Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Too young for school

Am I been a “kiasu” mum or just thinking of the best for my little gal?

Last Friday I went to collect little gal’s report card and her previous semester books and works. Her teacher mentioned that there are some improvements in little gal’s social skill although she can be very shy when call upon and reluctant to play with other children. Overall she has great marks in the academic part. Teacher’s comment in the report card is that she is very hardworking and good reader. Am I proud of her!

Since she was a baby, I made it a point to read and play flash cards with her on every other night. Her nanny helped a lot, she taught little gal a lot. So learning and reading in pre-school are nothing unusual for little gal.

Just the other night I was discussing with hubby about little gal’s education and how much she has learnt in pre-school. Hubby said that I am pressuring my little gal to strive better at such tender age. Well, I thought education should start at tender age and what better age for them to learn new things than 3 years old, right? Probably my perception is wrong, but I am definitely thinking of giving a better headstart for my little gal in the future. There is a friend of mine that decided not to send her children to preschool. Her comment is that they will be in school for at least 15 years, so why start early???

Both hubby and myself only schooling at age of 6 and we did managed to finish our colleges and obtained the necessary degrees. Correct me if I am wrong. Pre-schools were not that well known back in 70s and 80s and we were not compulsorily required to attend pre-schools back then.

I did contemplating about sending my little gal to pre-school, but after much weighing the pros and cons, I decided to send her in. I did not have time to home-school her and her nanny can only teach her much. She needs more times with other children as most of the time she was alone with no other children to play and interact with. So it comes back to the decision of enrolling her in preschool early.

7 comments:

Merryn said...

these days, parents send their new born babies to classes! so wat to say? wat to do? wat ur friend said is right, they are going to study for the rest of their life so why hurry?

but my point of view is, i'll send ethan to classes such as english, or mandarin or music n not full time preschool. i might want him to attend class like 2-3 times a week and only 1-2hours each session. dat way, he'll think he is playing more than learning, so no pressure. pre-school will start at 5 or 6 years old for him, i think.. hahaha..

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

Kids at that age need to mix around with other kids, more for interaction than to study ...

Ezvina said...

Don't worry too much, it's ur kids, it's up to you to 'shape' them, no matter what others say.

Sasha Tan said...

i send jayden to sch because I have no choice. he was rejected by his nanny when he turn 2 years old. So I opted to send him to sch + daycare. Because he stayed in his nany house and was placed in front of the tv and bullied by the nanny and the other girl, he don't know how to mix around or he choose not to anymore bcos he was afraid that ppl might bully him. So send him to sch now, is actually for him to interact with other ppl and give myself some time to work at home. Not much, just 2 hours. At sch he learn how to share, understand instructions and play with other kids and so on. yeah its true that they wil be in sch for many many years to come. but how sure are we that the kid is having fun at home with us alone?

pearly said...

kids need company and there do learn lot at skol or nursery .

Dav DiDi said...

I think, there is nothing wrong with sending kids to school at age of 3 ..

But its still their playing time .. so, don't pressure too much when they got F or E ... let the learning be fun :)

Unknown said...

I send my kid to preschool when he was 30 months old. He is alone at home, so I want/prefer him to mix around, talk more, sharing and etc. it's normal for parents nowadays to send their children to preschool at age 3. some even earlier.