<![CDATA[Childcare or no Childcare?]]>In dilemma state, thinking if i should send my 2 kids to childcare service after they have home grown all this while. :? :?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/48601/childcare-or-no-childcareRSS for NodeWed, 06 May 2026 11:34:33 GMTFri, 06 Feb 2009 08:09:25 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Thu, 06 Dec 2012 04:14:47 GMT]]>I am in favour of childcare because the child gets the opportunity to learn and socialize, become independent etc. My elder child really learned alot while in childcare centre. I wouldn’t have it any other way…

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/914757https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/914757Thu, 06 Dec 2012 04:14:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:29:44 GMT]]>My son is with odyssey. So far satisfied.

This is really personal opinions

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/897618https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/897618Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:29:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:10:11 GMT]]>

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! 😆

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/897578https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/897578Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:10:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 03:32:00 GMT]]>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?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/894308https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/894308Thu, 08 Nov 2012 03:32:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:58:49 GMT]]>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:)

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/893501https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/893501Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:58:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:45:25 GMT]]>

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!!!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/893482https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/893482Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:45:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Sun, 04 Nov 2012 06:33:34 GMT]]>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…

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/890796https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/890796Sun, 04 Nov 2012 06:33:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 07:00:37 GMT]]>

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.

[Mod's note: external URL removed]

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/812069https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/812069Thu, 02 Aug 2012 07:00:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:53:33 GMT]]>...and with his teachers too :boogie:


:grphug:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/804923https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/804923Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:53:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:44:21 GMT]]>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:)

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/804913https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/804913Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:44:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Thu, 10 May 2012 02:11:38 GMT]]>don’t worry to much. Send your kids to the childcare. They will get familiar and then love it

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/759655https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/759655Thu, 10 May 2012 02:11:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Sun, 18 Mar 2012 08:49:40 GMT]]>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.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/730687https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/730687Sun, 18 Mar 2012 08:49:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:32:59 GMT]]>Many thanks for all the advice. We have withdrawn DD. It is exactly this discomfort that we decided to do so. Do PM me if you have recommendations on other cc or the ones that your DS/DD are happily attending that we should visit and find out more. Thanks.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/729372https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/729372Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:32:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:20:22 GMT]]>Chat with the teacher and see what happens. If you’re still uncomfortable, should withdraw the child else you’ll be ‘haunted’ by the discomfort - having constant doubt (rightfully or wrongly).


Every child is different.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728595https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728595Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:20:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:18:37 GMT]]>

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 🙂

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728361https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728361Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:18:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:02:20 GMT]]>Cherrygal:

I only brought along his bowl and spoon, but makes no difference to him hehe. Anyway, the principal updated me that he had quite abit of lunch today… (think he likes noodles thats why) They said they told him he could go to the play area if he ate his lunch as reward. Once, they tried stickers as reward but that didnt work. Anyway, Im glad they are working very hard with me to ensure he doesnt reject lunch totally.
Yeap i think your method about taking away food and offering same food afterwards is the right way! Often we offer alternatives they tend to become picky. Full day is definitely more flexible… but wondering how they manage so many kids having naps? What if some woke up and start crying, fussing etc? Won’t it affect the others?

ahbombom:
If i were u i would withdraw my child from the school. As a teacher she should know that separation anxiety is a normal thing, how can she shout at her to stop it? This would only make the anxiety worse. WHen my boy was 18 mths , i enrolled him in a childcare near my place… i pulled him out after just two days cos the group was just too big and it seems the teachers were shorthanded. To add to it, there are three other newbies joining on the same day. And when i meant big, its like 20 over toddlers in a room and just three teachers.Some little girl just cried in a corner and she was mostly ignored. I felt so bad for her. Leaving your child to adapt to childcare also meant being able to trust the teachers to a certain extent. I listened to my instincts and withdrew him. Then I went on to shortlist and view all other ccs before i decided on the current one. My boy was made welcome on the first day there and his separation anxiety was shorter than i expected… so dont lose heart! There are good ccs around, so dont settle for what you clearly are not comfortable with.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728355https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728355Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:02:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:28:52 GMT]]>Shinri,

If your dd is already 16 mths soon, that means she will enter when she is 25 mths next Jan? By then, she should be steady enough and would have learnt to say more words. Things move relatively fast in the next 9 months. Dun worry so much…

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728292https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728292Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:28:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:19:27 GMT]]>Hmm… DD is 15 mths turning 16 mths soon. I registered her early because afraid the school will be full.

