The idea of putting her children in a child care centre at a tender age is a horrible thought for most stay-at-home-mums. These are the brave mums who have sacrificed their career to stay at home as the main caregiver for their children. However, these are the mums who will also struggle the most should they ever be unfortunate enough to face a divorce after a few years as a stay-at-home mum.
When a stay-at-home mum divorced, she needs to make certain decisions that will affect both herself and her children. In Singapore, even though co-parenting is actively encouraged, the children will usually stay with the mother for most of the time. The mother will have to face tough decisions after divorce regarding the placement of her children while she go back to the work force.
If the mother is able to get help from her extended family, she is probably able to get family members to help her with the children. However, if she is without an extended family, it is likely that she would have to seek a child care for her children. This is likely where the tension is formed because a stay-at-home mum would likely dread the idea of putting her children in a child care centre.
Nonetheless, we believe that there are benefits that come about when you place your children in a child care centre. We have listed them out for you.
Children learn faster in a child care centre
During toddler years, children learn fastest by copying one another. Having your children in a child care centre help them to learn faster when they see what the other children are doing. Interaction and daily activities in the centre also help your children to hone social skills, motor skills and a host of other useful soft skills which they will find beneficial as they grow up. Children often learn to express themselves better after attending child care as well since they would have to express themselves in order for the teachers to know what they need. For example, a child who wishes to go to the toilet will learn to express her needs better when she faces the pressure of letting the teacher know it in class. A child who stays at home with her mother would not need such skills since the mother will observe the child closely and know that he or she needs to go to the loo.
Children learn better in a structured environment
Young children thrive on structure and a child care centre provides the structure that they need. Children learn better in a structured environment because they feel safe. Child care teachers will also group the children together for structural learning and help them to accomplish tasks in a group. These are learnings which cannot be achieved at home since there are likely just one or two children in the home. Structural training for the toddlers is also important for them to achieve certain milestones such as in speech, in motor skills and even in potty training. In group play, children are also taught to share. This aspect of learning to share with other is an important ideal that children need to learn at a very young age since it will affect their attitude growing up. A controlled play environment helps children to develop sharing instincts early on in their lives and help them to become more generous in future.
Children are well taken care of in a child care centre
In Singapore, child care centres are well controlled with rules and regulations. The teachers are all well trained and certified to teach. All children will be well taken care of and the mother can rest assured that her children will not suffer in the hands of a maid or a nanny. The centre ensures that children will be well taken care of whether the teacher in charge is available or has fallen sick that day. This is an assurance that alternatives care such as a nanny will not be able to provide.
The centre is a stable and reliable assistance in caring for your children
A child care centre is committed to provide care for all their children while the parents are at work. Hence, there is no worry that the centre will call the mother and say that the teachers are sick and unable to care for her children. Mothers can safely go to work, assured that their children will be well cared for regardless of the situation in the child care centre.
Mothers can focus on their work
When mothers know that their children are well cared for in a child care centre, they are able to focus on their work. Mothers who have left their children with a maid or a nanny may have to call regularly in the course of a work day to find out if their children have been well taken care of. If their children are in child care centres, then they can be assured that the teacher will call if something out of the ordinary happens. With such assurance, mother can definitely focus on their work while they are in the office and be more productive.
Therefore, it is beneficial for mothers to put their children in child care centres when they go to work. The important thing is for the children to be well taken care of and in the process, they get to learn great things too.
