Childcare or no Childcare?

[grapevine]

Hi. For my 2 cents worth, I tried out childcare ( the little skool house international) for my 18 month old. He refused to eat in school as well. He is used to eating semi-pureed food and being fed with a spoon while watching TV.

Not ideal but I had to leave my maid to handle him while at work.
He was ok when he could see me for first 2 days. I only left him at the CC for half day. The next few days when my hubby drove the maid to pick my kid up at noon - they could hear him crying form outside the school.
For the teachers’ part, I have to say they were good. They did ask me to send his home food and milk in with him in the morning and wrote about his feeding problems in the communication book. He still refused the food when they fed him. He also frequently vomited out whatever they managed to feed him.
I pulled him out of childcare before the end of 2 weeks.
Hubby and I decided to send him to kindergarten instead. He now goes to 1 and a half hour toddlers palygroup 2x a week caregiver/ parent accompained and he loves it.
I think if the kid is ready to be without a caregiver than childcare is ok but for some kids they are just not ready for the big change in environment so a gradual introduction is best.
I was thinking of Talent plus playgroup but I didn’t think the quality is good. He is now at Zoo Phonics kindergarten. Also tried out Growing up gifted and Julia Gabriel both were good but very expensive. For quality , they are all almost similar.
May try childcare when he is 4 years, plan to keep him in kindergarten till then.

[marucomoruca]

don’t worry to much. Send your kids to the childcare. They will get familiar and then love it

[Ran1977]

My child loves his MMI childcare…he cries to remain there when it is time to go home cos he wants to be with his friends and he is 5:)

[Ran1977]

...and with his teachers too :boogie:


:grphug:

[adoreachild]

schellen:

You should try sending them half day first if you or them don't feel that secure. Then increase to full day. Cos otherwise when they go to pri sch, it will be a big shock to them. Academically, they may cope but mentally, maybe not immediate and this may affect them academically too.

Yes, I completely agree with you.

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[Carolina]

Personally, I think there are a few factors to it:


- What the child is used to at home;
- The child’s own personality and readiness;
- What the parents are expecting;
- The quality of the childcare itself.

From all the things I read from above as well as from chatting with other parents, it’s almost always a combination of at least a few of the above factors.

I personally believe in improving my kids’ independence, social & mental skills and abilities through the right childcare without having to spend additional money & time on additional weekend classes. But it is also not right to expect a child who’s used to eating baby food even at the age of 18 months old in front of the TV to suddenly be able to eat solids independently in school alongside his/her peers.

Hence, I try to instil certain basic level of discipline at home, e.g. meal times are at the dining table, no running around / watching TV / playing toys / etc. until they are done eating; at least partial self-feeding; packing toys after they have finished playing; etc…

With that, at least it reduces the number of differences they have to adjust to when they start childcare, on top of the biggest stress factor - being away from their main caregiver.

Then, there is the quality of the childcare. This is more difficult, as different parents have different expectations (E.g. my husband is very particular about the kids’ screen time due to their eye care, so I need to find a childcare that has no TV.) and every child is different and has different needs (E.g. my boy has sensitive lungs & my girl has sensitive nose, so it’s very important that the childcare is not air-conditioned.). It took me more than half a year of researching and visiting no less than 10 different childcare centres before settling on one which suit what I was looking for.

My older boy cried off & on for a good 6 months when I dropped him off at school in the mornings (I started him at 24 months). But the teachers assured me that he’s alright once I’m out of sight & during the few times I peeped in without the teachers knowing, I saw them carrying & hugging him while patiently talking to him & soothing him with promises of fun. Despite the crying & "I don’t want to go to school", I noticed differences in him barely a month after he started childcare - gradual improvements in his motor skills, confidence, independence, speech, etc. Ironically, the crying did not stop completely until he moved to N1 half a year later. Since then my boy looks forward to school practically on a daily basis.

I’m looking forward to starting my girl in the N1 class next year. She was ready earlier than my boy was, but I had to delay her start due to the toddler class filling up too fast (my girl is a year-end baby & the school didn’t used to allow pre-booking of space). Despite that, I’m hardening myself for the initial crying nevertheless.

