Anne Marie Chang Pin Tive

A mother of three grown children and already a grandmother, Anne Marie has 34 years’ experience minding children under her belt. She is a firm but gentle mum who has cultivated a close relationship to her own children “but when it’s time to put my foot down, I do it, for their own good” she says.

Like many other Childminders, she started by minding one child but news soon spread and other parents rapidly sought her help to mind their children when they were at work.

At the time of our visit she had seven children in her care but was expecting two others to join later that month. Her daughter, her assistant, has inherited the love of children from her mother and gets along wonderfully with them.

Anne-Marie acknowledges that children need lots of activities to grow up well hence she tries to keep them as entertained as possible; “We go to the baby gym at Baie Lazare, on the playground, on the beach, they play hula-hoops, we paint, dance, we have lots of fun, while they learn to share, interact, and communicate.” To ensure they have plenty of energy, they are provided with lunch as well as plenty of healthy snacks, which parents also bring at times.

Annemarie is faced with a few business constraints at times “some parents don’t pay on time, I try to talk to them to educate them on the negative impact of their non-payment on my operations.” Thankfully, she does not have many debts to pay-off; she did not have to make too many modifications to her house to bring it up to standard “I only had to install balustrades in my verandah and put a gate in the kitchen entrance.

Despite the difficulties, Ms. Chang Pin Tive loves her work but is increasingly aware that as she gets older she tires easily and recognizes that she may have to stop at some point. To try to relax after a long week of work Anne Marie likes to go to church, she is active in a number of charity groups and often goes to help out with their activities. She also enjoys shopping and often goes to town to see what she can find for herself as well as the children.

She is grateful for the training and knowledge received from IECD, especially the first aid and fire safety programs and encourages other people who want to care for children to register, “it’s a lot of work, but when you see the children progressing, it’s very rewarding.”