Happy B'day, Singapore! More power and success to you!
Let's use the occasion of the nation's birthday to celebrate some very enterprising mums and dads right here in Singapore, who managed to convert their 'parenting problems' into cool solutions!
Here then, are some 'Made in Singapore' products for parents:
Self-made teethers
When mummy Debbie Chia found a black, foul- smelling liquid squirting out of the air hole of her daughter's favourite teether, she was horrified. It was mould.
She decided to create her own teethers.
Last December, Debbie began an online store 'Annie + Alex', selling Scandinavian-themed teethers and accessories, all self-designed, and made of non-toxic beech wood and food-grade silicone.
This mummy of 2 has been quoted by The Straits Times as saying, "I used to just buy whatever was popular among parents, but this time, I tried to create something rather than follow a trend. I feel very accomplished about what I've done so far."
Nursing bottles with a difference
As a mummy of 4, Yvon Bock knew how challenging and stressful the breastfeeding journey was, especially for working mums.
She tells The Business Times, "To be a working mum and exclusively give milk to my child, I had to express at work. There are so many steps involved to pump, express, transfer, defrost and to feed with repeated steps of transferring containers."
"During this entire process I was thinking, shouldn't there be a way to make our lives easier? We should be able to express, store and feed with the same container. It was these pain points that really drove and inspired me to start Hegen."
Hegen baby bottles were born after almost 5 years of intensive research and development, and are designed to minimise spillage and wastage, and to make the nursing experience simple and hassle-free. It's revolutionary features include it's twist-to-open square bottle design, as well as its interchangeable feeding and storage bottle lids.
Local brand of formula milk
Singapore now has it's very own 'Made in Singapore' brand of formula milk, 'Einmilk'. Apparently, 2 Singaporean papas, Alvin Tan and Eric Chua were having a chat at a local coffeeshop one day, where they talked about work, life, children, and...rising formula milk prices in Singapore!
That's when one of them had a sudden thought: "What if we could do something to help families cope with the rising cost of formula, a necessity for young children?"
Einmilk was launched in May this year, and comes in three formulations ranging in price from $33 to $39 for an 800g tin, with a lactose-free version costing $25 for 400g. Click here for a free sample.
A parenting app for new parents and parents-to-be
New parents often feel like they are stumbling in the dark and have a million questions. While most of us Google away our thoughts, we wish there were experts and other parents we could confide in, without risking our privacy?
Mummy Roshni Mahtani realised that a growing group of parents wanted to be anonymous when voicing their worries and concerns, something that Facebook groups and other platforms didn't offer. And thus was born theAsianparent app, a parenting app that is both iOS and Android friendly.
So, whether it is resources on pregnancy, baby development, child education, mummy's health concerns or just problems with your in-laws, theAsianparent app gives you the flexibility to shoot away your questions with the option of anonymity.
You also get instant access to theAsianparent's latest articles. And did we mention that there are plenty of cool contests and giveaways running as well?!
Mum jewellery that is baby-safe
After her daughter was born, mummy Charmaine Chee realised that she could no longer wear her costume jewellery as her baby was constantly trying to bite and chew on it.
So she began online store Lluie, which specialises in handmade "mum jewellery", kids necklaces and teether toys that are made of "100 per cent non-toxic" materials, like silicone and wood.
She tells The Straits Times, "When I see Delia playing with the necklace or chomping on it, it makes me happy. It tells me that I've done something good."
Global makeup brand for kids
When her 5-year-old daughter's face broke out into a severe rash after she applied adult make-up for a ballet recital, mummy Jessica Tang rushed her to the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics.
She started searching for make up that was safe to use on children, but while she found products that were meant for those with sensitive skin, there were none specially formulated for children.
And that's how, C'est Moi, the world's reputedly first performance make-up and professional skincare brand for children aged four to 12, came to be. The brand is already well-established internationally, in countries like Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Australia.
"This is not about vanity. It's about providing for a need. There are so many children who perform for their school or dance concerts and they are using harsh adult cosmetics on their faces."
"I did this to help kids, especially performing kids." Today, hundreds of students, especially those in dance and performing arts schools in Singapore, use C'est Moi products.
Taste- safe play dough
Mummy Sylvia Seow had her doubts whether commercially available play dough was truly non-toxic and safe as it claimed to be.
Together with a mummy friend, she found a recipe online, which she then developed and perfected as a home-made play dough. Soon they started getting requests from other mummies.
That's how Messy Fingers, an online shop selling taste- safe play dough and play dough kits, was formed.
The play dough that this duo makes is squishy, but non-sticky, and coloured with food-grade colouring and scented with essential oils such as lavender and lemon.
Sylvia has been quoted by The Straits Times as saying, "It's been nice seeing kids having fun with our play dough. We want to share with others the joy of playing."
Fragranced diaper disposal bags
Stinky diapers were the inspiration for this Singapore dad!
When his daughter came into his life a few years back, daddy Jeremy Tan and his wife would place dirty diapers in a bag and dispose of them at the end of the day in a dustbin outside their house. He realised that well-made and affordable diaper disposal bags was a scarcity in Singapore.
And so he launched QuickGrab Fragranced Nappy Disposal Bags. The bags, cost $4.50 for 125 pieces if bought online, and are made of biodegradable plastic. They are also fragrant and can be tied up, which helps in eliminating the stench.
Roti-making robot
Pranoti Nagarkar Israni realised that kneading the dough and rolling them out into rotis or chapatis was a hard, time-consuming task. So this engineer mum, together with her hubby Rishi Israni, invented Rotimatic - a roti making robot!
Simply select the thickness of the roti, roast level, amount of oil and number of rotis required, and press a button- voila, you have your rotis! The machine can make up to 20 cooked rotis in under 30 minutes, using only whole wheat flour, oil and water.
The Rotimatic is such an innovative and popular idea that it received a special mention in Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech last year.
Pranoti tells The Straits Times, "The making of roti - it's the same amount of hassle and pain required when washing clothes with your hands. When you have a washing machine, you realise how much time it saves you."
"Rotimatic is similar, in terms of saving you time and tedious labour. And you get a cooked product at the end of it."
(Source: The Straits Times, The Business Times)
Also READ: Inspirational mumpreneurs in Singapore!