18 mth-old too young for a playgroup???

[Angel_Syafeeqa]

Headache...I recce for a playgroup for my 17mth-old daughter. So far made a lot of cold calls. Finally, i will be registering her for a programme next month. Dunna how her reaction will be. Unfortunately, no trial period allows.

My daughter is shy cum scared of strangers but warm up with kids her age. She will hide behind my legs if she happens to see an adult...even 500m away. But once the strangers walk away...she will smile cheekily and bid farewell to them. She is not receptive towards instructions though...always have it her way especially towards meal time...fussy eater...short-temper, give up easily after stacking activity. ( My hubby says its in the genes..hahaha)

I wonder if it's a good idea to enrol her in playgroup. Hopes it can help to build her confident and learn social skills (an only child). Most parents warn me it's not a gd idea esp becoz it is easy to catch germs at CCC. Cross my fingers that she doesn't copy bad habits while in there. Hubby not too keen though coz she is too young, saying i'm too kancheong...hmmm...am i??? Every parent hopes the best for their kids right?:nah:

 

[mmy_lizz]

im a mother now.. soon to be of 2..

well back then i was a presch teacher.. special age between 2-3yo. i have thot of sending my dd into playgrp when e nex one comes but UNFORTUNATELY, i was thinkin like a mother.. u know is she gonna adapt? she gonna mix well or u know kids gonna push n not play fair.. n wat if she doesnt know how to move away fr bein in e middle of boy fites.. all these kinda things.. n if she's naughty is e teacher gonna lay hands on her n best part, is e teacher gonna pay full attn to her..

at e same time i try consolin myself at a diff perspective , tis time as a teacher.. juz fr doin my job.. i like kids.. but to a CERTAIN EXTEND.. they can really make u suffer high blood pressure.. when all of them dont listen to u.. n kids of tis young age dont really do anythin when they r in sch.. too young.. mayb they do drawings, art time.. sing along.. water play.. n u know no brainer kindaa things.. so i juz feel if their parents sent them, its kinda a waste of money la.. but at e same time if u send yr kids juz to let somebody babysit plus a lil social life, then go ahead..

to really let kids learn n know wat they doin is age 3. tt's wher they pick up real fast.. this time send them to a good presch.. then its worth yr single cent.

juz my few cents worth of opinion..:wong29:

 

[WeeFee's_Mummy]

hey mmy_lizz ... thx for the insight!

 

[Angel_Syafeeqa]

im a mother now.. soon to be of 2..

well back then i was a presch teacher.. special age between 2-3yo. i have thot of sending my dd into playgrp when e nex one comes but UNFORTUNATELY, i was thinkin like a mother.. u know is she gonna adapt? she gonna mix well or u know kids gonna push n not play fair.. n wat if she doesnt know how to move away fr bein in e middle of boy fites.. all these kinda things.. n if she's naughty is e teacher gonna lay hands on her n best part, is e teacher gonna pay full attn to her..

at e same time i try consolin myself at a diff perspective , tis time as a teacher.. juz fr doin my job.. i like kids.. but to a CERTAIN EXTEND.. they can really make u suffer high blood pressure.. when all of them dont listen to u.. n kids of tis young age dont really do anythin when they r in sch.. too young.. mayb they do drawings, art time.. sing along.. water play.. n u know no brainer kindaa things.. so i juz feel if their parents sent them, its kinda a waste of money la.. but at e same time if u send yr kids juz to let somebody babysit plus a lil social life, then go ahead..

to really let kids learn n know wat they doin is age 3. tt's wher they pick up real fast.. this time send them to a good presch.. then its worth yr single cent.

juz my few cents worth of opinion..:wong29:

Thanks mmy_lizz for your advice. I have tried a playgroup. She cried especially during separation. Apparently all kids cried even those 5-6years olds. Jus need to get her into routine. Teacher is caring yet firm with her. Class ratio was small thus my girl was quite looked after. Initially she was looking forward to school (i was able to sit in the classes first few days) but nowadays once she wears her uniform, she starts to refuse and cry. I was warned that this might happen. I'm looking for other tell-tale sign.

Am looking for other playgroups which allows mummy to attend as well. I knew Pats SchoolHouse used to have it in the East. Anyone know of such other playgroup in the East?

 

[CanCanMum]

just to share:

i sent my boy to Playgroup when he was 2.5 yr old....too young i oso thought its a waste of money....and being a parent oso scared that he is bullied....almost too young an age will cause they to fall sick easily becoz their immune system is still weak.

anyway, my boy was pinched by an older kid (3 yo-maybe) for the whole of 1st week there. We were not realising his fear becoz we tot that it is separation anxiety. Until my dad says he cries everytime he goes in and cries his way out when school dismissed. If its separation anxiety it shd be ok when dismissed right?? So he felt something amiss and hence stayed back to observe the class and luckily, he spotted the kid pushing and pinching my boy when they were queuing up to leave one by one, and then my boy cries again. He was furious and told us about it. He said that he actually told the teacher off but they kept saying it is just normal pushing around....kids getting excited...anyway we lodged a complain to the HQ + talked to the teacher about it. They have since then changed my boy to partner another girl.

