It’s hard not to be a kiasu parent. When you know firsthand how competitive the society is, even for little children who haven’t gone to primary school yet, you’re also likely to fear losing out.
Enrolling kids to English enrichment centres in Singapore is a great thing. English, for one, is a widely-spoken language. It gives advantages to children who can understand, read, and speak it.
But then, if we send our children to enrichment centres, our reason will not be about competitiveness. We want our kids to make the most out of their childhood, while at the same time develop a love or appreciation for learning.
We wanted to make sure that we’re doing what is best for our kids so these are the pointers that we made clear to ourselves.
- If our kids will be joining enrichment classes, it’s because we understand its benefits. We promised ourselves that we will not have our kids signed up to anything just because children in our community also are. That said, before even looking out for schools or organizations that offer language enrichment classes, I discussed first with my husband what’s in store for our kids. Whether the investment will be worth it and whether the kids will have a fun experience. The happiness of our little ones was the most important factor for us. When we saw they enjoyed their classes and that they were actually looking forward to it, that was when we were able to say, we’re on the right track.
- We will only enroll my kids to classes they’re interested in or which will be beneficial for them. It’s good to have kids socialise with other kids their age. It’s also good to have some me-time while ensuring that the little ones are in good hands. But then, the first priority will always be the kids and their interests or welfare. At one point, we thought of migrating to Canada where most of our immediate relatives are. And having the kids learn the English language will serve them well. So my husband and I were so thrilled to have the little ones join English enrichment classes. We were also happy with the fact that the teachers are so approachable, it didn’t take long for the kids to feel comfortable in class.
- We will have my kids attend classes that offer a programme different from what’s already offered in school. It doesn’t make sense to sign up the kids where they will receive what is already given to them in regular school. We wanted their enrichment class to be fun, easy, and stress-free for them. We wanted them to cultivate a love for reading without pushing them too hard to read. This was important to us because kids are kids. It’s hard to have them sit on a chair for long. So we looked for a class that makes sure to engage the little ones to fun activities.
My husband and I were happy we did enroll our kids, 4 and 7, to enrichment classes. And that we knew we didn’t do it just for the sake of having some time for ourselves or so they will have experiences similar to their friends. We let them attend only the best enrichment centre in Singapore because they’re happy and we saw the good they could give them.
