Two of Ms Yap's children Chee Kiang and Chi Hwee, get $45 a month each from The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. -- PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

'We seldom buy them toys,' said their mother, housewife Yap Siew Huay, 36, in Mandarin. Or any of the small luxuries other children take for granted, for that matter.

Ms Yap's contractor husband, Mr Lim Yong Lok, 40, makes $1,600 a month, padding the sum with part-time catering work that brings in another $100 or $200.

The sum, he says, is enough to live on, but it leaves the family little spending money for non-necessities.

Two of their four children - special-needs pupil Chee Kiang, 10, and his sister Chi Hwee, eight - receive $45 a month each from The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which provides pocket money for more than 8,000 needy children.

When The Straits Times visited their clean, but sparsely furnished, four-room Yishun flat, the older two were doing homework in their room, while their younger sister, Chi Ling, five, and brother, Chee Ming, four, were playing in the living room.

'I haven't the heart to scold them,' Mr Lim said, as Chi Ling clambered onto the couch and draped herself around her father's shoulders.

The television was tuned in to the Channel 8 reality show Life Transformers, in which MediaCorp artists Quan Yifeng and Christopher Lee visit the homes of needy families and, with a team of energetic young volunteers, help them make a fresh start.

Mr Lim pointed to the television, where Quan and Lee were scrubbing the grimy floors of the home of a chronically ill woman with five children. 'There are other families a hundred times worse off than us,' he said.

'At least I have the time and energy to do the housework,' Ms Yap added, smiling.

Indeed, the flat was spotless. Year of the Rat Chinese New Year decorations and family photographs lined the walls.

The couple are looking for ways and means to provide for their children. In October last year, Mr Lim, who did not complete secondary school, tried his hand at driving a taxi part time, but quit after three months when cab fares went up and ridership fell.

Ms Yap, a sales promoter at Seiyu before she was married, said she has trouble finding a job because she dropped out of school after Primary 6.

Now, she is hoping to find a part-time job as a nanny.

The family upgraded from a three-room Geylang Bahru flat to their current home a year ago. Mr Lim said they are lucky - the flat has been paid for through savings, Central Provident Fund and housing grants.

On weekends, they cycle at Yishun Park or go to the nearby Northpoint mall. They would like to go to the Singapore Zoo or Jurong BirdPark, but the ticket cost has become prohibitive.

As their children grow older and start to pay attention to material goods, Mr Lim and Ms Yap are beginning to worry.

Recently, Chi Hwee asked for a mobile phone as her classmates have the gadget. 'Whom are you going to call?' Ms Yap retorted.

They are concerned about Chee Kiang, who had an operation for a severely bent spine in 2006 and now wears a brace. He attends Katong School because of his attention-deficit disorder.

Most of all, they are concerned about their children's education. 'I can't even read some of the children's books; the words are so difficult,' said Ms Yap.

So, it falls on the quiet Chi Hwee to teach her younger siblings. As the elder sister, she is independent enough to attend school camps on her own, her mother said.

But how long she will be able to teach her siblings is another question, and alternatives are out of the question.

'Tuition? No money - no need to talk about tuition,' said Ms Yap.

caiwj@sph.com.sg

LACK OF FUNDS

'Tuition? No money - no need to talk about tuition.'

Ms Yap Siew Huay, 36, mother of four children

COUNT OUR BLESSINGS

'There are other families a hundred times worse off than us.'

Mr Lim Yong Lok, Ms Yap's husband