WHILE most children here can only fantasise about having their own tree houses,  young Sol Richmond has one right in his living room.

The structure, made of real wood, stretches from floor to ceilingand is 4m wide. His  mother, Beatrice Chia-Richmond, creative director of concert promoter Running Into The Sun (RITS), laughingly calls it extreme parenting.

The family lives in a semi-detached house in the east.

The 36-year-old, who’s married to former TV presenter Mark Richmond, told The  New Paper that she spent $4,000 on the tree house when Sol was only nine months old.

The boy is now three and still enjoys playing hide-and-seek there. He is the  couple’s only child.

Chia-Richmond added: “I love him and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

“I want him to have different experiences because I believe exposure and  experiences are important to a child.

“The last thing I want is for him to be narrow-mindedand unexposed.”

She admitted that she andherhusband enjoy splurgingon their little one.

Chia-Richmond said she gets Sol whatever he wants, whether it’s clothes or toys.

She said her husband buys toys for the boy “in a big way too”. “Sol has around 100 toy cars and 20 toy aeroplanes of different models, sizes and colours, lots of books, musical instruments and other toys,” said Chia-Richmond.

“I don’t set myself a budget when it comes to him. Of course, I wouldn’t spend a thousand dollars on a pair of shoes forhim because he will outgrow them.”

She said she puts more emphasis on the quality of his clothes. Each piece of  clothing costs $40 to $100.

Travel
Another of her indulgences is taking her son overseas. “I’ve taken him travelling with me since he was four months old because I can’t bear to be without him,” she said.

“We’ve been to places like the US, Australia, Spain, Paris,London and HongKong.

“I looked at his passport once and laughed. He could be the most well-travelled three-year-old.”

At one point, Chia-Richmond added, the boy would bein Singapore for  a week before flying off again. She estimates his trips at 10 a year, and spends around  $2,000 each time on just the boy’s travel expenses.

One reason is that they travel only on Singapore Airlines (“He needs his personal TV set on the plane.”) and the boy has to pay the full fare for his own seat.

This means that Sol’s three years of jet-setting have set the couple back by  60,000.

The couple take turns to pay the travel costs, she said.

She added that she brings home a five-figure sum each month through her work in RITS , hosting corporate events and as an artistic director with theatre  ompany Toy Factory.

She is currently directing the stand-up comedy show, The Vlee Conference, which will be held at Zirca TheCannery from Sept 1.

Chia-Richmond considers the money well-spent, and doesn’t think she is spoiling her child.

“I don’t qualify things in terms of money...You cannot put a price on life  experiences,” she explained.

“I want him to be versatile and know that there’s a world beyond him, his school  and playground.” But she added that the best gift to a child is still time, and admitted that she turns down at least one job every month to spend more time with him.

This article was first published in The New Paper.