8am to 6pm. From the research I've done it looks like nothing of the sort is available in HK. Is this right?? Every so often I pinch myself and think I must just be using the wrong search terms but I really cannot see that anything similar exists.
The only solution I have seen is to hire a full time domestic helper, and then signing up the little one to various short (2-3 hour) nurseries that they can be taken to - and even then mostly only from age 2 and up. I'm trying to arrange this, but helper agencies are saying to me that there is about a 2 month lead time to actually hiring a helper once all the visa requirements and checks are done. I have no idea what I am going to do about childcare until then (quit my job maybe?).
My questions is, what do newly arrived working parents do? I can't believe we're in such a unique situation, and the only full time working parents arriving without much of a plan (although perfectly willing to admit I might be going mad or otherwise just stupid for not thinking of it sooner like everyone else had).
Thoughts and input very much appreciated.
We are both full time workers and parents of an 18 month old toddler, having just moved to HK from England. In London, it was common (although pricey) to have full-time nursery that would take kids as young as 6 months old for 5 days a week from 8am to 6pm. From the research I've done it looks like nothing of the sort is available in HK. Is this right?? Every so often I pinch myself and think I must just be using the wrong search terms but I really cannot see that anything similar exists.
The only solution I have seen is to hire a full time domestic helper, and then signing up the little one to various short (2-3 hour) nurseries that they can be taken to - and even then mostly only from age 2 and up. I'm trying to arrange this, but helper agencies are saying to me that there is about a 2 month lead time to actually hiring a helper once all the visa requirements and checks are done. I have no idea what I am going to do about childcare until then (quit my job maybe?).
My questions is, what do newly arrived working parents do? I can't believe we're in such a unique situation, and the only full time working parents arriving without much of a plan (although perfectly willing to admit I might be going mad or otherwise just stupid for not thinking of it sooner like everyone else had).
Thoughts and input very much appreciated.