SHD SEND CHILD TO NORMAL CHILDCARE OR BRANDED CHILDCARE?
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Hi all,
i m a newbie here.
i ve a currently 16mth old son. I intend to send him to half day childcare fm 19th mths onwards in jan 2011 cos dont tink he s learning anything fm in laws place. Tot a school environment cd help him learn more n mingle with other children.
however in a dilemma whether to spend such big $$ like $1000 plus on those branded preschools.
i ve visited a few so called branded ones but i m not exactly impressed with their curriculum. dont no if my expectations too high or not visiting the right centres. i wd really appreciate some advice fm anyone.
maybe i can give more information about wat i expected.
I ve started my son on "Your Baby can read" since he was 3 mths old. Done eng flashcards with him since 6mths n chinese flashcards since he turn 1 yr old. Jus started on alphabets. For maths i tried the brillkids little maths programme but yet to complete since i tink it s a very advanced prog. i m worried dat shd i hv a 2nd child , i wont b able to sustain the same level of commitment so nd some help.
Right now, i m looking for a half day childcare dat do teach them phonics n reading or continue with flashcards or at least sth equivalent. but apparently most centres at this age dont start these lessons till 3plus yrs old, even those very branded centres. only do things dat relate to psychomotor skills or everyday communication skills whch i believe can get fm any other low cost centres.
jus wanna fine tune my expectations…
shd i send to a simple childcare n add in additional enrichment programmes elsewhere or shd i really pay e amount to a gd centre?
Pls help me. so stressful. -
Hello hello
I absolutely know how it feels… not easy to find a good place that you can trust your baobei…
Me and my friends went hunting and visited so many places… expensive/branded/normal…
finally we have found a place. not extravangant but very very happy. its a long story on how we found this place. never regret, and been there since my DD was 2. -
yeah i think your expectations on what a preschool or childcare should cover for a 16 or 18 month old is too high. most haven’t even started talking properly yet at that age, much less get started on phonics…
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Agree to what toddles said.
Your expectation is way too high. No childcare ctr will teach phonics to a 19mths kid. I would advise you to continue what you have done to your child. Parents are still the best teachers. -
Hi, hyperbunny.
As a fellow mother of 2 kids who are currently in primary schools, I hope my sharing would be of help..
It's understandable that every parent wants the best for his child. But I really feel that, instead of embarking on so many 'intelligence enhancing' stuff with your DS, you should just let him play. Kids at this age learn best through playing than through formal and structure teaching. You should spend time discovering your child's temperament and bend and understand him better. Some kids learn best through doing while others through hearing or seeing. Every kid has an unique learning style. Discovering his learning style will help you to help him learn better. That's the main reason why the same set of teaching tool is effective on one child and not another.
Your child has only 1 childhood, so please let him enjoy these precious years.
You are right, you can do a lot when you have only 1 kid. When #2 comes along, you would not be able to spend that kind of time with your #1.
As for me, my DH and I put our 2 kids in a church-affiliated childcare centre because of our faith. It is housed in a void deck of a HDB block and very near our home. No frills nor thrills. Looking back, we were glad of our choice because the teachers there were firm but caring. Our kids had a fabulous time learning (mornings) and playing (afternoons). We also made it a point NOT to send our kids to any enrichment classes except for Chinese (as both of us come from English-speaking homes). As working parents, we wanted to spend as much time with our kids on weekends playing and bonding rather than ferrying them from one enrichment class to another.
Our kids are now in primary school and doing very well. Don't think they are disadvantaged in anyway despite playing a lot during their formative years.
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I totally agree with you!
No offence but soo many parents now a days send their kids for every single enrichment class they can get but what’s the point if everyone else is doing the same?
Well i m very glad my parents never did that to me and what i remember of my childhood is much time at the playground with my grandparents, going out with my parents/reading with my parents, taking afternoon naps with my grandparents. And i wonder how many kids will be able to say "i spent alot of time with my family" when they are older.
I guess alot of them would say "i went for a lot of enrichment classes"
Anw, if you do wish to send your child to classes why not try some enrichment centers or playgroup instead of child care centers cos child care centers don’t do much with the kids especially at that young age. -
thanks a lot for everyone's replies.
i believe i m indeed over expecting.
sigh.. initially when i first tried all the flashcards, it was jus out of curiosity since i m into education biz. very amazed by the baby's potential but aft doing it for so long, tot it s a waste for not continuing the practice. but i agree with all of u, most imptly they must learn thru play which is most effective. anyway jus found one centre dat does afterall teach phonics but in an enjoyable manner, environment s homey n inviting for kids. best of all, it s not dat stressful on e pocket. so glad. :celebrate:
many thanks for all ur encouragement n feedback.
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Glad that you finally found something you would like your kid to go for and maybe for your kid to enjoy?
yep it’s true kids learn super fast!:) -
AppleCrumble:
Well Said!!! :goodpost:Hi, hyperbunny.
As a fellow mother of 2 kids who are currently in primary schools, I hope my sharing would be of help..
It's understandable that every parent wants the best for his child. But I really feel that, instead of embarking on so many 'intelligence enhancing' stuff with your DS, you should just let him play. Kids at this age learn best through playing than through formal and structure teaching. You should spend time discovering your child's temperament and bend and understand him better. Some kids learn best through doing while others through hearing or seeing. Every kid has an unique learning style. Discovering his learning style will help you to help him learn better. That's the main reason why the same set of teaching tool is effective on one child and not another.
Your child has only 1 childhood, so please let him enjoy these precious years.
You are right, you can do a lot when you have only 1 kid. When #2 comes along, you would not be able to spend that kind of time with your #1.
As for me, my DH and I put our 2 kids in a church-affiliated childcare centre because of our faith. It is housed in a void deck of a HDB block and very near our home. No frills nor thrills. Looking back, we were glad of our choice because the teachers there were firm but caring. Our kids had a fabulous time learning (mornings) and playing (afternoons). We also made it a point NOT to send our kids to any enrichment classes except for Chinese (as both of us come from English-speaking homes). As working parents, we wanted to spend as much time with our kids on weekends playing and bonding rather than ferrying them from one enrichment class to another.
Our kids are now in primary school and doing very well. Don't think they are disadvantaged in anyway despite playing a lot during their formative years.
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Branded or not, the place have to be clean, comfortable and spaceous enough for the toddlers to hang out, play or sleep.
Have seen the area where 16 toddlers sleep are like to size of the 4 office cubes. The kids just queue waiting for turn to bath. Like an army…
Most importantly is the teacher, the teacher must be kind and loving towards the children.
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