No schools until kindergarten

PsyClick

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Anyone or know someone that managed not to send their kids to school until k1.
Have help to take care either from maid or parents?

Mind sharing some feedbacks?
Any pros and cons doing this.

Thanks

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PsyClick

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maybe to clarify more.

toddlers basic learning is done by parents (flexible hours)
social interaction by regular exposure & interaction with fellow toddlers

some of the pros may include saving up the expense of childcare, avoiding common sickness.

what are the cons that you can think of?
 

mickey88

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modern day expenses..both parents are working..our olden era where wife stay at home to guide is over liao
 

BrOwnTeddy

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maybe to clarify more.

toddlers basic learning is done by parents (flexible hours)
Good for you if you have a background in childhood education and you can understand what are the strategic objectives for PG so that they can ease comfortably into Kindergarden.

social interaction by regular exposure & interaction with fellow toddlers
Not exactly sure where are the 'fellow toddlers' but I assume you have an extremely large family with THAT same number of toddlers or you have very close neighbours.

some of the pros may include saving up the expense of childcare, avoiding common sickness.

what are the cons that you can think of?
If your primary concern is just upfront monetary costs, there ARE cheaper alternatives for PG and Kindergarden (I think PAP Foundation is quite cheap). Because in exchange for your 'temporary suffering' (for paying of school fees, etc), your tot gets a more rounded education from Childcare Professionals.

As for exposure to illness, lets all be a little more realistic here. You CAN bring home illnesses, bacteria and viruses being completely asymptomatic. I thought we all had learnt something from this Pandemic.
 

pinkpiggie

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unless u r willing to spend lots of hours pouring through early childhood education for home learning
 

m@maboi

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actually, avoid common sickness is a myth. I sent in both mine early, yes getting sick is unavoidable but at least they build up their immune system early.

Sending them early allows them to be more sociable, i have friends who dont send in until kindergarten, they tend to be more introvent and do not want to mingle with strangers or younger children.

Cost should be the last thing on your mind when you decide to have kids. As some mentioned, there are affordable one out that.

it tends to make a big difference between toddlers going to PG or nursery versus those housed toddlers.

maybe to clarify more.

toddlers basic learning is done by parents (flexible hours)
social interaction by regular exposure & interaction with fellow toddlers

some of the pros may include saving up the expense of childcare, avoiding common sickness.

what are the cons that you can think of?
 

m@maboi

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seem like TS has already make up his/her mind on sending in until kindergarten, which make me ponder why the question in the first place.

There are no rights no wrongs. If you have the resources (flexible like you mentioned) to school teach them, then go for it. But it is very taxing and children tends to pay more attention outside then at home.

For me, i noticed that ever since they go in early (PG), they tend to be more sociable, more independent and more jovial.
 

PsyClick

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@m@maboi I haven't made up my mind on anything la. very flexible one. just trying to find views on both sides. So thank you guys for sharing your experience :)

@brownteddy

There are strategic objectives for PG to ease comfortably into K1? My impression is that PG has different way of managing, only from K to Primary 1 then things are more standardised. To say plainly its a place where we can deposit the kids while we go work, + social interactions + abit of learning.

I will likely be able to justify better if the centre is able to impart *values like compassion to them through interactions, or unique teaching opportunities like gardening or etc.

Will keep your experiences in mind tq
 

Sharonyap2505

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I won't advise sending your kid to school only in kindergarten because it might be too late, especially if the kid has always been with parents for the past 4 years and suddenly you put your kid in kindergarten, he might find it difficult to adjust compared to their peers.

Putting your kid early also allows the teacher (professionals) to teach and guide them as the grow older. This sets a strong foundation in terms of basic manners and etiquette, cultural understanding and social interaction.

For example, if you're Chinese, you will most probably teach your kid about CNY and mid autumn festival, if you're malay you will teach your kid about hari raya, Indian will teach about deepavali. So education is very limited at home, but at school, the teachers will tell stories and have some art & craft for every festival so all the students get exposure to basically everything. Even regarding manners in school, teachers will teach the children how to share, how to queue up, how to take turns. Are you regularly enforcing it at home?

When it comes to playing games, at school, sometimes win sometimes lose. How will your kid behave? At home, most parents probably make their kid the winner and say "good job" or "well done" all the time. So how will your kid react if he loses a game? Can your kid control their emotions, will throw tantrum? Or is your kid generous to let others first? It's hard to evaluate this kind of things at home and it's better to let your kid "explore" himself in a social environment. Children might be angels at home but they might behave otherwise at school. And vice versa.

Also, if your child has any developmental issues like fine motor, gross motor or speech delay, ADHD, autism, etc.. The teachers will know it better and can recommend your kid for occupational therapy or other relavant early intervention programmes. You don't send your kid to school early, you won't know how well he is developing.
 
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mickey88

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Unless u are expert in the childhood education then by all means..since we are not the SME then we let the expert assess our kids development and address the issue early if there is problem
 

BrOwnTeddy

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@m@maboi I haven't made up my mind on anything la. very flexible one. just trying to find views on both sides. So thank you guys for sharing your experience :)

@brownteddy

There are strategic objectives for PG to ease comfortably into K1? My impression is that PG has different way of managing, only from K to Primary 1 then things are more standardised. To say plainly its a place where we can deposit the kids while we go work, + social interactions + abit of learning.

I will likely be able to justify better if the centre is able to impart *values like compassion to them through interactions, or unique teaching opportunities like gardening or etc.

Will keep your experiences in mind tq

Actually, the centres and teachers do (at least the ones I know. And ironically, they are not Singaporeans but PRCs) - the part you are talking about positive values and unique teaching/learning opportunities. They won't be able to show you the whole set of curriculum or to walk you through the entire shebang blow-by-blow.

But the values they do pick up, the interactions they have with their peers (good or bad, its all a takeaway experience) on a daily basis. All these contributes onto their learning journey.
 

jmschiro

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Should send them to school from 3 years onwards to develop social skills. More cons than pro unless the caregiver at home can homeschool the child.
 

Sainté

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No right or wrong in this matter. I send my boy to infant care when he was 5 months old. By 6th month he can socialise comfortably with others and express himself thru his actions. Hungry can say mum mum, see me call papa, see my wife call mama. Definitely can see the difference.
 

Amber2012

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I had “no choice”. 4.5mo my baby went into IFC. Fell sick so often it interrupted my work. Pulled her out for a year stayed home (I have the best in-laws and her Yeye just nice retired so he looked after her for a full 1 year). About 2yo, she went back to school and now in K1. Now hardly fall sick, good social skills, and always happy to tell me what she did with her friends at school.
That’s just my experience. I’ve known parents who dropped their kids only at K1. Their learning curve will need to be steep I guess. Didn’t hear these parents mentioning how “challenging” it is for the kids in this case. Now that they are in mid/higher primary school, they cope normal just like others.
So I’d say, no good/bad. Everyone learns to rise to the occasion when it demands so.
 
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