Am I doing my ds a disservice?

[corneyAmber]

tamarind:

True but all these actions do have repercussions in the bigger scheme of \"education\" and you will be indirectly affected, like it or not.

Enough have been said, best you find out more yourself when you go through it next year.

[corneyAmber]

tamarind:

Actually I think that attending many enrichment classes is still better than watching TV and playing computer games all day at home.

Btw, it is pathetic that parents only have 3 choices, enrichment or TV or computer games. It's now even sadder to know that people do not know what to do with their time!!

[corneyAmber]

sleepy:

My take is, help the child to learn if he or she is willing & capable. My dd is not learning as much as she would like from her primary school. Quoting her, 'I went to school to play'. Her teacher is not so impressed but that's another topic

So to keep her interested in learning, we've to expose her to other stuff not taught in school. Very often, the simple act of having enriching books around in house is sufficient. She can pick up & read for self-learning. However I do not believe in hothousing or drilling the child. Learning more advanced levels should be a breeze, not a torture to the child.

By the way, my dd does not attend any enrichments since entering primary school. She plays piano for leisure, no exam. Only attending Arts once a week.

Kudos to you.

[tamarind]

BeautifulLife:

We nurture our kids(academically) based on their character.My ds do not dislike doing work but won't ask to do work.

We should definitely do so.
I know a 6 year old kid who says \"I like Algebra. Let me do more Algebra\" hahaha no joke.

ks2me:

Enough have been said, best you find out more yourself when you go through it next year.

I would not have the chance to find out leh. I am too tired to bring the kids to many classes. Like sleepy, my girl is not going for any enrichment classes next year when she enters P1, except piano class which she loves. We only have books, lego, ZOOB, colour pencils and paper at home, no computer games for her.

ks2me:

Btw, it is pathetic that parents only have 3 choices, enrichment or TV or computer games.

This is absolutely true. I read about one parent who says that her GEP girl must play computer games to de-stress, like there is no other way.

girlmum:

My heart just felt for the poor child if he/she has to drag himself/herself to all these classes when he/she does not enjoys it.

I think most parents will withdraw their kids if they don't see any results from the enrichment classes after a while. I don't believe there are many parents with too much money to waste.

[corneyAmber]

tamarind:

We should definitely do so.
I know a 6 year old kid who says \"I like Algebra. Let me do more Algebra\" hahaha no joke.

Yes it is believable, there are always exceptional kids around but not the majority. I know a few too. However, the multiple tuition/enrichment kids have become an unbelievably huge population. :lol:

I would not have the chance to find out leh. I am too tired to bring the kids to many classes. Like sleepy, my girl is not going for any enrichment classes next year when she enters P1, except piano class which she loves. We only have books, lego, ZOOB, colour pencils and paper at home, no computer games for her.

Surely you have a chance. Hint: You do not need to go to enrichment centres to find out.

I think most parents will withdraw their kids if they don't see any results from the enrichment classes after a while.

Yes certainly, when the kids burn out and start to rebel which I know of 2 cases, a point of no return, parent-child bond totally broken.

[KSP]

Let me share my thoughts and experiences.


I will try to avoid as much as possible letting my child play computer game. But my version of game are more towards educational. The reason is I came to aware that when a child spend too much time looking at the screen the child will most likely ended with glasses at young age (which is a very common symptom nowadays).

To be honest, my dd likes and enjoys whatever classes (both academic and sports) we sign up for her. The reason is she can make new friends there. On the class day we don’t have to drag her there. She is always the one who keep checking the watch to make sure she is not late for the class.

One day, we asked our dd whether she likes all the classes she was attending. The answer was an immediate ‘yes’. Then we asked her to rank all the classes she was attending from ‘most like’ to ‘least like’ and the reasons - without any influence from us.

The answers and reasons were:
1st Speech and drama - can perform and no test, no homework
2nd Sports - can excercise and no test, no homework
3rd (and last) - Languages enrichement - there are tests and homework

So (for my case) kids are still kids. They still like to play and dislike stress. I also think we as parents nowadays have come to a stage whereby before we enrol our children to any classes, we explain to them why there is a need and how the course will help them in their school work and exam, blah blah blah…

We try to convince them to synchronise their thinking to ours and to understand what we do is good for them. The worst thing is WE MAKE THEM THINK LIKE ADULT AT VERY YOUNG AGE. The good thing is they mature at young age but they will lose their fun time at childhood.

I’m seriously thinking of cutting down those listed in her ‘least like’ starting next year but I still have to strike a balance so that it won’t affect her learning progress.

And just fyi my dd is P1 going P2 next year.

[James Ang]

Life is not a bed of roses, if we ask the children, then the ‘least like’ activities are usually those that come with tests and homework, cutting down is like not facing reality and instead choosing the soft and easy options? If we ask children whether they like candy or vegetables, we’ll know what is their preference.

[tamarind]

ks2me:

However, the multiple tuition/enrichment kids have become an unbelievably huge population

I agree. That's why people like to say that there are many exceptionally bright kids nowadays, trained + untrained ones.

ks2me:

Yes certainly, when the kids burn out and start to rebel which I know of 2 cases, a point of no return, parent-child bond totally broken.

It is best to let those parents learn the lesson the hard way.

KSP:

To be honest, my dd likes and enjoys whatever classes (both academic and sports) we sign up for her. The reason is she can make new friends there.

Yes I think most kids like to be with friends. Also most kids like to go out, going to enrichment classes are like \"outings\" for them.

[corneyAmber]

Spot on KSP on your feedback from your child! Thanks for sharing the reality. :celebrate:


Again just for the record, I have NOTHING against academic enrichment /tuition nor any other kind of enrichment at all(KSP's example sounds fine to me). Just appalled at EXTREME cases of multiples of similar enrichment for same subject when a child is not weak in the subject but just to gain a few more points or get 1/2/3 in position. :faint:

[girlmum]

ks2me:

Again just for the record, I have NOTHING against academic enrichment /tuition nor any other kind of enrichment at all(KSP's example sounds fine to me). Just appalled at EXTREME cases of multiples of similar enrichment for same subject when a child is not weak in the subject but just to gain a few more points or get 1/2/3 in position. :faint:

Right on, ks2me! You've taken the words out of my mouth. Totally agreed with your views. :celebrate: Fyi, my dd2 (P3 next yr) is only having abacus lessons which started when she was in K2. (she enjoys it and claimed that it helps her in math)