Singapore father expresses unhappiness with student care, questions why his son must sweep floor
A Singapore parent has sparked debate online after questioning why his son is required to clean up at a student care centre.
The discussion began with an anonymous post shared in a Facebook group for primary school parents last Sunday (15 March).
In the post, the father asked: “Is this a normal routine or acceptable for you and your kid?”
This prompted some netizens to jokingly quip that they “can’t wait” for the boy to enter National Service, where chores will inevitably be part of his daily routine.
Source: Singapore Primary School Parents on Facebook
Father questions why son must do chores at student care
The parent explained that his son had been asked by a teacher to “sweep the floor and clean all the tables after eating every day”.
However, he expressed discomfort with the arrangement.
“I mean, we don’t even do that at home,” he wrote, noting that household chores are typically handled by his wife or the domestic helper.
He also pointed out that the student care centre was not a low-cost option, suggesting that such duties should not fall on children.
Source: Ngee Ann Primary School 爱我義安, for illustrative purposes only
“Since [the centre has a] cleaner, why ask my son to do it?” he asked.
“We are not paying the student care for my son to go sweep floor and clean tables.”
The father wondered if it was reasonable to expect children to clean up, adding: “Even we adults go outside eat also don’t need to clean the tables after eating, right?”
Netizens respond, referencing National Service
A screenshot of the post later circulated more widely, drawing strong reactions from netizens.
A Facebook user who reposted the post with the caption: “Can’t wait for his son to go NS.”
Source: Facebook
The comment section quickly filled with sarcastic and critical replies.
Some netizens cheekily suggested scenarios where the son’s domestic helper is with him in NS, joking that “the maid will probably be with him in camp and clean up for him.”
Source: Facebook
Others painted exaggerated scenarios of the boy entering military service.
Source: Facebook
Some share experiences dealing with similar parents
Among the comments, one user who identified as a teacher or childcare worker shared a personal encounter.
She said that she got “schooled” by a student’s mother after she passed a piece of cloth to a student who spilt water from his water bottle.
“The mum told me, do you know he doesn’t have to do that at home because we have a helper.”
Source: Facebook
She added that with large numbers of children, it would be impractical for staff to clean up every mess.
“We usually have like a hundred kids in the childcare, if auntie has to follow the kids around mopping their spillages, she no need to do anything else already.”
Others say chores are part of growing up
Some netizens pushed back against the father’s concerns, arguing that basic chores help children develop useful traits, such as responsibility.
Source: Facebook
Another commenter even expressed interest in enrolling their child in such a centre, saying that her son enjoys doing chores.
Source: Facebook
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Featured image by @ppissg on Instagram and Heritage SG Memories on Facebook. Both pictures for illustrative purposes only.
