Childcare or no Childcare?

[maisy]

kidsfirst:

Hi,


Would like to know what is the biggest drawing point in sending your kids to the childcare centre? It seems that many parents simply send their kids to childcare centre because they believe that this is the trend of the working parents in Singapore.

Months ago, I struggled with this thought as well....
i heard conflicting views ...such as, the child will develop social skills , learn to be more independent and will be more outgoing in CCC... while \"the other camp\" will tell me that kindergarten is better as the curriculum is more structured and that social skills can also be picked up in 3-hourly kindergarten / playgroup setup.


In my case, my boy is being taken care of my maid with granny popping over in the afternoons for supervisory glance and i have been urged to send my kid to school as it wasn't ideal for the kid to be with the maid all day..... and i contemplated CCC earlier as honestly i didn't know the underlying differences between CCC & kindergarten then... and it didn't make much difference to me since i know i will only send my son to half-day CCC (if i ever send) ... furthermore, i knew i wanted a \"preschool which is within walking distance from home\" so that my maid can walk the kid to school instead of taking school bus.... and there is no kindergarten which is within walking distance ard my place except for 1 childcare centre.... hence the idea of sending my boy to CCC crossed my mind ...however i encountered \"quite an unpleasant incident\" during the day of my visit which made me reconsider my intention and finally , i decided to enrol my boy in a kindergarten instead (no choice i will drive him to school & he will take the school bus home).


I guess as with all other issues in life, there will always be \"2 different schools of thought\" ....for example, i know of some parents swear by CCC while some will advocate kindergarten instead of CCC. I have frens who advised me to send my kid to CCC only if i cannot arrange for alternative \"child-minding\" arrangements... eg no grandparents, no trusted help etc... And i must say that I am now somewhat a \"convert\" (hahaha)... ie i prefer the kindergarten route over the CCC route

BUT, To each his own. So, do consider your needs and requirements carefully, and choose the preschool according to your needs & requirement - most importantly , follow your instinct i guess

[kidsfirst]

Hi maisy and schellen,



Thank you for sharing the insights!

On the same note, I have two more questions:

Since we can now choose between sending kids to CCC or the ‘conventional’ kindergarten schools, how will each decision impact their primary schools admissions?

I understand that for the more ‘popular’ primary schools, they have a lot more stringent rules in assessing the kids abilities before enrolling them. In that case…would either route (CCC or kindergarten) gives more advantage over the other?

[foreverj]

kidsfirst:

Hi maisy and schellen,



Thank you for sharing the insights!

On the same note, I have two more questions:

Since we can now choose between sending kids to CCC or the 'conventional' kindergarten schools, how will each decision impact their primary schools admissions?

I understand that for the more 'popular' primary schools, they have a lot more stringent rules in assessing the kids abilities before enrolling them. In that case..would either route (CCC or kindergarten) gives more advantage over the other?

hi kidsfirst, i've never heard of primary schools assessing students for admission since all parents have to go thru the phase 1,2a,2b,2c etc admission. what examples do u have?

i believe there are merits to both ccc and kindergartens. it really depend on the circumstances and needs of the family.

in case of kindergartens, by virtue of the sheer size of each class and the history of the schools (eg. some kindergartens have been around for like 40 years????) they really emulate a primary school setting and their teachers r quite experienced, having taught in the schools for many years.

for wking parents, ccc are preferred choices as they provide more specialised care and reduce the need to park the kid in front of the TV during the afternoons just to occupy them.

[sleepy]

My personal choice


I tend to prefer kindy. 3- 4 hours daily for the child to interact & pick up interpersonal skills
Then supplement with enrichments outside kindy hours. Depending on the child’s interest, can be drawing, ballet, music or academic ones such as abacus, phonics

Childcare center is usually a last resort, when there isn’t any other reliable or suitable caregiver to bring the child to/fro kindy or babysit outside kindy hours

[sleepy]

kidsfirst:

Since we can now choose between sending kids to CCC or the 'conventional' kindergarten schools, how will each decision impact their primary schools admissions?

