Childcare or no Childcare?

[jedamum]

magg:

Regardless of how much love the caregivers can provide, nothing beats the trained or experienced teachers in providing the envrionment where kids are taught to be independent and be able to meet their basic needs themselves, and also an environment of learning and sharing.

Although I disagree on the above on a general basis....

magg:

Now I know I am not alone in terms of plight. Please seriously consider giving your child the opportunity to be immersed in CCC cultures and learning environment. It WILL be much more than grandparents, care givers can provide...

....I will certainly agree with magg that CCC offers a better options if the caregivers are not able to handle the kid's learning (physically, emotionally, intellectually) and that the parents find it hard to intervene (be it discipline wise or what) as the caregivers in such case spent more time with the kids.

[jedamum]

foreverj:

academia wise, i m quite ok with the current cc. n they have done a great job in terms of independence (such as can feed herself very well, toilet-trained etc). i know she loves her school and her friends too. the teachers r also loving n caring. but the falling sick is really getting to me :stupid: alth have to accept this as part n parcel of cc.

stick to the cc.
when my boy first started 3hr nursery, we visited the doctor every month.
it took him 1 year plus before his system gets matured and the doctor visits get lesser.

[foreverj]

hi jedamum


thanks for the advice. anyway wil be monitoring may and jun to see how she is. i agree with magg the benefits of cc (must be good one of course) and i can see the benefits myself. my daughter is talkative, and remains curious and inquisitive of the envt around her. when she first started cc, she does not even seem to b able to understand chinese. after six months of half-day cc, she could understand. within 2 months of switching to full-day, she could reply me in mandarin when i speak to her in mandarin! for toilet-training, i didn't even have to do much. all credit to the teachers!

she has actually stabilised in terms of falling sick mid of last year. just this year the whole family kena this bacteria sickness n she was put on antobiotics so immunity weakened. must re-build all over again. so very sian

[doratheexplorer]

Hi since you are all talking abt cc education i would like to ask ur opinions cc vs home shooling. currently my kids are in n1 and k1 halfday programme in a childcare centre. I am a housewife and trained in early childhood education too. was wondering if i should teach my kids (esp my son in k1 coz he will soon be going p1) at home and for additional perks just send them for enrichment classes e.g phonics and mental maths. what are the pros and cons. if i take my son out of sch and teach him at home, will there be any problem when he enrols for P1. pse advice thank u all

[foreverj]

hi, actually i think a home-schooled child for kindy should have no prob handling the academics in P1, provided parent is able to devote the time, effort and energy. Moreover, since you are trained in ECE, should have not much problem coming up with a good curriculum.


However, you may need to consider if you have the energy to handle two kids full-time, their eating and bathing and sleeping, vs preparing a comprehensive curriculum, on top of doing the housework and cooking (if u dun have a helper). What I find most efficient, is probably for the kids to attend a good half-day cc or a good kindy and then supplement with home teaching. While they at school, at least u have some time for yourself, prepare the curriculum, do housework, cook for them etc.

The last aspect is probably socialisation - for the kid to get used to all sorts of funny characters u may have in school, how to behave and react in front of them etc. However this socialisation may jolly-well be overemphasized. After all they are only six right? Do consider your kids’ preferences in making your decision.

[doratheexplorer]

yep u definitely have a point in terms of socialisation and that is where i was wondering if i could substitute that by making him attend various enrochment classes where he would have the opportunity to mingle with different groups. Of course he is very attached to his friends in his current cc coz he has been there since he was 18 mths old. I am a sahm and i have my mother in law and a maid at home so i feel kind of not be useful since i am already not contributing any money to the househodl. the least i could do is to save cost and at the same time provide my kids with the best education to my ability.

[foreverj]

hi doratheexplorer, if u have time in your hands, then homeschooling them yourself is a great idea. for one, they dun waste time travelling to and from school everyday. attending enrichment is good to supplement the basics they learn at home as parents may not be best person able to teach everything and they get to socialise with other people.


having said that, as a non-trained person, it's a huge commitment for myself. why dun u start working on preparing some curriculum and do a trial with your kids first before u stop them from cc. u have a better idea if u can cope and how they respond to u teaching them? if they love for u to be teaching them, it certainly makes the separation with their classmates easier

[doratheexplorer]

hi forever i spose will plan out the curriculum 1st and follow up a few trials as what u say. c how it goes. thks for the advice.

[foreverj]

no prob at all! glad i could help

[Christmas]

Childcare may and may not be safe. If you are not at home , the child may break objects,the teacher may also treat the child roughly.