Posted by
siska
19 yrs ago
We are moving to hongkong early next year. our son will be around 1 year and 2 months by the time. both my husband and i will be working. we will hv full time maid however we would like to send our son to school for better stimulation. is there any preschool for kids below 2 years, no need parents/helper to join, everyday, half day or full day ?
also because my husband is from denmark and i am from indonesia, we would like to send our son to english preschool.
really appreciate any advise. thanks
/siska
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siska
19 yrs ago
in taiwan, there are some english language playgroups accepting kids from 18 months (no need caregivers to join). also there are some chinese language playgroups accepting kids less than 18 months (no need caregivers to join). of course they limit the number of children in the class. this is the type of playgroup we are looking for. appreciate if anybody know this information in hongkong
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Cara,
I think that your playgroups parents are lucky if they have family around or can afford a helper to accompany their child.
This isn't always the case - some parents have to work and leave their child in a playschool/kindergarten. In the UK & US some parents only have a month or two of maternity leave and have no choice but to drop their babies off in the morning before work and pick them up again after work.
Siska, the Education and Manpower Bureau of Hong Kong supervises the kindergardens and they have a list that they can send to you of kindergardens in your area. Likewise the Social Welfare Department can fax you a list of the nurseries and daycare centres in your area.
Don't worry, there will be something for your child - lots of HK mom's leave their child whilst they work.
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siska
19 yrs ago
Hi Mom of 1,
thanks for your information. will contact those departments for more information. in feb, we plan to go to hongkong to find apartment. once we decide which area we will live in, i will post question here again on what daycares are recommended in that specific area
/siska
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There is a playgroup in Sai Kung that takes children from 17months - 3yrs. There are only 6-8 children in a class and they attend without a helper. The price is reasonable and it is all taught in English. It's Called Inspiration.
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Hi Siska--
Do you really want your child someplace all by himself so soon? I've always felt badly for kids back in the US who are shuffled off to daycare classes all day while their parents work. It may be my bias, but the daycare kids I see when we go home are pushy and grabby and demanding of attention--survival skills from being thrown into a big group so young.
Don't you think loving one-on-one attention in your own home, even from a good helper, is nicer for them until they've learned to play well together and are really ready to be on their own? Lots of working parents sign their toddler/helper up for a couple of classes or a parent/child program at a nursery school for some social interaction and change of environment.
But back to your question, I've heard that it's fire regulations that prohibit children from being on their own before the age of two in HK. It makes sense though, can you imagine trying to get a classroom of little ones, who can barely walk let alone climb stairs, out of a burning building?
I just re-read this--didn't mean to sound preachy! But we have the luxury of full-time at-home child care here and many helpers are kind and loving toward their children. Of course many are unnecessarily rough and insensitive too...
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siska
19 yrs ago
thanks for the info. our reason to send him to daycare alone is to give him better stimulation and to interact with other kids. we think this is better than spending time with the maid all the time (inside and outside the house). but if we can't find the nursery that we feel comfortable with, then we might hv to end up to send him to toddler/helper classes.
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Siska,
There's a new children's club in north point called qq club. They have a whole range of playgroups and classes for kids ranging from 4 months to teens. This is the website: www.qqclub.hk Hope this might help.
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Hi Siska--
Wanting some "stimulation" is one thing, but wouldn't you rather have someone your son knows and trusts there to stand up for him when another child grabs a toy he was playing with? Someone he cares about to give a cuddle when another child pushes him over or hits him?
I like the idea of parent(carer)/child classes when they're so young. They need to learn how to play well together and that means something close to a one-on-one adult ratio, I think anyway.
You might want to do some reading on this...everything I've come across says if it's not the parent for the first 3(!) years, then the next best is the same person based in your home, then the same person based in their home, and then, last choice, group care outside the home. They're vulnerable little ones :-)
Anyway, I really don't mean to be hard on you. In the States, where I'm from, the vast majority of kids are in group care. We just don't need to do that here.
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siska
19 yrs ago
hi all, thanks for all your comments.
we understand the positive(s) and negative(s) of groupcare. we are thinking either to send him to half time or full time daycare. most probably we are going to live in tai tam area. anybody can recommend daycare/nursery in this area ? how about "tutor time" ? anybody can give us insight about this daycare ? thank you
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siska
19 yrs ago
Hi Rocco,
thanks. we are going to live in the manhattan as well !! hope to see u soon. we visited both woodland and sunshine, and we finally signed up with sunshine (not yet started). do you have any info about this preschool ? thanks
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Are there day care centres in Hong Kong that cater to working parents?
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I was going to send my child to Sunshine, but on the day I went to pay my deposit the head teacher was busy on the telephone, so I decided to walk around the school and see what it was like. Sorry to say but I was VERY DISSAPOINTED. As a result I cancelled my childs place. The place sure looks glam and clean etc....but please just scratch the surface a little. A friend also taught there, and had some really shocking stories to tell me. What you see and what you get are 2 very different things there....
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bbky
19 yrs ago
Hi Clueless,
Hi clueless,
OMG! Which Sunshine are you referring to? I was going to inquire about the one in Pokfulam...haven't taken the tour of the school yet. Can you elaborate a bit more on what you saw that was so shocking? Please PM me.
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siska
19 yrs ago
Hi Clueless,
my son has been in sunshine since 2 weeks ago. he is joining the playgroup class. we are happy with them so far. however it would be nice if you could elaborate further on your dissapointment. it could be one of our consideration when he needs to move to older class
thanks
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Hi all, just reading through all the opinions and I have to say I'm very surprised. When I studied my boys were in a daycare with children of mixed ages. Seperate area for babie up to two and no more than 4 children per teacher, however never less than two or three teachers and only ever 8 babies int he group it seemed. It was fine for mornings while I was in classes, they slept in their own cot at the daycare and played the rest of the time and ate together with their group. I also taught here with my children the days I didn't study. They both loved it. They got to interact with children of all ages up to 5 years old and play so freely. They went from 6 months old.
I would love so much to find something like that for my two year old here in Hong Kong. Somewhere with a big sandpit and a bit of grass for himt o run around outside in. Anyone know of any in Sai Kung or Ma On Shan area?
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crj
18 yrs ago
Gherron- check this thread, as I asked the same question more recently:
http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/forums/playgroups/threads/87458.asp
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