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View Poll Results: Will you let your child attend Nursery / Did your child attend Nursery?

Voters
109. This poll is closed
  • Yes

    83 76.15%
  • No

    11 10.09%
  • Haven't made up my mind yet

    15 13.76%
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Nursery or not?

  1. #25
    lesliefu is offline Registered User
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    my daughter will not start nursery till she is 3...which to many HK moms is "late" - however, the circumstances for my daughter are unit and to make a long story short, I believe that as she is already a little behind in her language and gross motor skills, it would be beneficial for her in the long run to be the "oldest" kid in the class rather than the "youngest" kid in the class and always feel like she's lagging behind (her b-day's in late august)....that's just our family though...would say we aren't the typical chinese family...


  2. #26
    monte is offline Registered User
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    Hmm, I know this is an old thread but want to chime in anyway. I certainly agree that circumstances (and kids' personalities) are different for each family, but I would like to disagree that with the notion that kids will necessarily be bored if they are at home. I don't plan to send my two-year-old to preschool until he's at least 3, but that doesn't mean we just sit at home all day, nor does it mean that he's bored when we're at home! We're active--he helps me with dishes after each meal, we make cookies, make playdough, today we planted seeds in a pot to watch grow, we have a nature table with items we collect on our walks, we sing songs, go to the park, etc. He gets plenty of social time, plenty of intellectual stimulation, and plenty of downtime too--which is important! So why not preschool? Well, for one, it's freakin' expensive! And since we're not on a typical expat budget, that's important to us. I'd much rather save that money for future schooling and enjoy the time I have with him now than send him off to school so early.

    And if I sound a tiny bit defensive, I really am sorry. I just get tired of being asked if my son is bored (with the implication that I'm not doing everything I should for him) when people know we "only" go to one formal playgroup a week.


  3. #27
    thanka2 is offline Registered User
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    To report back. My son started nursery school in January. He loves it. He fussed a bit the first few days but no tears were shed and now when we take him he runs happily off to his classroom. He likes the trip to school too (which for us is like 40 minutes long). It's been a good experience for him. His teachers tell us that he is very clever and that he speaks in full sentences in Cantonese and uses funny idioms sometimes. He is also a really good friend to his classmates--so full of fun.

    The only problem with sending him to school is that, well, sometimes we don't...because we don't take it all too seriously, there have been times when for one reason or another (sniffles/cold, other family things going on, potty training) we kept him home for a week at a time almost--I think the school doesn't quite know what to make of us but he keeps going and they haven't complained.

    As a mom who works outside the home (and really enjoys it) I don't have the energy to be super creative and plan and execute tons of activities with my son at home.

    I actually never remember my mom really doing that sort of thing--we just lived life naturally--we participated in life together but I don't think my parents went out of their way to become child "educators" (although they read to us and taught us many things) or "entertainers." In fact, my mom used to say when we'd complain that we were bored, "Why are you looking at me? Do I look like the entertainment committee?"

    So, the fact that my parents didn't have all these well-thought-out activities for us doesn't make me sad or feel like I missed out at all.

    The truth is, when my husband and I come home from work, we're tired and it makes me feel good to know that my son has had an active day at school enjoying himself and I don't feel obligated to have some sort of specific activity planned for him.

    If something comes up then so be it--if I feel inspired to do something with him that is beyond normal family life, then that's cool but I certainly don't feel obligated to do anything like that. For him, the thing he likes most is just to be around us and to interact with us. That's the beauty of toddlers--they don't have high expectations.


  4. #28
    monte is offline Registered User
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    Well, actually I agree with you that toddlers don't need a lot of activites or entertainment. That's why I think HK parents can be so funny--sending their kids to all sorts of things. I don't go out of my way to plan lots of special things for my son--most of what we do is just live our life but he gets included all along the way--helping with dishes, helping with other projects. He learns plenty that way and doesn't get bored either. Before people had helpers then they didn't have time to sit around and "entertain" the kids--the kids just participated. That's what we do, and I think it works well for us. I don't think preschool is at all bad, and I think that for parents who work it makes sense, not knowing if a helper would prefer to just get a task done rather than take the effort to include a child. Certainly dishes take longer when my son is helping, but it still gets done and he has fun and I'm not paying buckets of money for him to play at a water table!


  5. #29
    monte is offline Registered User
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    And please note, I'm not claiming that my way is best. I've no doubt that there are lots of great schools that my child would love. But in a city where starting school at age 2 is just the norm, and where many parents spend a lot of time and energy stressing about school, I do claim that it's not necessary for a child to go to preschool in order to thrive. (And it's not necessary to be a preschool teacher oneself in order to help a kid thrive at home!) Daily life is full of learning opportunities.


  6. #30
    carang's Avatar
    carang is offline Registered User
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    i agree wholeheartedly.


  7. #31
    smitha.kunnath is offline Registered User
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    Good one. About 2-3 month back when our daughter turned 18 months she wanted to be out with similar aged children and was really enjoying the play time with them. We thought we'll try a play school and got her admission for 2 hours a day. She is so happy to be at Playschool and even started crying while we go to take her back after 2 hours. I think its worth to keep them with their aged kids and let them enjoy the time.


  8. #32
    happily is offline Registered User
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    I am struggling a bit with this as well and have a few questions for anyone with experience with the school system here.

    I haven't found a pre-nursery (is that what they call the under 2.5 year old classes?) that I'm totally happy with and I am happy to keep my daughter at home for as long as possible. However, I would like for her to eventually attend kindergarten at 3 years, either at ESF or an international school. Do the schools look at past activities and pre-nursery when they make decisions on who to accept? Would not having a pre-nursery on her record be a problem? I assume that one of the benefits of pre-nursery is that the children are more comfortable during interviews for kindergarten - any experience with this?

    Thanks!


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