Yes yes, good to know you and lets keep in touch :hi5:


heehee, I try to devote my time entirely to my boy after work ! (except sometimes no choice got to clear work ). Otherwise, I would plan the activities to do with my boy (housework can wait - hahaha). It can be as simple as squeezing orange with him to make orange juice together. We enjoyed the process! Next plan to make real lemonade juice (he saw in cartoons).

I am not really that hardworking - just take pleasure in watching my boy lear, its fascinating - kids his age has insatiable appetite for knowledge!

I think the childcare teachers are highlighting the shortcoming areas so parents can collaborate with them too. They have not labelled my child slow but they do emphasize the need to get him geared up in this area. They did say he's still young but I can't help getting worried he will lag behind if i don't do something - call me kiasu...


I have already noted the activities you suggested and thanks Bud for sharing such great ideas! :thankyou: He is very into playdoh now so will introduce a variety of activities I disagree with some of my friends who think we should just leave it to school to train up our kids. Parents play a part too in nurturing our child's development.

Hi Buds


Thanks! I may just get the narrow stencils for him to try. New tools may interest him.

He can close bottle caps and container covers. He can piece puzzles (those kids size) to form a picture. He knows all the alphabets and can use his fingers to display, like do an 'O' or \"C' or 'V'. He can engage in playing scissors, paper, stone using his fingers - a bit slow and he plays cheat to win but he grasps the concept.

Activities such as building tower blocks, lego, playdoh - happily yes.

When it comes to print activities - fundamental to his learning, he has no interest and it gets on my nerves to coach him. :stupid:

tracing dots-to-dots - cannot do, looks elsewhere
Coloring - a bit, usually colors beyond borders
tracing letters - cannot do, looks elsewhere
Cutting paper - loves holding scissors but after cutting a while, claims fingers sore
String beads - no interest -ends up throwing the beads all over the place

Each print activities I tried to get him to do ends up with him scribbling happily, or he insists we to draw his favourite themes (cars, trucks, flowers, eggs, nest etc) for him.

should i tell the CCC teachers to relax - he is simply not ready ?

Is it possible to teach our kids how to handle bullying from Nursey stage or Pre-K? such as how to teach our kid to process criticisim or handle envy…


Or this is part of growing up where they have to learn how to defend themselves ? but what if they are at such a tender age and does not know how to express ?

Seeking inputs here, just wondering based on experience, would the stencils be good practice for a 2yr+ to learn how to write alphabets ?


My dd childcare teachers have told me repeatedly to work on his fine motor skills as he is the only one lacking behind in writing skills for his Pre-Nursery/Nursey class.

Is is common for 3yr old to be able to trace letters already ? My dd only keen to write Os and scribble now.

My little dynamo is a boy.


Same same - so far, I only found music appreciation courses intake for 3 years old. For swimming, I am holding on for another year or so cos he seemed to be quite weak (always falling sick). And I scare if i send him to martial arts type of class - later he may engage in fights.

Probably I will inquire about the contact Sachiko pmed first.

Thanks Sachiko. Can the public just walk in and take a look ? if not, can I trouble you to share the contacts ?

Hello All


I am looking for sport/exercise classes for my dd at nearby locations.

I looked at the Sengkang CC and it seems that all activity-related classes are for much older kids like 5 and above ?

All other activites (dance, gymnastics etc) seemed to be located some distance away and travelling would be a hassle. Hence, tapping resources here if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks !

Hello Mummies


I am a newbie to this portal and have been reading up the discussion regarding gifted child or not. As my hb says, every parent would like to think his/her child is special and gifted so i read up to find out more. This thread is very informative thanks to mummies sharing own experience, viewpoints and many useful links posted for further reading.

After reading, I am quite certain that my boy is average (though I used to fantasize he might have some potential).

My boy (2.5 now)
can recognize all colors (coz he has interest)
can piece 4-6 puzzles (coz it has a bull dozer print and i think he did it via memory)
can read simple beginner reader books (again, recite from memory coz he pushes us to read to him again and again. I memorize some of them myself!)
very imaginative, a little spin master like throw his pacificer into milk bottle then claim his toy truck did that (then i discovered leftist are more imaginative but sometimes i think his thoughts are all jumbled up esp at end of the day.)
enjoys reading pictionary

cannot recite 1-10 in proper order (no interest in numbers, while some younger than his age can do that already)
cannot sit still to finish sorting the shapes (easily frustrated when he tries to push a pentagon into a decagon)
can recognize almost all alphabets around 2 yrs (again, only with same set of flash cards)
monolingual (being horrible parents, we laugh at his poor Mandarin pronounciation )
can only write C or O (coz he only has interests in round shapes! but we are not too worried now as he will learn in his kindy)
get complained by CCC teachers almost on daily basis on his cheeky antics or bullying of elder kids by him

I sometimes worry his developmental milestone as he does well in some areas and not so well in others. We do hope however that he will get more street-smart as we see that as survival skills in life later.

Things are different for my nephew. My nephew is a fast learner. He tops his class despite hardly studying at home. No tutors, find excuses to skip class etc. He has good attention span and learns just be attending class. Self taught savvy with computers as my bro and SIL are quite computer illiterate. Start talking very early according to my SIL. He talks about mature topics such as death etc at a very young age since 4 or 5.
However, he could be quite 'different' - he gets depressive and stressed (probably perfectionist and highly self-critical). He has been counselled externally and at school since P2 as he has violent tempers and issue serious death threats (throw them off the building or stab them with knives) to his parents when they don't yield to his wishes. He now claims that he has gone over to 'the dark side' (he idolizes the Darth Vader in the Star Wars). He is quite antisocial- no friends and refused to make any and open his mouth to buy food in school canteen though he's P5 this year(my SIL prepares meals for him everyday).

I am hoping to gather more information on these 2 areas:
1. Developmental milestone (N1/N2/K1/K2)

2. Suggestions on help for my bro/SIL on how to manage the situation with my nephew.

Anyone has similar experience ?
Or any advises to offer on how to (like pyschiatrist)?

Or please point me to the correct thread on these two topics. Thanks

Hi There,


I just joined yesterday, still cruising around.

Sengkang working mum with one boy in full day childcare. Searching for kindergartens when he’s due in 2 years.