As a single parent with two young children, balancing work with childcare is often frustrating and challenging for Mr Adrian Yee, 33. Recently, his job in sales required him to work late shifts, keeping him away from home till late every day – often well after 10pm.  

His 65-year-old father, whom he lives with, pitches in to help care for his seven-year-old son Dante, and nine-year-old daughter Clara, when they get back from their regular after-school student care programme in Bedok North at 6pm. 

But often, the older Mr Yee, who is still working, is unable to pick them up in time because he is held up at work.

“On such days, I’ll have to rush to pick the kids up as there is no one around to do that,” said Mr Yee.

It is also not ideal for the grandfather to supervise the children as he can’t ensure they complete their school work, he added. As a result, the young ones often head to school without completing assignments, much to the ire of their teachers.

So it was good news to Mr Yee when the student care programme the children attend piloted CareNights, a service from 6pm to 10pm.

The initiative, a collaboration between Temasek Foundation Cares and Morning Star Community Services, offers evening student care services for vulnerable children for a temporary period.

The aim is to give parents a temporary respite and use that time to attend skills upgrading courses to boost their employability.

The Morning Star Primavera Centre at Bedok North Avenue 4 is the first centre to launch CareNights. CareNights is also available at the Morning Star centre in Sengkang. By 2018, CareNights will be implemented at other Morning Star centres in Bedok North Avenue 3, and Hougang. 

For Mr Yee, the CareNights programme gives him breathing room to improve on his work. “Before that, I was always rushing home halfway from work to help my father out when he could not handle. Things are definitely better now.”  

In the meantime, Mr Yee will also be exploring other longer term caregiving options for his children in case his evening work shifts become permanent.

Apart from CareNights, Temasek Foundation Cares also pilots new models of care to support parents and look after the well-being of children.

The Paediatric Hospice Care Programme, established with Assisi Hospice, is one of them. It offers a new care model where children with life-limiting medical conditions such as cancer and organ failures can turn to the programme for specialised paediatric care.  

The paediatric ward is designed with homely and cheerful elements to create comfort for patients and family members. There are also play spaces to allow the patients and their young siblings to continue to be children. Family members will also receive structured caregiver and bereavement support. 

Previously, these children would have to stay in an acute care institution, which focuses on shorter-term treatments. 

The paediatric programme employs a holistic approach that extends care to both patient and caregiver. 

“When families admit their children, they come in quite stressed and exhausted, so we address these concerns as well. Aside from medical care, we also have psychosocial care for caregivers and parents to see how they are coping,” said medical social worker Jaclyn Lee. 

She added that there is constant two-way communication between staff and the parents: “It’s a good opportunity for parents to let the staff know how to take care of their child better and to understand their routines and responses. 

“Ultimately, you can still feel like you’re a child in our ward.”