Home care or After School Care?

april_star

New Member
Hi I am considering for either a homecare with my mum or after school care centre for my 7yr old girl. I am doing a survy here to find out what most parents think. Please let me have your feedback and recommendation. Thanks
 


I am also in a dilema.

I have 2 girls, aged 3 and 8. Currently my mum stays with me during the wkdays to help out with my girls. I also have a helper.

I can see that my mum usually takes care of my elder more as she has been her caregiver since my elder was born 8 yrs ago. When my 2nd one came along, i got a helper, so all along the young one if babysit by the maid most of the time.

My mum has been saying she wan to take a break, so i am also considering if i should put my elder in an after sch care next yr as her sch will have 1 then.

But my young one will still need a 'supervisor' cos i dont trust her completely.
 
I believe for after sch care, the child will be happier as there will be friends to accompany her. Cos in my case, the grandma seldom 'entertain' the kids. They will ask the kids to do their own stuff.

so maybe after sch care may be a better idea in that aspect?
 
my case is slight different as my mum has only 1 grandchild thus the full attention is on her hehe
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However I am just have the feeling that children will tend to be too relax at home no discipline without supervision from the parents.

Actually my girl was in the after school care since she started her primary school but now my mum volunteer to look after her so I am comtemplating to withdraw her from the centre and put her under a home environment instead.
The reason being that my mum feel that she is not well fed over there and pros for me is that I need not rush like mad to fetch her from the centre after work.

But my personal thoughts is that i want her to be independent and socialise but to my suprise my daughter does not like to go to day care centre and prefer to be at home. So want to hear from other parents their thoughts???
 
I have 2 girls too, 5 and 7. As both hubby and me are working.
DD2 go to childcare and DD1 will go to studentcare (by YMCA) which is located inside her school.
Her school is single session so after school she will have her lunch, bath and nap. After nap, they will first do their school homework and follow by assessments books (we have to buy EL, Maths and Chinese assessment books for her to do at the centre) which will be marked by the studentcare (SC) teachers. The SC teacher will also conduct spelling for them based on the school's spelling lists .
Sometimes , they will go to playground near the sch or do activities planned by the SC teacher. The school bus will bring them back to home around 5.45pm. So reach home about 6 plus in time for me to fetch her.
My DD1 loves going to school and studentcare because the teachers, friends and environment are familiar, friendly and fun. When a child enjoys school, they learn much and I believe that is the case for her
The SC also planned many activities for them during the June hol…
e.g bring them to watch Night at the Museum2 , National library, Canopy Walk, science workshops and intensive tuition programme for Math and English, art and craft.etc.
 
My DD1 went after school care when P2 & 3. She voiced not to go if given a choice. Disciplinary during school hours and continue in the same building (student care by YMCA located in the school) and she finds it a bore, though the centre also organised fun-filled activities during school holidays. Found out from a few gfs, the child prefers not to go to the s/care esp. when they are in the upper primary.
 
yes, my daughter feel the same way too though they have activities but she finds it bored...and she is only in her p1!!...

btw, tiptactoe and Nobel, just curious which schools are your girls in that have YWCA in the same premises?
 
St Margarets' primary. Actually, if given a choice ,think dd1 would like to stay at home then to after school care ..why..to watch her DVDs. During the one week hol in March, we kept her at home and asked my mil to come over . Mil just let them watch tv from morning till we came back from work. DD2 also stayed home with jie jie dun want to go childcare.
So during this June hol, we asked her to attend only for the first two weeks as many of the after school care activities are organized in the first two weeks. The third week , we will bring them to Club Med in Bintan and the last week , my mil will come over.
As we are both working, we prefer to put her in after sch care , there are teachers to supervise her homework and friends to play with. When we are back from work, we did not need to worry about her homework just need to check whether any letters from sch .... etc. so far ..she is doing well in her studies and her form teacher has also been updating us parents thru emails and class photos.
 
My DD1 can get pretty listless now at home during the sch holidays. She will call to ask if she can swim, or she can do this do that. She usually calls me when my mum says she cannot do it! haha....

So sch holidys are kinda stress for me as i have to thk of programs for her to do. My DD2 is still ok, maybe she is still young at 3 yrs old, so she is ok with staying home and playing with the helper.
 
