playgroup at 18mths?

[huiyin87]

hi, i have decided to send my boy for playgroup when in jan next year, by then he will be 19mths.

he still cant talk and express himself in words now, for eg, someone bully him or whatever happen to him in school, he cant relate to me..
and my mum feels that its rather not good for him to go school now, cause we wont know what happen in school.

has it been a concern to u mums? or your child can speak already at 18mths?

 

[candy_ian]

My son started attending classes since 7 months at accompanied class and at 19 months drop off prog for 3 1/2 hrs 3 days a wk. He's not talking much yet either. I make it a point to ask the teachers what was done in class that day and we follow up at home. If any incident that happened to him or his behavior or even appetite for that day would b related to me as well and that was what I requested from the teachers.

 

[autumn82]

hi, i have decided to send my boy for playgroup when in jan next year, by then he will be 19mths.

he still cant talk and express himself in words now, for eg, someone bully him or whatever happen to him in school, he cant relate to me..
and my mum feels that its rather not good for him to go school now, cause we wont know what happen in school.

has it been a concern to u mums? or your child can speak already at 18mths?

I was in the same situation as you when Iggy was 18mths old. I decided to enrol him only when he was 24mths.

Within a month of school, Iggy started speaking more words. And now, after 6mths of exposure to school, he was practically trying to speak in sentences of 5-8words and of coz yakking non stop, though not super clear but able to figure out.

So I was thinking back, I should have just let him started when he was 18mths so that he could actually learn to speak even earlier. But better late than never. LOL!!

 

[ping26]

hi, i have decided to send my boy for playgroup when in jan next year, by then he will be 19mths.

he still cant talk and express himself in words now, for eg, someone bully him or whatever happen to him in school, he cant relate to me..
and my mum feels that its rather not good for him to go school now, cause we wont know what happen in school.

has it been a concern to u mums? or your child can speak already at 18mths?

Ask the principal to allow you to observe the playgroup. When you are there, observe the teachers' professionalism.

Sometimes, there are aggressive toddlers who bite, pinch, throw stuff, etc. Conscientious & experienced teachers are quick to spot them & will keep an eye on them. If the playgroup is large, it is difficult for the teacher to spot or react in time.

Even if your child can talk, most toddlers can't report bullying incidents. Most parents find out after finding scratch marks, etc or from teacher report.

All in, if you are very concerned after possible bullying, enrol your child in an expensive & reputable playgroup with small teacher:child ratio, esp if your boy is the blur-blur or meek type.

If your boy can defend his turf, then you have no worries

My girl is 19 mth old. She has been in a weekly playgroup at my centre since 13 mth. As our playgroup size is 1:4, every incident is caught by teachers. There were 2 incidents of pushing and 1 incidents of pinching. Teachers were able to counsel and take corrective action immediately. There are only a few snatching incidents as teachers encourage turn-taking and sharing where possible. We also teach children to observe "1st-touch, 1st-play" principle as well as other social skills such as requesting (pointing, eye contact, verbal request).

 

[huiyin87]

Ask the principal to allow you to observe the playgroup. When you are there, observe the teachers' professionalism.

Sometimes, there are aggressive toddlers who bite, pinch, throw stuff, etc. Conscientious & experienced teachers are quick to spot them & will keep an eye on them. If the playgroup is large, it is difficult for the teacher to spot or react in time.

Even if your child can talk, most toddlers can't report bullying incidents. Most parents find out after finding scratch marks, etc or from teacher report.

All in, if you are very concerned after possible bullying, enrol your child in an expensive & reputable playgroup with small teacher:child ratio, esp if your boy is the blur-blur or meek type.

If your boy can defend his turf, then you have no worries

My girl is 19 month old. She has been in a weekly playgroup at my centre since 13 month. As our playgroup size is 1:4, every incident is caught by teachers. There were 2 incidents of pushing and 1 incidents of pinching. Teachers were able to counsel and take corrective action immediately. There are only a few snatching incidents as teachers encourage turn-taking and sharing where possible. We also teach children to observe "1st-touch, 1st-play" principle as well as other social skills such as requesting (pointing, eye contact, verbal request).

which playgroup your child in?
1:4 ratio seems great!
but does ur child learn to speak faster since she started playgroup?

 

[huiyin87]

thanks all mummies for ur replies!

actually i am not really worried about bullying cases, cause kids dont mean it at times.
but his group is 1 teacher to 16 toddlers with one assistant teacher.
and he is only 19mths while other playgroup mates may be 1yr older or even more.


just that he still refuses to speak even if i ask him to..
very worrying why he just refuse to speak now..

 

[candy_ian]

1:16 is alot! Mcys recommendation is 1:6 if I'm not wrong. Anyway don't worry my son only started talking more in recent wks. At 18 months he prob can only say 10 words although he understands alot more. His playfully ratio is 1:4 as well.. But on a Average scale his class has 11 students n 3 teachers. 12 is their max. he's in playdays at sunset way and they r opening one over at east at Mountbatten road

 

[ping26]

which playgroup your child in?
1:4 ratio seems great!
but does ur child learn to speak faster since she started playgroup?

Actually, my workplace is a special edn centre. My girl talked at about 12 mth. Her speech has been developing very fast. She speaks like a 30 mth old child. I think it will not be fair to compare as she has been receiving "speech & language therapy".

Our playgroups are very small. There are usually 2 teachers as toddlers are very active. It's almost impossible to miss any incident as the playareas are well-defined. It's not quite the same as having 3 pairs of eyes on 12 restless kids.

The low teacher:child ratio is needed in special needs so that our teachers can make detailed observation of each child's development as well as appropriate & timely responses.

In general, most non-verbal children learn to speak within 6-9 mth of starting daily school (playgrp, etc). However, some children will have persistent difficulties in grammar development (abt 4-5 years old). These children may have mild language or learning difficulties when they grow older.

Enrolling in daily playgroup is very cheap and effective way of stimulating development and speech Many toddlers speak more just before their 2nd birthday. 18 mth is still quite ok. Most PD will only refer a non-verbal child to speech therapy at 2.5 or 3 years old.

 

[tayenee]

1:16 is alot! Mcys recommendation is 1:6 if I'm not wrong. Anyway don't worry my son only started talking more in recent wks. At 18 months he prob can only say 10 words although he understands alot more. His playfully ratio is 1:4 as well.. But on a Average scale his class has 11 students n 3 teachers. 12 is their max. he's in playdays at sunset way and they r opening one over at east at Mountbatten road

hi mummy, what is this playgroup name? im staying ard mountbatten and trying to get a good sch for my son when he turns 18mths

 

[candy_ian]

Hi, u can go to playdays.com.sg. They do not cater to local curriculum although they do have kids up to 6 yrs old but once my son reaches 3 he will b moving out to a montessorri pre school as playdays do not prepare the kids for primary one as they have more expats.

 

[Oppsgal]

thanks all mummies for ur replies!

actually i am not really worried about bullying cases, cause kids dont mean it at times.
but his group is 1 teacher to 16 toddlers with one assistant teacher.
and he is only 19mths while other playgroup mates may be 1yr older or even more.


just that he still refuses to speak even if i ask him to..
very worrying why he just refuse to speak now..

I think there is a rule. Cannot too many. I think is 1:6

By the way, does any childcare closed on Christmas eve and the coming Monday too? My baby goes to childcare that is closed on Christmas eve and the next working day after too. What to do if everyone is working? Baby no one take care...