Thank You to our childcare teachers

Our kids are precious, we want the best for them.

We can understand why everyone is angry at that particular teacher (from NTUC My First Skool) who mishandled the child.

Daddy hopes the teacher who had over 10 years of experience, did not have a malicious intent when she handled the boy. She might have lose her cool, or might have been triggered, but whatever the reason, there is no excuse for hurting the child.

Emotions are running high. The public do not want a repeat episode, they want to see justice served. Meanwhile, investigation is underway.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Take a step back, breath IN breath OUT, then ask ourselves. When was the last time we say Thank you to our teachers for taking care of our kids? How many of us have genuinely show our Appreciation towards the teachers?

All our kids have gone through the childcare path, two of them started with infant-care from 2 months onwards. We had 4 schools over the years, and we even blog about our own childcare shortlisting experience.

It is not easy to be a childcare teacher.
Some parents really treat childcare teachers as baby sitters, and always pick up the kids a few minutes before school closure. And when things do not go well, parents raise their voice and question the staff, sometimes in a demeaning tone.

For smaller childcare centres, manpower crunch is always an issue, aggravated by high turnover rate. We encountered a centre where the teachers were resigning every two months, imagine the kids’ trauma at seeing “new” faces again. Existing teachers have to shoulder more responsibilities, leading to morale issues.

Granted, childcare teachers are driven by passion, they love to work with kids, but teachers are human too. Everyone will have our good and bad days.

Imagine a childcare with screaming kids, little monsters running around, even Daddy’s blood pressure will raise. Our kids encounter their fair share of biters, scratchers, and bullies. We are guilty of pressuring the teachers to reveal the “culprits” too :p
(without success)

We have 4 little monsters at home, imagine a childcare teacher who has to face up to 10 kids for a full day. We salute the teachers for their patience and resourcefulness.

Being a childcare teacher is tough, and teachers need more than passion to carry out their job. When parents partner teachers, a child will likely enjoy a more enriching environment.

How many times have we Thanks the teacher for taking care of our kids? It is easy to find a childcare teacher, but it is harder to find one who cares.

Show our appreciation and gratitude when it is due.
Thank you Teachers, for taking care of the Lee siblings πŸ™‚

–> Click to read our Childcare selection tips

Independence and Monsters University

We were invited to watch Monsters University. Yes, it is that cool “MonstersInc” movie which we watched back in 2001, and remarked that Boon Xin looks like Boo (human girl).

You can read about Monsters University’s admission criteria here. But first, Daddy and Mummy wanted Boon Wee and Boon Kang to demonstrate some independence first. We need to know the kids are able to standup for themselves and more importantly, each other.

Our readers often hear Daddy nag that Singapore kids are too sheltered and comfortable (highlighted here and here). Are they able to face the “Real” world?

What are some of the simple activities which can encourage our kids to be more independent?
– walking two blocks to the convenience stall to buy bread.
– Waiting at gate, and bringing sibling back from school
– waiting at bus stop for younger sister
– bringing them across the road safely (Look Right, Look Left etc)
– washing their own utensils (cleanliness not up to standard yet :p )
– preparing milk for the younger siblings

Is the process simple? Maybe.
Is it necessary? Absolutely.

Throughout all these little actions, we are empowering the kids to think for themselves. One day, they have to make their own decisions. We can only bring them to a junction, but kids have to decide to turn left or right.

ps..
We are doing all these tasks in a controlled environment, and we sometimes tail the kids to make sure they follow our instructions. It is very common for European or US folks to send their young kids to fly home over ten hours by themselves.

=== === === === === === === ===

Back to our MRT train adventure. Boon Wee and Boon Kang took the train from Sengkang to Dhoby Ghaut to meetup with Daddy. After countless minders and reminders, we tell kids to stay together, at all cost πŸ™‚

The first picture actually captures our text to each other. The boys wings hardened already, they dare to call Daddy Naggy!

Their reward? Movie night with Daddy πŸ™‚
This is the prequel to the movie MonsterInc. Everything rewind back to ten years ago.
Young kids go to University to learn how to be “scarers”, their ideal job is to act Monsters and scare human kids 😑

How did Sullivan and Mike (the one eye monster) become best friends? They were always at loggerheads. How did they pull their team together, and raise up to expectations? The “OK” team proves everytimes that Teamwork Matters.

Video : Monsters University Triller

Just like the siblings in SengkangBabies, brothers and sister must work together and be there for each other.

Before we head home, we could not resist the ultra CUTE Yellow Despicables !

Monsters University start screening in Singapore from 20th Jun, and we would like to thanks Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Singapore for the preview.

Meanwhile, let Daddy Untick taking-MRT from Children’s to-do list.