Tao Nan School. I pulled her out from the centre last year due to pte tuition. Agree with Eve kinda stress when comes to sch holidays. My DD1 will call to ask can she do this and that...She still continue tuition during june holi. and park at my SIL's place after lesson. She do not mind such arrangement at all, bo government mah.
 
I have signed her up for holiday program next wk for 4 days, so next wk is kinda 'occupied'. And the following wkend we will be going to Malaysia.

I am trying to get some of her classmates over, however, some of them are not staying so near us, so they may have a problem coming over since the parents are also working like us.

Last time can still print out some paper for her to do colouring, but now, colouring not so fun for her age. Any recomendation where i can get insteresting stuff for her?
 
Do you mind her using the computer, be it for games or for education purposes. My DD1 will ask for permission before touching the button. She went into U-tube or some educational web for games to unwind after finishing her plan schedule homework for the day. There's always pros and cons on such thing. We have both agreed on some grounds else no touching on the machine as a punishment. Bo bian leh. Have to stay close and monitor which site she is in it, by checking the cache at the end of day and also include parental block. Alternatively, you may arrange your mum to bring her to the library and join-in the activities that interest her.
 
Yap my daughter only interested in the holiday programm with the day care centre not keen to go after school...like what Nobel say lor 'no government mah' but i guess i have to try her out at home since both my hubby and mum dont like the idea of "day care environment" no matter how i agreed most with tiptactoe no need to worry about her homework as most of it will be done in the centre.

But then again I did warn her and my mum that to follow my timetable and no television. If her result deteriorate, i will put her back to day care centre. Hope this help to control her a bit..

I did actually look at YMCA in Bukit Batok early this year but is long waiting list so i guess they must be really good...
 
I also use similar method on my DD1 before withdrawal from the s/care. Both of us agreed on the time-table but it did not work out well. With tuition on weekdays, its kind of busy for her too. Television and computer games are save for Fridays and weekends provided given homework is done.
 
Currently i let her use the PC for an hr in the wkday, and an hr in the wkend. So far she exceeded some boundary but still in control.

Previously, there was no control so we set this new rule and it seems better.

I doubt my mum will enjoy bringing her to the library which is some distance away. Maybe I will bring her one day and get my mum to bring her there again to return the books. If there is a reason she may go....haha
 
Precisely , that why I’ve to put them in day care centre. What I like is that they have Chinese teacher to guide them in Chinese and also tuition programme for Eng and Math. Didn’t sign up for any tuition yet as I wanted her to have her afternoon nap. Since Monday , she has finished all her holi homework at the centre.
Our house rule, no tv from mon to fri..Sometimes they never watch tv even on sat and sun. Daily routine back home from sch , since dd1 has finished her homeworks at the centre. she will do some readings and writing to her friends (they like to exchange notes with friends in school) and also teach her mei mei phonics . Mei mei will also do her CMA homework. (everyday 1 pg)
But this rule is broken when mil comes to our house every wed to cook us dinner (we given her our hsekey). She on the tv once she done with the cooking and only off it when gg home. Not nice for us to tell her since she is so kind to come over. Usually we ask her to cook more so that can last till next day for dinner.
April Star, you staying around Bukit Batok…me too, Bukit Batok Central.
 
I stay in CCK but is kind of near..like 5-10mins drive to Bt Batok. wow you have cultivate a good habit to your girls w/o TV but we cant as we the parents love to watch TV oursleves haha...but we are slowly trying to do w/o...when she is around.

My girl is into DS so i only allow her to play during wkends. I still do give her private tution in the evening even though she can have it in the day care centre as she is a person who has a short concentration thus i think 1to1 works better for her. I will shift all her tution to the afternoon since she will be staying home instead in future....I shall keep my finger cross that everything is in order keke:)

Does any of your girls attend any other enrichment on wkends?
 
Ya, old people cannot live w/o TV! My mum is also a couch potato and the TV is rotate between her and my kids. I basically have no chance on wkdays at all, but i can watch those that my mum is watching if i want.

