Hong Kong - Post Report Question and Answers
Are preschools available? Day care? Are these expensive? What has been your experience with them, if any? Do the schools provide before- and/or after-school care?
Preschools are plentiful. Prices vary. Preschools with mostly expat children are expensive, but you can enroll your children in local preschools, which are less costly. Hong Kong doesn't offer typical day care. Schools do not provide before or after school care. Most working couples hire live in nannies. - Jun 2020
I have no direct experience, but I would think most families with a need probably hire a helper. - Jul 2018
They are around but most people opt for a live-in helper who takes care of the house and non-school-aged kids. Some people have one helper per kid, or one helper per kid and one to take care if the house....definitely a different lifestyle. It is very unusual to not have a live-in helper but there are some Consulate families, couples, and singles who go without. - Apr 2016
Yes. Preschool is available and very expensive (part-time programs range between US$700 and $1500 per month). - Feb 2015
Preschool prices are outrageous in most places. They want around US$12K for 15 hour weeks. I have a nanny/cook/maid that lives in for a base pay of $515. - Mar 2012
No idea. Seems most people just use domestic helpers for pre-school childcare. - Mar 2012
Everyone I know who has children has a live-in nanny / 'helper'.It is very affordable, and people often say that the availability and affordabilty of the helpers is one of the best things about being an expat in Hong Kong. - Aug 2010
Don't know about pre-school, although I'm sure it's readily available. Almost everyone gets Philippina/Indonesian domestic helpers full time if they have children. It's cheap, good quality labor and a routine practice among the expats of Hong Kong. - Jun 2010
Hong Kong has a great immigration scheme where they allow domestic helpers to come in from Indonesia, Thailand, the Phillippines, etc. If you sponsor one of these helpers, it is Hong Kong dollars $3600 per month (divide that by eight for approximate U.S. dollar equivalent) and that gets you six days a week of full-time live-in child care, cleaning, running errands, etc. It is a really nice set up. In addition there are lots of preschool programs as well as stuff like Mommy & Me, Little Gym, language classes, music classes, etc. Hong Kong is a very child-centered city in a lot of ways. - Jun 2008
