As I write this, my five-year-old is excitedly throwing toys, books and paint pots into a suitcase. She’s “packing her own bag” to spend five glorious days on the balmy beaches of Goa, after which her father and I will reunite with her in my home city of Mumbai.
This is the first time our daughter is travelling without us, but we’re fully confident that her grandparents will do a spectacular job in keeping her safe, fed and endlessly entertained. After all, they’ve played a massive role in raising my daughter.
As working parents, one with long hours and the other with a long commute, my husband and I get to spend perhaps 30 minutes of quality time with our child on weekdays. This is nowhere near enough. Not to monitor her words and actions so as to instil good values in real-time. Not to practise phonics, writing, reading and counting. Not to read as many bedtime stories as I’d like. And certainly not to recount as many anecdotes of her day as she’d like.
They say it takes a village to raise a child – and I rely on mine unabashedly.
From hiring a nanny three months before I was due to give birth, to living in the same apartment building as my in-laws, and counting on my parents to travel to Dubai whenever I need extra help (work trips; milestone birthday or anniversary weekends; and over some of the many, many school breaks). I have never hesitated in asking for child-rearing help.
It seems as though I’m in good company, too. The forward-thinking Swedes – who regularly rank as some of the happiest people in the world – officially allow grandparents to take paid leave to look after their children’s children.
The legislative change, which was introduced in Sweden last year, also extends to other relatives and even close friends, depending on who a couple feels most comfortable with to co-raise their kids.
Of course, when it comes to parenting, there are many schools of thought. Dubai resident Phagun Amin, who has an 18-month-old daughter, believes she’d lose some amount of control and find it harder to set boundaries were “I to let the grandparents become the parents”. Admittedly, this gave me pause.
Amin, 39, cites examples such as opting to give her child one or two toys at a time, as opposed to buying or exposing her to 10 at one go; or not feeding her newborn honey even though this is practised in some cultures.
“I have become a very structured person. Time management, routine, hygiene, safety and science-backed research are incredibly important to me on my personal motherhood journey,” says Amin. “It’s why only I have ever changed my baby’s diaper, why I don't want to send her to nursery just yet, and why I continue to nurse her at 18 months as per WHO guidelines, much to the incredulity of some of my friends.”
Amin, who gave up working when she embarked on the notoriously challenging IVF journey, adds: “To birth children only to hand them over to someone else to bring up is not my idea of parenting. To me, nobody can offer quite the same amount of love, nourishment and security as a parent, day on day, especially during those crucial early years when children are forming neurologically.”
Others, like Gerald Miller, rely on external help but “definitely not on a daily basis”.
“Perhaps it’s an American thing, but a night out with the wife has become something of a treat to plan after having our boy. We hire a sitter, and enjoy a few hours of quality time before making it back home early enough to be energetic for him in the morning,” says Miller, who works from home most weeks.
A third category of working parents have little choice but to rely on hired help, but they rarely expect, or receive, grandparental aid.
British-Indian mum Sharon Capper-Kaur – who describes her relationship with her parents as “complicated” – says she and her husband, James Capper, consider their nanny, Cristina, an integral member of the household.
“From meeting our nine-year-old daughter at the bus after school to taking her to extra-curricular clubs when we are at work, Cristina has been a blessing,” says Capper-Kaur. “Life is also so much easier in the mornings, when we are getting ready for work, and the nanny can ensure Soraya has had her breakfast and is ready for school.
“I feel mums and dads who try to do everything can feel a lot of pressure, even as a couple. Relying on a childcare professional who looks after the small things that in the moment are big things helps us not get snappy with each other, and instead spend proper quality time as a family and build those important bonds.
“My husband’s parents are elderly and can’t travel much, while I have a complicated relation with mine. So we don’t rely on family; it’s not the default for everyone.”
This is in contrast to the Satyani household, where one set of parents is flown in annually, from India or Nigeria, when the couple take a few weeks off to travel together. The ritual started years ago, when homemaker Reshma Satyani underwent terrible post-partum depression after giving birth to her now pre-teen twin daughters.
“Now, even though the girls are older and more independent, we alternate between the maternal and paternal grandparents for one whole month once a year. We are not comfortable leaving the children alone without family overnight, even though we trust our house help of many years,” says Satyani.
This is the model I most identify with, too – and luckily my husband’s parents and sister all live in Dubai. For me, having a family member monitor the baby’s upbringing offers a measure of comfort. Sure, she has been alone with the nanny now and again but, as a preference, we enlist the grandparents, sister-in-law and even a wise-beyond-her-years niece whenever we’re not around ourselves.
One happy bonus of this arrangement is our daughter, a single child for evermore, is exceptionally close to the family, gleaning lessons that will hopefully hold her in good stead.
In return (for want of a better word), we help out with whatever needs they might have, from driving my in-laws to doctors’ appointments and sending them home-cooked meals, to babysitting in turn for said sister-in-law.
The niece, meanwhile, is happy to be paid in matcha and cookies whenever she comes around, much to both hers and Baby M’s shared glee – and just one more thing they bond over.
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
·
Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
·
What is a portfolio stress test?
·
What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
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How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
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Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
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