For my case, my mum stays with me on wkdays, and she will watch till 11+ or even later if she is 'chasing' some TVB series. But its their entertainment also la, cos they dont have other entertainment like internet....hehe

My DD1 attends an eng enrichment on Tue which my mum has to fetch her there, so we only need to fetch her to her chinese enrichment on Sun.
 
Setting house rules is important with mild % of flexibility. My h/rules are close like tiptactoe, no tvs on wkdays except friday-sundays. My DD1 is 11 this year, she has requested to go to the library on her own starting last year. The library is just beside the school by an overhead bridge so still acceptable. It is only when times she has to pool in her classmates to finish school project within a given dateline then I will have headache. As for DD2, she is attending ICR on Sats morning.
 
I agreed..la. That why..never stop mil for watching tv with my girls. She’s chasing for Korean series. At her home..she will also watch her afternoon Taiwan shows till 11+ too.
Actually, both of us also watched tv too…but only when both girls went to sleep around 9pm.
Both girls attend Berries on fri and CMA on sun after our church service.
 
no idea on Tien Hsia..I go for Berries becos is within walking distance from my home. They like the lessons and teachers there. The girls started Berries when they were in Nursery.
 
Same same meh, my mum is Korean series fan too can watch till midnight...while i am a HK series fan haha but have avoid to watch for my daughter...

Most of my friends went Tien Hsia they say is good. Apparently, their chinese improves alot. Mine refused to attend the group tution in Tien Hsia she would wailed everytime she attend so I give up and give her private tutor lor.

Only chinese, how about English and Math? Any good enrichment school?
 
Berries is good..so far their chinese has improved in term of writing and oral. I have not looked around for English and Math as I prefer to wait and see how.. If looking for one , would prefer somewhere nearer to home.
For now , my hubby is doing the teaching . Math , he will check her homework and make sure she corrects her the mistakes on the spot. He will also try to come out with a few similar questions and let her do again. We believe practice make perfect . For English, so far she is ok.. we encourage her to read more books.
 
Thought of sending my DD2 to either one despite the chinese teacher in the c/care commented she has no problem with hanyu pinyin and recognising the words. Hmm...will check it out, this will be another new project in my to-do-list.

April Star, then your mum can be my buddy for k-drama,hee.

Formation Centre for Maths or, Maths & Science and Sakamoto for Maths. Its not entirely on the enrichment centre, more importantly are the teachers.
 
My DD1 is attending Eduplus in UE sq. So far her chinese results has been not bad.

I heard Berries is gd, but will stay put at Eduplus this yr.

As for Eng, she is has started attending Tony Buzan this yr. Results for mid yr is better than last yr's, so likely to continue.
 
I agree with Eve, Berries is good, my son who is 4 now, use to reject to learn chinese, i bought him to Berries when he was around 3 yrs old, and now he can read most of the word on a newspaper.. i am impressed.
 
Nobel you are right! you and my mum can be friends haha:)

So far my DD is doing ok with her private tutor and result is suprising good so will let continue with her home tution..and see how it goes.

Eve, Tony Buzan? Where is it? Do they have a website that I can check it out??
 
April Star, does your mum has msn so we can chat & exchange views haha...

Eve, I'm also interested to check out Tony Buzan (sounds like Pusan in Korea...:)) Where is the centre?

Any mummies watch any june holiday movies, like Hannah Montenah, Night at the Musesum 2 lately? Tiptactoe, have your DD watch Night with SC already? Would like to know what's her comments.
 
Yes. She said the movie was very funny -lots of laugh out loud moments..
Tony Buzan? Something to do with mind mapping..A few years back , I went to one of the company course on mind mapping by Tony Buzan.(dun know whether is the same). Am also interested to know.
 
if only my mum knows how to use computer will definately create msn account for her haha

oh tiptacto your DD enjoy the show hmmmm maybe i should bring my DD for a movie one of these days too..
 
This is the website.

http://www.tonybuzan.edu.sg/

Tony Buzan is the mindmapping method. I signed my dd for the power learning camp in Dec 08. She likes it, so i continue the course, however she says not as fun as the camp, as they are teaching on the sch syllabus. So far so good, i will likely to continue till end of yr to see her results.

We catched Monster vs Aliens last Sun, i find it so-so only. My dd1 is asking me to bring her watch night of museum, but my mum just bought the dvd from msia so we will be watching at home.
 
