School children enjoy their art classes during an early summer break under the A(H1N1) flu threat. Photos courtesy of Shine-art Studio

Summer started early this year for thousands of junior students. With the emergence of the first cluster of local A(H1N1) flu cases, kids have been at liberty to gambol about the town, while parents frantically search for daycare facilities or other places where their offspring may find useful engagement and supervision.

It's a great time for nannies, tutors and others who provide some form of childcare services. That aside, some working parents have been negotiating flexible working arrangements with employers as they try to strike a balance between parental responsibilities and work.

Finding childcare is critical for Mrs Lau, a cleaner at a shopping mall. She has a 6-year-old daughter and can't afford to hire a part-time maid. Lau has had to appeal to relatives to help her out with childcare when she has to go to work in the afternoon. The arrangement makes for a long commute, however, which makes her days even more exhausting.

"We live in Kwai Chung. Last Friday I took my girl to her aunt in Shatin before I went to work in Central. This Monday we visited my brother in Mong Kok," she said. "It looks like we'll have to do it in July until my mother visits from the mainland. She'll spend the summer here to take care of my daughter."

Anna Chong, a university student and part-time tutor, is caught in her own dilemma. Chong is called upon to stay home most of the day to look after her 7-year-old sister. That disrupts Chong's work. She has difficulty keeping appointments with her students.

"I have to reschedule most of my students to evenings. Fortunately the parents are very understanding," Chong explained. "During the day I'm free for two or three hours when my sister is at the tutorial school. It's barely enough time for me to meet one student before I have to dash off."

Time conflicts such as Chong is experiencing add up to overtime work for Mrs Leung, who works as a maid and nanny for two households in Kowloon Tong. Her normal work week is up to 40 hours, but now she has to work at least three hours extra every day to help her employers with their kids. There are some extra benefits.

"Usually I spend a half day in each household," Leung elaborated. "These days my employers ask me to stay behind for a bit longer so they don't have to rush home from work or other errands. My boss in the morning leaves food for me in the kitchen because I'm skipping my lunch break."

Helen Yeung, owner of Shine-art Studio, has her hands full, providing art classes and tutorial instructions. Attendance at her studio in Pokfulam has shot up since last Friday when junior schools were ordered to close. Some students are turning up to revise their coursework, in case examinations are resumed when the suspension of regular classes is lifted.

"Most parents think of it as an early summer break and expect their kids to utilize their time," Yeung remarked. "There are also those who have Canadian and US passports and they usually go away for the summer. This year they're staying in town and signing up for classes."

As precaution, the studio provides free clinical masks and anti-bacterial handwash for students. Students have to have their body temperature checked before class starts. "It's being responsible towards the community. The swine flu threat is real when you have a group of small children being so close to one another," she added.

Net cafes are enjoying a surge in business during the school suspension. Leung Yee-kwan, owner of a Net cafe in Mei Foo, noted a 20 percent increase in his business. "Most of these boys don't seem to care, but I disinfect the keyboard each time a customer is done with the computer. It's better safe than sorry."

Andy Chow, owner of a comic books rental store in Kennedy Town, is doing his part to contribute to public health. "I give handwash to each kid who comes in," he said. "I run a business that caters to kids and they're the high risk group for getting the bug. It'd be so easy to spread it in the community if any of these kids is infected."

For all the concern about children left to their devices, parents and those who employ them have to get creative to come up with solutions to the childcare challenge. Large corporations like Henderson Land Development have given the green lights for department heads to all special consideration for staff to take leave to care for their children.

With over 30 branches in Hong Kong, Pricerite has allowed office workers who are pregnant to work from home. Male employees with pregnant wives also may arrange flexible work hours. Wellcome supermarket, which has over 5,000 employees, is also giving priority to staff who have small children for annual leave allocations.

It's not so easy for staff who work for medium- and small-sized companies. Elaine Pang, a 32-year-old accountant for an advertising firm, says she has had more than one heated conversation with her manager over the possibility for her to work from home, where she could keep watch over her 5-year-old.

"I have a part-time maid in the morning. In the afternoon my daughter goes to an art school. These days she's not going anywhere and I have to ask a neighbor to help baby sit," Pang noted. "It'd be so much better if I can work at home half day, but my boss isn't budging at the moment."

A compromise with the boss is looking more likely for Selena Chan, a 34-year-old secretary. Chan has been leaving work early since Monday with the approval of her manager, so she can pick up her 4-year-old boy from tutorial school in the afternoon. She may go on half-days next week.

"Some of my duties can be done at home. The rest can be handled by a senior clerk for a while. My manager and I have worked together for seven years so he trusts me," she contended. "In times like this, when the flu scare is spreading, it'd be much more comforting if everyone is considerate of others."

(HK Edition 06/20/2009 page7)