I understand that for the more 'popular' primary schools, they have a lot more stringent rules in assessing the kids abilities before enrolling them. In that case..would either route (CCC or kindergarten) gives more advantage over the other?

1. No impact on primary school admission. Registration is based on eligiblity in each phrase

2. No assessment before enrolment. After a place is confirmed for the child, there would be a test to identify who needs learning support

[JGMum]

foreverj:

ccc are preferred choices as they provide more specialised care and reduce the need to park the kid in front of the TV during the afternoons just to occupy them.

Probably not in all CCCs - one CCC I visited had 5 hours of TV listed in their daily timetable.

[foreverj]

JGMum:

foreverj:

ccc are preferred choices as they provide more specialised care and reduce the need to park the kid in front of the TV during the afternoons just to occupy them.

Probably not in all CCCs - one CCC I visited had 5 hours of TV listed in their daily timetable.

what? what kind of cc is that? i'm surprised they are stil in business :!: i'm not speaking for all ccc. there wil be some that are better, some that are not so good, just like there wil be some kindys that are more established and hence run their business better while there wil be others who are stil finding their feet...

like sleepy says, if the kid attends 3 to 4 hours of kindy, then stil gotta transport here and there for enrichment. i opt for cc where they have outsiders come in and teach enrichment and then i pay for it. if i'm not working, i would prefer kindy too, then can spend more time with my dd mah :love:

[schellen]

foreverj:

like sleepy says, if the kid attends 3 to 4 hours of kindy, then stil gotta transport here and there for enrichment. i opt for cc where they have outsiders come in and teach enrichment and then i pay for it. if i'm not working, i would prefer kindy too, then can spend more time with my dd mah :love:

Yup, if I'm not working, I would've sent my DD to a kindy since there are a few nearby, including PCF. Not only do I want to spend more time with her, it's also a cost-cutting method since we'll be relying only on one income. If I can teach her on my own, why not? Only if I really cannot teach it, e.g., ballet (which CCCs don't provide, as far as I know), then I will consider sending her for enrichment.

[maisy]

kidsfirst:

Hi maisy and schellen,



Thank you for sharing the insights!

On the same note, I have two more questions:

Since we can now choose between sending kids to CCC or the 'conventional' kindergarten schools, how will each decision impact their primary schools admissions?

I understand that for the more 'popular' primary schools, they have a lot more stringent rules in assessing the kids abilities before enrolling them. In that case..would either route (CCC or kindergarten) gives more advantage over the other?

Hi kidsfirst
As what the others have mentioned, no such thing as \"preferential admission to primary sch if your kid is w a certain preschool\"....Admission to Pri 1 is strictly those Phase 1-2C stated in the MOE website.
So worrry not - just go ahead & plan for your kid which CC/Kindy best suits your child's needs & requirements.

I guess most parents are alike - as in if the parent is not working, the \"preferred\" choice USUALLY will be kindy (altho i know there will always be exception ) But really, whether CCC or kindy, i guess the choice is really up to individual parent

Just to share, bcos i hv opted for kindergarten, i have resigned from my job and intend to spend the next 1-2 years bonding w my child. i plan to return to work in 1-2 year's time ... hopefully by then it would not be too difficult for me to get a job and i need not suffer too huge paycut (fingers' crossed keke).... but i know i can't have everything lah... so baby steps first hopefully after 1 year, my child would have well-settled down in the kindy and would be able to take the school bus to school .... will see how things map out then who knows maybe by stroke of luck i will strike it big at next year's (annual) hongbao TOTO draw .. then i need not worry abt how to return to workforce ... hahahaha.... wish me luck, ok? hahaa.

[BBNiu]

Dear parents


Just having the same dilemma as some of the parents here on whether to put my gal in CCC or not… and hope to seek advices from parents here… im currenly a sahm and planning to return to workforce after my gal turns 18mths. Just wondering shld i put her in CCC near to my parents who stay in West area or near our home (We stay in the North)? So far, i only went to My first Skool and personally don’t like the environment as the children will have their meals/naps/activities at the same area… like so poor thing… are all CCC the same?