my helper drama
So this is pretty long ago back in May'25 its Aug'25 now.
I once talked about my personal issues then i got a helper to help me out; Myanmar, 23.
She arrived on February and lasted till May (about 3 months). and i bet she thought the next house would be easier and she only lasted 1 month there LOL.
What happened:
On the 5th and 6th of May, I went out to work despite feeling my helper wasn't a good one but I really wanted to find myself and it was a 2 day stint, and i'll be back by 6pm anyway.
At this time my baby wasnt a high demand baby, he slept 3 times a day each nap from 7am last about 2 hours to 3 hours.
During the 2 days i worked, she commented that my baby didnt sleep much... but i think its just a 2 day work and it'll be back to normal anyway.
At this point i felt like i hired someone to watch me work instead. I attributed it to maybe she is really young and fresh...
7th May 4pm, she went all drama, hyperventilating and all. I had her go to her room.
Later 5pm she came out of her room and said she didnt like me 3 different ways
(Her english wasnt good, so i had to double confirm and triple confirm what she was trying to say.)
Convo goes:
"Mam i no like"
"Huh?"
"Mam no like you"
"Don’t like me?"
"Ya mam i no like you la, you everyday scold scold me"
"Huh? Then go call your agent. Go to your room"
7 may around 11pm she says she is sorry
8 May morning she says she is sick
By 9am my husband called the agent to to fetch her to lodging and begin her search for new home which she found in 3 days.
I did not bother to reason with her BECAUSE i felt she didnt had the responsibility or the accountability at all.
1. No nights with baby, cooking for baby (just 1ce in the morning and feed for 3 meals) , just cleaning and look after baby, and walking and basic groom like bathing dog.
2. Food literally all packet or order (hubby or me do it.)
3. Admittedly first meal can start pretty late around 10 to 11am. As she wake up at 7am so i bought her ANY biscuit she wants ANY maggi she wants (she loves samyang) she doesn't eat bread but i did inform her beforehand she needs to settle herself before sir wakes up to go buy food.
4. Cleaning were mostly sweep and mop. Laundry were ALL washing machine and dryer NO handwash needed. And of course baby bottles and all that.
4** I have one of those mop vacuum that i super love does the job of sweep and mop at once and i think its super clean but she say she prefer traditional way. on the day she left i used my mop vacuum my floor (wood vinyl) came up black black black black black for many rounds at just the living room! a place she cleaned literally everyday atleast 2 times ( i live in a small hdb 4 room not some landed property ok)
4*** my 4 room hdb has 3 rooms, but my helper only cleaned the living, and the kitchen. she doesnt want to clean the master because baby sleeps there, she doesn't clean the study and will lie that she cleaned it. the baby room(aka her room) also never cleaned because when she left my vacuum had so much hair just from her room alone !
5. Her rest time in the day can go up to 5 hours.
6. Cleaning was big ones like change bedsheet (hubby will help), toilet cleaning, wipe windows
7. I mostly scolded her on, lack of attentiveness on baby (she literally needed me to remind her for 3 months: feed baby, give him water, bathe him...), at the 2nd month i had to scold her because literally every weekend i had to remind her to clean toilet, change bedsheet. If not she'll just go to the room close her door like her job is done when baby go to sleep.
I also scolded her because one time my dog pooped on the floormat she didnt even handwash it so i said to her please handwash and then JUST 1 FLOORMAT SHE THROW IN THE DRYER and i was livid... i asked her, is it you rushing to wear this floormat? Cant you hang it outside? (I have spare like 5 more floormats to rotate)
My baby was literally waking up 5 to 6 times during a night. Very peculiar one, he would not finish his milk so if you tried giving him again he would spit any milk he sucked. SOMETIMES he literally wakes up for a good 2 hour in the motn before he goes back to sleep.
When i tried cutting his day naps my helper literally black face all the way. But i always chose to not see because heck i hire helper to help me not me help them zz. Anyway cutting his naps didnt work it made him slept worse at night.
* i probably will edit this a thousand times as more info comes to my head.
** my Helper always uses the phone until wee hours of the night. Many people told me to limit their phone use which I always found weird because this is an adult not a child.. and nighttime is like their personal time right? Like our boss won't limit what we do at lunch time as long as we return on time (though I did have a boss who once dictated who I can eat with and who I cannot eat with lol)
***when i walked my dog after she left a helper came up to me and told me "oh i know ur dog, you have myanmar helper ya" ... and she proceeded to tell me the most horrifying thing ever - my helper would sit down to use phone, my dog wants to go home (she's an old dog) then my dog would pull at the leash and she yank the leash so hard my dog would cough. and my dog leash is a harness...
**** my helper told me she has menstrual cramps every month and will just be in her room, if we were going out (obviously tiring since she need to carry many things etc) she would say she doesn't feel well. Felt like my teenage daughter...
Based on my experience, hiring a Myanmar helper comes with unique challenges that require patience and clear communication. One key lesson I learned is the importance of setting clear expectations from the start, especially regarding baby care routines and household chores. For example, my helper struggled with attentiveness—needing constant reminders to feed and bathe my baby—and concepts like changing bedsheets or thoroughly cleaning specific rooms. Another issue was her preference for personal phone use late into the night, which some may view as personal time, but it impacted her performance the following days. I also discovered the necessity to educate helpers on proper cleaning techniques, like handwashing delicate items such as floor mats instead of using a dryer, to maintain hygiene standards. Interestingly, I found technological tools helpful. Using a vacuum mop not only improved cleanliness but also highlighted where my helper skimped on effort, as evidenced by the dirt residues found after her cleaning sessions. If you're considering hiring a Myanmar helper or dealing with helper-related challenges, I recommend open communication with the agency and readiness to support them in adapting to your household. It’s also crucial to monitor their well-being; for instance, my helper frequently reported menstrual cramps and fatigue, affecting her mood and work quality. Establishing mutual respect and accountability can foster a better working environment for both parties.
lol on your point no 7, my friend helper from the same country too. lol her house is 3 room flat, only have my friend and her primary school daughter. This helper also full of drama. Very lazy every time wake in morning send my friend daughter to school and then come home sleep until 11am. Ok fine my friend is ok with it. And suppose to cook for my friend daughter helper will just anyhow short cut cook. Her free time is closing the door doing her work out routine in the room or sleep and leaving my friend daughter unattended. lol my friend told me she feel like she is feeding one more daughter (that helper) also drama all the way to new employer, new employer have more than 1 kid and bigger house. She wants to come back, but my friend rejected her 😂