Security firms enrolled for bullied Singapore kids: Babysitting or bodyguarding?

The New Paper reports that a growing number of Singapore parents are hiring bodyguard-babysitters from private investigation and security firms. The Singapore bodyguards' task -- protect children from bullies and/or shield them from 'bad company.'

We're not sure what bad company means, but consider Mrs Lee, a housewife in her early forties, as an example. The report says she "sought a bodyguard's help because she was determined to stop her son from hanging around malls with a group of schoolmates."

Demand must be on the rise -- private investigation firm Kokusai says it introduced a bodyguarding service after getting more requests from working parents who find it difficult supervising their children.

These aren't services for celebrity or uber-rich District 10 kids. According to the New Paper, parents who employ bodyguards are typically both working and living in four-room flats. The fee for one such service is about S$100 a day. We couldn't find any figures on how many security escort details have been enrolled by parents, but the trend is not entirely new -- Mainguard Security Services has been offering security escorts for families since 2005.

Mainguard's chief P Kalastree told the New Paper: "In short, more children are pampered. With parents having fewer children nowadays, they're more worried for the young ones' safety."

Is there a need in Singapore for bodyguards for children? You tell us.