KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

My Filippino maid has told me that all her friends are on facebook except her. Wld like to know if it is true that most employers will allow maid to use the family's computer to acess facebook & use internet?

My maid has been with me for just over 4 yrs now & she is the 'guai' type. My initial feel is internet can be addictive & a big distraction to her work. my maid is very much like my dd, always see her checking her hp throughout the day. If I allow her use of my home computer, I think she will be like dd, hooked on to internet, esp since I am not at home most of the day. Her reason to access facebook is because she is the leader of her activity group & needs to disseminate info or answer qns from group members.

I am comtemplating granting her request (of course with restrictions) but wld like to know how you as employers handle this?

A lot of maids access their facebook accounts and internet via their handphones and their own accounts. Giving them access to your home wireless means unlimited access which might not be good, depending on the maid's character. If she has self control, it's ok. If not, it could be a big distraction.

one of my frd's maid posted her photo in my frd's hse,n claimed that the hse is hers(not my frd) .My frd's hse n car became her hse n car.She claimed she has married an ang moh in sg n stay in big hse n car....my frd was very angry.....terminated her immediately...

Personally, I think it's ridiculous to let the FDW use your computer and your internet.
I feel that there are risks involved in letting others use your pc.

None of my maids have Facebook and do not require internet access.

They are clear they are here to work and do not want off days as well as it will mean they will need to incur costs when going out.

I think they also want Facebook to 'show off' what they have or are doing...
My helper took lots of photos when the whole family went to HK disneyland...she wanted to post on FB to show her family at home and church friends the places she went...

Now FB is so common, its hard to say NO to her having FB... (its like our kids wanting HP coz the rest of the class has it and they use it extensively to keep in contact with their classmates)--but i would draw the line in letting her use my internet wireless and even my computer. There's no limit and she will not feel the pain of forking out $$$ to use FB and internet.

Many handphones have data plans and if she is well connected with friends here, she will have tips on where to get value for money data plans and she can carry on from there. She can only use after her chores are done etc (as per yr agreed handphone policy)

Why don't you also tell her that for SECURITY measures,
don't take pics of your house, surroundings vicinity or even of your kids (if you r uncomfortable)--tell them that it may become a risk for kidnapping or burglary since outsiders know the layout of your house or how your kids look like etc.
-if they are from Philippines, they should understand perfectly...this kind of things do happen there.

FB is pretty common amongst maid. That's one way for them to stay in touch and chat without incurring $$$. My maid has her own laptop (ex-employer donated their old one to her). I'm fairly flexible, she's free to use our wifi when her chores are done. I've checked her FB page (before she "blocked" me, haha!)...to read her FB status and pics.

I saw pics of her ex employers' kids in the pool etc. I wouldn't be too happy if it was my kids. Among her FB friends are some Bangla guys. So who knows who might access those posted pics and use them for the wrong reasons.

I wouldn't let her to use my laptop. But WIFI yes, if she has her own machine. And it's up to me when to turn on/ off the wifi.

Edited to add: my maid's working days are numbered and I'm sending her home. Hence this is why I'm closing one eye on this matter!

Even if my maid didn't ask our permission, I know she has FB account on her HP and she access it using her own top-up card that has data-plan. But I did not let her use our wifi, unless she is clever enough to know where to look for the key...

I do not allow them to take pictures of my children. If she takes pictures of my house I really wouldn't know. I tried to search for her FB page but can't find, they could be using bogus names and we wun know.

My maids do not have handphones as well. Their agents in their home country will confiscate it while they are at the training centre.

They will buy their handphones before they leave for good and I will check the album before they leave for the airport to ensure they do not have any photos of my home or kids.

My kids do not have Facebook and laptops are used strictly for school related work so I guess it is also a "tone from the top" kind of environment for us.

My maid in Sg for 2 yrs plus. Her previous employer didn't give her hp and she also never ask for it. She don't have fb and I think if u pamper ur maid by giving hp then u shouldn't b surprise she got fb etc. fb can help them to do part time job, find bf and also to show off her employer hm etc. Maid can reveal things about ur hse details like address, pic and some even update their status without knowing that they reveal the timing their employer not home. At the end of the day. If ur main purpose for having maid is to look after children or old aged is better not to give hp unless u willingly to take the risk. I came across old aged couple living with a maid (employer is daughter not staying with them) the maid is always on the phone or she will go out to ta bao food and take own sweet time back. Despite the old aged complaint to their daughter of the maid behavior the daughter didn't seems to do anything until police came knocking door.. The maid having numerous men no. and have complicated relationship...

If u willingly to give your maid anything like hp and off day then u must be prepare anything might happen and if they run, got BGR problem, sudden change and expecting more and more.