playgroup for 1yo?

[slin]

Hi,

I'm a new mommy to a 4.5mo baby and just chance upon some recent posting on pre-school/playgroups etc. I have to admit that i am totally clueless in terms of HK education system and would like to seek guidance as to how i should proceed to prep my girl for future. I have some local friends who said my girl would need to start playgroups at the age of 1 so that she can qualify for good nurseries when she turned 3. Is it really necessary??? I don't recall attending any play schools till i was 4yo, my neighbourhood playground and my house garden was where i spent most of my toddler years exploring the world ...is it me or do you all think the hk education is a lil too extreme? Sorry don't mean to offend anyone here.

 

[carang]

It really all depends on your child's personality and how much time you spend with her out and about.

I run 2 playgroup centres and our classes start from about 10 months. But many of these babies attend with grandparents/helpers during the weekdays. I think the mums & dads put the babies into the classes to get them out of the house and with people and other babies, something they might not be exposed to if they weren't enrolled. On weekends, we get mostly parents who work all week and want some "quality" time with their kids. Now, everyone has a different take on what "quality" time means. For some, attending classes would not qualify, for others it does. Many parents in HK don't get to spend much time with their kids and some of them are at a loss for what to do with them on the weekends, this is where classes come in.

That said, many of my students have been accepted to the so-called "elite" schools in HK. I think that for now, you don't have to worry about it. Your baby is only 4.5 months old, but you may want to get together with some friends who also have babies around the same age. You can plan different activities for them as they age and develop. Or you can save yourself the hassle and just join a class.

Remember, the vast majority of kids in HK do not have the luxury of a large house with garden to explore. People here have a very different upbringing. My husband, a local, had never sat on grass before he was about 35 years old, when I took him to Canada. Playgroups can offer experiences that not are not readily available to kids here. At our summer camp this year, we have a "water play" day... sprinklers, paddling pools etc for the kids to play in. The kids are terrified of the sprinkler! They've never, ever had the opportunity to "jump through the sprinkler" which was a mainstay of my summer vacations when I was a kid. I have to actually show them what to do!