‘Amahs’ employed to take care of babies (‘chow tsai’ in Cantonese) would often use such cloth carriers to carry the child ‘piggy-back’ style. Many amahs were excellent seamstresses, and made clothes or carriers for the children under their charge. Amahs were known for their loyalty to their employers. They were involved in three main areas of domestic activity: minding the children, cooking and household work. Those who were employed by less well-to-do households had to take on all domestic tasks. They were thus referred to as ‘yat keok tek’ (literally meaning '[to use] one leg to kick [everything]’ in Cantonese).