Tiptaetoe

Your dd is in St Margaret right? Actually I did consider St MArgaret during the P1 intake, but eventually chose Hong Wen. So I guess you are staying near town area?
 
Hi Eve
juz came back from holiday Am staying at Bukit Batok…
We put her in St Margaret becos affiliated to the secondary school, single session, student care inside the school, got school bus available to bring her home from SC and also was the old girl there.
 
hi tiptactoe

so where did u bring your kids for holiday?
I am gg to Sunway n Genting tmr.

wow, bukit batok is so far from St margaret's. So i believe after work you fetch your dd home from sch care then head home?
 
We went to Club Med, Bintan. The kids love it.
No la…the school bus will fetch her at 5.45pm from student care and I will wait for her downstair around 6.35pm.
 
oh thats nice
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how many days did u stay and how much does it cost?

oic, so have to rush home everyday after work :p

lately my dd1 has been rather listless at home during this sch holiday. Other then using the pc, watch tv, i really dunno what i can ask her to do ...any suggestions?

My dd2 also getting naughtier, guess it is the horrible 3 stage, she enjoys throwing things and hit people! *faint*
 
hi mummies
hope all are keeping you well. Did I miss alot? Have not login quite a while and am running 2.4km to catch up the pace with all...:)
 
All inclusive vacation for 2 adults and 2 children, 5 days 4 nights , about 2k plus.. The kids can join the mini club (foc) , lots of activities planned for them from morning to night. The children even staged a performance on one of the nights for the adults to see and with only two rehearsals.
As work place is about 20mins from home, reach home about 6.15pm, fetch the younger girl from the childcare first put our bags down and rest for while then went downstairs to wait for the elder.
 
brought the girls to watch Hannah and never did i least expected, i'm also enjoying 106mins musical entertainment!
 
Hi, tiptactoe,

Can I check with you, how is the student care at st margaret?
Coz i am plannin to send my DD to st mag as well, I am actually stayin in Jurong West..
 
The student care is under YMCA. Their P1 teachers very motherly especially their Chinese teacher. The girls like her very much. Daily routine: lunch, shower nap. After nap, they will do their sch homework first , the teacher will also test them spelling for them based on the school's spelling lists . They even have PTC (parent-teacher conf) just like school. During sch holiday, they will plan activities for the girls (character building workshops, outings etc).
Maybe your dd will be same bus as my girl in future, her YMCA bus has girls from Clementi, CCK.etc. in fact, st margaret’s girls come from all over Singapore.. Some of her YMCA friends are from Sengkang, AMK and even Woodlands.
How old is your dd now?
 
I would love to plan for a trip to club med one day, guess can relax abit. But my dd2 is abit too young to be on her own, so maybe in 1-2 yrs time.

My trip to Sunway and Genting is so tiring, the kids are full of energy and we have to walk ard the theme parks for almost the whole day....
The shopping in Sunway is good, so many shops! but not much time to shop.

I am not a fan of Hannah Montana, i prefer High Sch Musical...haha
 
Sch bus picks up at 6.30am…she's the second last person . it’s a mini bus about 15 students. After picking up the last person ..the bus will go by the expressway.
My girl is enjoying school as she has many friends now from her class and YMCA. Are you putting her in YMCA student care?
 
Hi,

My ds also enrol P1 on Ye2010 at Hong Wen.
I'm also wanted put him at student care.
Wiling to put him at Mounbatten CC Student Care. Bcau near my working place. Not much SC to choose.
 
Hi I know this is quite an old thread. Hope to get some feedback on student care centres. Any good ones around? My friend was checking and said that most are not v good standard. Some don't even have proper teachers and a few of the websites she saw had plenty of grammatical mistakes!

My kids are not in pr school yet but I was considering sending them for student care when they start. Now I'm not sure.
 
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My office is located at Harvey Road (Macpherson) which is near to Tai Seng (8 mins walk) or Aljunied (Bus 62 - 10mins away) MRT.
We are paying $35 cash for your feedback.
If you are interested, please SMS me your FULL NAME, AGE & AGES OF KIDS to 91892420 ASAP!
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