In fact my boy told me that a gorgor pushed and pinched him....but he still tolerated for one whole week....imagine going to school with a phobia! In fact one the 1st day of the trial session he actually told me that he loves to go to school....

very poor thing right???

Haha, but thats the intial stage ....after everything was settled, we did not face any problems since then...and he has made several good friends. He told me that his best friend is Weiyi, also older than him but he is a nice and gentle boy who takes care of small kids, like my son.

 

[lis]

hmm..in my opinion..

for kids to b pushed around,get into fights etc. for the 1st day or following is normal..it's juz a form of jealousy n oso a form of communication in kids..of course they won't go ard introducing themselves..

"Hi,my name is Brandon,wot's urs..?"

they're not an adult like us..thus u juz gotta accept it..unless it gets out of hand,then u beta take sum action like informing the teacher in charge..

plus if u fear of ol these tings n getting infected by disease to happen to ur child,i suggest not to send them to playgroup/preschool..it's best tat u take good care of them at hm till they're big enuf to go to kindergarten..the best way to prevent ur child from easily infected is,wen ur child gets hm..bath them quickly..n feed them ol the proper meals..lots of fruits n vegs..so tat it'll wash of the germs away..cut down on thier tit bits..it'll juz worsen their immune..

hmm..i tink i've said my part..i'm sorie if i said sumting to offend any of u..

it's juz my two cents worth opinion..

 

[CanCanMum]

no la, no offences + no hard feelings, but just stating the facts and putting yourself in the shoes of the parent (not just me), of coz pushing around is ok, but pinching?? Would u tolerate unexplained bruises on your kids arms? We are paying $ and leaving our kids in the care of the teachers and it just feels bad tat they are not doing any thing to prevent these behavours, actually to me is misbehaviour. My son is not the best, but at least he doesnt go around pinching other younger kids.

ya...tats why we approached the teachers. Coz its sad to see my boy wanting to go school and make friends badly but was afraid to do so becoz of tat bully... and somemore got to partner up with him during mealtimes and playtimes....but the teachers said we are too anxious becoz of 1st child....

 

[lis]

yea..of course pinching is not to b tolerated..we ought to tell the teachers bout it..n oso at tyms..sum teachers can b unreasonable too..dey will say tat we're too anxious..!! of course every parent will feel anxious wot..haiz..

 

[arabjunior]

Hi i am also looking for a playgrp for my son... coming to 18mths quite soon.. i hav made a few calls n OMG it's quite ex...

My sis in law recommends me zoophonics... anyone has sent their kids there? :err:

 

[arabjunior]

Thanks mmy_lizz for your advice. I have tried a playgroup. She cried especially during separation. Apparently all kids cried even those 5-6years olds. Jus need to get her into routine. Teacher is caring yet firm with her. Class ratio was small thus my girl was quite looked after. Initially she was looking forward to school (i was able to sit in the classes first few days) but nowadays once she wears her uniform, she starts to refuse and cry. I was warned that this might happen. I'm looking for other tell-tale sign.

Am looking for other playgroups which allows mummy to attend as well. I knew Pats SchoolHouse used to have it in the East. Anyone know of such other playgroup in the East?

I enrolled my son in zoophonics. Their ruling is that a parent must be present with the kids during lesson so that we can do the actions (as an example to the kids) and also to help discipline the kids: being involve in initial kids' learning and education. My sis-in-law who is a primary sch teacher, recommends me this school. It works effectively for her as her son (being 4yrs, last year) can read, spell and speak really good proper english. :001_302:

 

[Anaqi]

I enrolled my son in zoophonics. Their ruling is that a parent must be present with the kids during lesson so that we can do the actions (as an example to the kids) and also to help discipline the kids: being involve in initial kids' learning and education. My sis-in-law who is a primary sch teacher, recommends me this school. It works effectively for her as her son (being 4yrs, last year) can read, spell and speak really good proper english. :001_302:

interesting..but where? muz parents always be there wif their kids during the lesson? how long is per lesson?

 

[arabjunior]

interesting..but where? muz parents always be there wif their kids during the lesson? how long is per lesson?

Hi anaqi, zoophonics has quite a number of branches. You can go visit their website www.zoophonics.com.sg.
You can select the centre nearer to your home. It's 1hr per lesson and either one of the parents or caretaker MUST be present coz at least there's parents involvement and you can see and control your own child while participating in their learning. I enrolled my son in sat classes so that i can always be present. You can choose either once or twice a week. I prefer having once a week coz i m available for him then (^,^)

My son will start this April eventhough he's not 18mths yet but the teacher assessed him and told me he's ready.

P.S my centre is at Tampines Mart.