At the end of the day, I think kids have more ability to do a lot of things and adjust to changes than we adults give them credit for. Baring circumstances whereby the adjustments are way too great & many all at once, &/or the childcare not having the right teachers to manage things correctly, I think we parents can only harden ourselves & let our children grow up & learn to handle different things & environments themselves, especially when we do not have a choice…

Sometimes, the hardest part is us as parents overcoming our natural instinct to want protect our young come what may… =P

Just some personal views…

[bellymummy]

decollette:

ahbombom:

Hi, many thanks for your views. The teacher is firm and very loud and we think she leans towards being fierce, at least that's our impression of her. We are likely to go with our instinct and withdraw DD.


Having this disappointing experience, we are thinking if we should find another childcare for her or wait till the year she turns 3. For those of you who sent your child to childcare at 18 months for purposes of socializing, literacy, and learning to be independent, do you see any huge benefits of doing so instead of waiting till the year they turn 3?

Once again, thanks for your comments.

Personally i think 3 is a little late, unless she is being stimulated with activities at home. Cos i find from 18 mths they learn and absorb very fast, and they are keen to explore. Mine was not so ready for the group experience at 18 months to be honest. But at 21 months, he was kinda ready.. as in he acted very interested in his surroundings and was not clingy to me somewhat.
My boy is close to being two months in half day cc in the morning. And he has started singing some songs, more verbal and i can make out what he says better now. Most importantly, its an indescribable feeling when he held on to his bag and walked in confidently to join his teachers and friends. Its good to know that he enjoys his time learning and having fun with others.
Good luck in whatever u choose

Agree!!!

[Ran1977]

Hi parents, for those of you who are interested - Katong Modern Montessori International (MMI) located at Katong Shopping Centre is having a Parents Day Tea Party from 10am to 12noon on Saturday, 17th Nov at its premises.

They will be activities for the kids while parents will be invited for talks
If you are interested, please call them at 63442997 asap to register:)

[jasc]

Hi I have a 3.5 year old boy registered in PCF N2 for 2013. I just realised that mother tongue will not be introduced for N2 so I’m deciding to withdraw him. I’m looking at CCC or Preschool. My mother is helping me to look after my child with the help of a maid now. I have friends who encourage me to send my child to CCC so that he can learn to be independent. My concern is his health, while in 2 hrs playgroup, I need to bring him to doctor every 2 weeks as he has sensitive lungs and skin. He’s always on inhaler when his cough come back. Quite often, he can be absence from class for 10 days.


Just need advice should I put him in CCC or 3 hrs preschool?

[DesertWind]

jasc:

Hi I have a 3.5 year old boy registered in PCF N2 for 2013. I just realised that mother tongue will not be introduced for N2 so I'm deciding to withdraw him. I'm looking at CCC or Preschool. My mother is helping me to look after my child with the help of a maid now. I have friends who encourage me to send my child to CCC so that he can learn to be independent. My concern is his health, while in 2 hrs playgroup, I need to bring him to doctor every 2 weeks as he has sensitive lungs and skin. He's always on inhaler when his cough come back. Quite often, he can be absence from class for 10 days.


Just need advice should I put him in CCC or 3 hrs preschool?

Hi Jasc,

CCC or 3 hrs preschool? I will say the choice is dependant on whether do you have child-care support outside of school hours? If so, then kid can go to 3-hrs preschool the rest of the time at home. I see this as better for the kid's health as at home it is usually better the kid can be more at ease.

I know it is oft cited reason by other parents as well as the CCC themselve to put kid on full-day CCC so that they can learn to be independant and pick up more words etc. I personally am not too convinced about this. It really depends on what you want for your kid.

For me and my hubby, we have the same idea not to put our kids into full-day CCC and it is better to look after them at home. So my elder boy 5 yo is in 3-hr kindergarten and takes the school bus to&fro. He is very independant can feed himself since 1 1/2 years old and goes to the toilet himself from 3.5 yo. This we trained at home. Of course I am also blessed to have a great helper/maid who looks after my kids very well at home hence we do not have to rely on a full-day CCC. BTW, I am a full-time working mum.

All the best!