Program for 25 March 2012
MAID SERVICE: PROS AND CONS
In Vietnam's major cities, sustaining a middle-class income often requires both spouses to work full time with long working hours under great pressure. It is therefore difficult for the middle-class family to maintain their household and take care of their children with their limited off-work hours. A common solution nowadays is for them to hire a maid, often a young girl from a poorer part of the country, to help them with their housekeeping tasks.
However, this solution is not without its limitations. First of all, most maids do not have any formal training to help them perform their tasks up to the standards expected by an average middle-class family. Additionally, putting a child under the care of an untrained and inexperience maid can be very risky and dangerous. There is also a damaging possibility of an extra-marital relationship between a maid and her married male employer. Even without any of the above problems, many people simply feel uncomfortable by the presence of a stranger intruding into the privacy of their family life and preventing the intimate bonding between family members.
Discussion Questions
- The Cons: What problems do you think hiring a maid (who lives with your family) may create?
- Do you think that it is more difficult for a family to develop intimate bonding between family members?
- Can the children feel attached to their mother if she doesn't cook and take care of them?
- How do you trust a stranger living with your family?
- The Pros: What are the advantages of having a maid in your family?
- Do you think that the trend of hiring a maid is inevitable in our current economic and social environment?
- Where is this trend heading to? Do you think a more professional housekeeping service is needed? What are the characteristics of an ideal housekeeping service?