She’s supposed to go pre-school in 2013, but nowadays I wonder if it’s too early?
To me, she’s still so small, so little, still like many things dunno, etc.
She just started to learn to walk, can only say a few words (i.e. mum mum, orh orh, gai gai, ne ne, etc) and only has 2 teeth.
I’m thinking now whether to delay for another year…

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728221https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/728221Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:19:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:49:20 GMT]]>I put my gal in full-day childcare since 22 mths. I am SAHM but work part-time occasionally. I saw superb improvement in her language skills and counting. She has also learnt to sing very well and has picked up good manners. I put her in so quickly despite me being quite free, was becoz I saw the good development of my elder boy. My MIL also just mentioned that my gal is faster in her speech development than her cousin of the same age who is not attending any childcare now.


Well, feel free to keep the kid at home if you can spare the time and know how to teach them the alphabet, numbers etc. It is very taxing to keep them occupied the whole day constructively. I figured the CCC would be much better than letting my gal watch TV at home most of the day if she stayed home.

Though she’s on the full-day programme, I send her there from 10am and fetch her home earlier. It’s more flexible this way.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727608https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727608Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:49:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:32:23 GMT]]>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.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727499https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727499Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:32:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 13:21:38 GMT]]>Hi ahbombom,


Your precious one is the vulnerable one. Only 18 mths old get scolded by teachers, lack of staff some kids left unsupervised. Changed behaviour and cries, clingy => getting insecure already. Think the answer quite obvious. I will say withdraw her. No point put her there. Use the alternative arrangement you are comfortable with.

When she gets older ie. the year turning 3, and you have good help to look after your kid, you have the option of sending her to a kindy (3 hours) instead of a CCC. My impression is that it is hard to get a good CCC but chances of getting a good kindy with more patient, experienced teachers are higher.

All the best.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727466https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727466Sat, 10 Mar 2012 13:21:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 13:08:19 GMT]]>Yah, take her out. Childcare teachers should not scream. So far I have never heard my gal’s teachers raise their voices. They should be firm but not fierce. Change to another school.


If you have alternative care, wait till she’s >20 months then re-introduce her to another school for socialisation. She’ll be more ready then. Anyway, HFMD is quite rampant now so it’ll be good to stay home for this period of time.

In the meantime, boost her immunity by giving some multivitamins etc.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727462https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727462Sat, 10 Mar 2012 13:08:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:40:48 GMT]]>Hi all,


I started sending my only kid to childcare centers when she turned 18mths just to learn to socialize. Do check out the places. Some places are a nightmare. If you have screaming teachers, stay clear.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727450https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727450Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:40:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Childcare or no Childcare? on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 11:39:45 GMT]]>Hi, I’ve recently sent my 18 months DD to half day child care. I noted that one of her teachers is really fierce. DD was whining to be carried and the teacher raised her voice at her "stop it! xxx, stop it! 123 stop it!". She’s just 18 months and new to school. On another occasion, she shouted at a child "xxx, the chair is not for standing!" when she climbed on the chair and we could hear it from a distance. The 2 teachers also looked overwhelmed with crying kids (3 new kids in the class) even with a reasonably low 2:12 ratio and there seemed insufficient teachers looking after the children at the playground after drop off. We saw older toddlers playing with dustbin lids and water pipe near the playground. The principal does drop by the playground and class to help out occasionally, and the cleaning lady helps out at lunch time.


DD as expected cried quite a bit during these few days in class and also became very clingy to us after she started school and kept wanting to be carried, including having to carry and rock her to sleep when she used to be able to fall asleep on her own.

Seeing her cries, changed behaviour, perceived inadequate level of staffing, being scolded fiercely by the teacher, we are thinking of withdrawing her. I would say the latter being the main reason but not sure if we are being too protective and if the situation will be better after all the kids settle in. We are also worried about getting sick often and if she is too young to be exposed given lower immunity level. We do have alternate care available for her that we are comfortable with. Our purpose of sending her to half day child care is for her to socialize, learn both languages (we do not speak mandarin at home and the centre has language immersion programme) and be independent. We have feedback to the principal who assured us that she will remind the teacher to be gentler. She also provided solutions to resolve other minor issues.

It wasn’t easy for us to get a place in the childcare. As we have no prior experience with childcare centres, we also do not know what is acceptable and what is not, including what to expect from DD’s behaviour being in a new environment and coping with separation anxiety. We are still rather undecided and would like to know what you would do in our shoes. Thanks.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727443https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/727443Sat, 10 Mar 2012 11:39:45 GMT