usaik:

Hi,


My son has been asking for a pet. He has been asking for a dog or rabbit or hamster. As having a pet is a great responsibility and we definitely do not want any pet to suffer or worst die under his care. As such I am wondering if there is any rent-a-pet service in Singapore which allow the child to experience how is it like to look after a pet before committing to it long term. Anyone know one around?

Don't know any rent-a-pet services. But my child had a class pet which meant the responsibility was shared with a whole class of children. They had quite a bit of fun. Of course you'll need to ask the class teacher and the school. Not all schools would allow it. But pets can help children understand responsibility.

Hort park is a really nice place. Or you can try Normanton Park and then walk to Hort park.

ChiefKiasu:

Dr.Gerbera:

Kindergartens are tricky. I don't have any to recommend but I have one that I would discourage you to place your child. This kindy is called \"XXX Service Provider name removed by moderator XXX\" located at farrer. I had a very bad experience there. They put a lot of effort in trying to make a good impression but its all a facade.

Dear Dr.Gerbera, while we allow negative comments on service providers, it is necessary that you are prepared to provide more details specific to your experiences and personally stand by your claims if you wish to name the provider. We do not allow remarks without justifications.

Definitely. I understand and apologize for that. I'm new here so I did not know how to bring my opinion across better.
There are a few justifications to my claim of course, or there will be no reason behind me making such a negative comment.
When my girlfriend's child attended the kindy when it was then located in farrer court, there were no children's toilets attached in the classroom and the children had to use the adult toilets. This is unacceptable as it is mandatory by MOE for pre-schools to have proper facilities for safety, care and hygiene. It is a wonder how they managed to get their pre-school registration license at all.
Secondly, the teachers were not all registered as we found out later. Two teachers did not have a diploma in early childhood at all (There were 4 teachers altogether including the principal). This should, however, be mandatory of all teachers, especially in one which is a montessori based classroom charging very high for each month.
These are just two justifications for my negative comment. The kindy has since moved and I haven't been near it. Hopefully there would have been some better changes.
I am just hoping to encourage everyone to be careful when choosing a kindergarten. While its not easy to tell if the kindergarten is good because we are not there attending it ourselves, a good way of knowing is to ask the child about the classes and see if he/she is enjoying it. Children will give the honest truth. A very good sign is when the child loves going to school and is happy with his or her learning environment.

Kindergartens are tricky. I don't have any to recommend but I have one that I would discourage you to place your child. This kindy is called \"XXX Service Provider name removed by moderator XXX\" located at farrer. I had a very bad experience there. They put a lot of effort in trying to make a good impression but its all a facade.