While it is true that juggling work and family is tough for all parents, not many have the luxury to work from home. Some parents have to work hard jobs to make ends meet, all the while caring for their little ones. One Ang Mo Kio hawker mum proved just that.
This hardworking mum or the Ang Mo Kio hawker (as she is now being famously called) was first spotted by Jordus Lim on Wednesday (7 July) at Ang Mo Kio. He posted an Instagram Story about her where she is seen serving piping hot food to customers as her baby waits in a carrier on the side of the store.
The story went viral catching the attention of many Singaporean parents who sympathised with her and lauded her efforts.
Ang Mo Kio Hawker Tends To Her Baby While Working
Image source: Facebook / Rachel Qi
The mother owns a vegetarian stall in Ang Mo Kio and also works as its hawker. While serving food to her customers, she caught the attention of one netizen who was shocked to see the Ang Mo Kio hawker carrying her baby while diligently working in a “hot and stuffy environment.”
In the Instagram story shared by Mr Lim, he mentioned that the toddler was apparently making a fuss and so the hawker had to to semi bounce her baby while serving food to the customer.
Mr Lim’s post on the Ang Mo Kio hawker and her baby went viral when it was reposted in the Facebook group Hawkers United – Dabao 2020. (Under this Facebook post, another netizen shared that the stall is actually manned by the hawker and her husband.)
The Couple Struggle To Juggle Work-life And Their Children
The mum usually juggles between caring for her baby and managing orders as well as serving customers, while the father is in-charge of cooking.
“In the evening, most of the time [it] is [a] one man show which will be the wife running the store. Not sure if they do rotations but a few times I was there [it] was the wife who served me for dinner,” one netizen responded to the story.
Another Facebook commenter added that the couple apparently has two kids. They believe the older child goes to school or is in childcare. The father could also be taking care of the two kids at home during the evening since the mum is always seen doing the night shift alone.
As for support from parents, there were many who lauded the young parents, especially the mum.
One Rachel Qi who shared Mr Lim’s Instagram post on Facebook, categorically stated, “As a parent myself, I can feel how hard it is carrying a baby in a carrier in a hot stuffy environment. Still need to swing the baby and serve food at the same time.”
Another netizen named Kevin wrote, “She must have a tough life, please support her business so she can find someone to help her babysit.”
More Support For Working Parents
Image source: Happy Cow website
To show support for the hardworking couple, Mr Lim also asked that their story be shared further and that more people come and visit their stall. He stated, “I can 100% say they are better at parenting than I will ever be.”
If you’re a working parents yourself, then you might sympathise with the hawker’s struggles as well. If you want to support the couple, you can come to their stall and try out their food.
Those who want to check out the stall, the store is called Xian Yuan Vegetarian stall and can be found at 5058 Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2 Canteen. You can expect yummy vegetarian dishes such as vegetarian fried noodles, sweet-sour mushroom rice, kway chap and laksa.
Lead image source from Facebook / Rachel Qi.
Source: Facebook
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