Former S'pore Idol contestant Maia Lee has a "nocturnal" family
PUBLISHED ONDecember 28, 2014 6:00 PMByJudith Tan
It's back to school in five days' time. For some, it's starting out at the 'big school'. Judith Tan finds out from former Singapore Idol contestant, Maia Lee, how she prepares and copes with this rite of passage.
MAIA LEE, 31
Former Singapore Idol contestant
As everyone in the family is "quite nocturnal" it may be difficult to get Lee's daughter up early in the morning.
Lee says with a laugh: "She is going by school bus from Day 1, and we don't know how early the bus will come."
Her headache is that child model and pageant champ Julka Phoenix Lee-Zidov, six, is used to sleeping in.
The family goes to bed at 1am at times.
Lee says she had registered Julka, whose pet name is Kaka, at Haig Girls' School, as it is near their home.
She found out only later that the school is going through extensive upgrading and has temporarily moved to New Upper Changi Road. It will be there until November 2016.
That means Kaka will have to take the school bus.
Lee confesses: "Now I really don't know if I can even get up in time to wake her up and get her ready."
First, she must try to get her gregarious daughter to bed early.
She says: "It's difficult. She is so full of energy and takes a long time to settle down for the night.
"The earliest she'll actually sleep is 11pm."
Having just returned from an acting stint in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, Lee admits that she hasn't done much to prepare the girl for "big school".
"My husband is the one who bought the books. He makes sure the children have all the school supplies ready," says Lee.
"Also from him, Kaka learns to pack her things and be responsible. He's the disciplinarian."
Lee says that Kaka, who is used to wearing glitzy costumes, has asked if she can "sew some bling onto her uniform".
Despite her girlishness, Lee is not worried about Kaka having to fend for herself in school.
She says: "Kaka is very different from her brother (Tyrese, 12). She is a fighter but she is also very good with her social skills.
"She hasn't had any issues when she was in kindergarten."
juditht@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Dec 28, 2014.
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