"Born in India, however, brought up in Dubai, I have literally witnessed Dubai transform from sand to cement scape! Went on to graduating from the University of Texas in Austin as a certified Special Needs and Regular Elementary Teacher. Worked at the Dubai Center for Special Needs for five years and nearly two years at the American School, Dubai. I decided to stay at home to be with my loving one-year old daughter and to have more home-cooked meals for my dear husband. In the interim, I started a fun/educational/creative/social/arty playgroup and we called ourselves KidZ and MumZ. Two years into this, I've returned back to being a Substitute Teacher, enjoying my much longed for tennis lessons and yoga classes before I anticipate life as a full time teacher in the horizon."Shalini Nagji
*************************************************************************************
As you visit a few nurseries, your first visit should be without your child. This is your time to meet the administration, collect necessary forms, and ask for a tour of the nursery. Get a feel of the place…and people. Take your child on the second visit, where hopefully if positive the first time, you should feel similarly the second time rond. Things are familiar to you first, which your child senses instantly as you show your child around. You don’t have to hit all the nurseries in town… there is no magic number however, seeing 7-8 should cover getting an idea of how nurseries function.
Factors to keep in mind when choosing the ‘right’ nursery for your child:· YOU feel a sense of comfort as you walk through the premise - see smiling staff and kids.
· There is an overall, general ‘Pre-school’ curriculum followed in most nurseries. Some are clear in the curriculum they follow. Some will incorporate a touch of Montessori. Some skew towards ‘British’ or ‘American’ pre-reading, pre-writing, and story-telling activities and will even be able to tell you which schools their graduating buds move on to. So, if you have a preference of curriculum you will want your child to follow – this is your first question.
· Convenient location from home – there is no need to feel like you are not giving the ‘best’ to your child if he/she didn’t get admission in one of the ‘popular’ nurseries or that he/she did, but you are traveling 40 minutes back and forth. Your child is (a). young (b). we have terrible traffic and summer weather (c). potential playdates will probably be as far away – kids who already live around the nursery.
· Overall hygiene and maintenance of classrooms, equipment, and materials used.
· Ask about the health check ups carried out by the nursery – who do they bring in and at what intervals. At this point, ask and visit a completely equipped nurse’s room. Go over and feel comfortable with their emergency plans for your child and their premise.
· Recommendations of just 2-3 friends, if possible.
· A bonus, if your child knows a friend starting with him/her or in another class. Familiarity of some sort.
Having made your decision, there is that rare child that doesn’t shed a tear upon parting with mommy/daddy. An important advice:
Happy Mommy/Daddy = Happy Child left at Nursery
The ‘right’ time to send your child to Nursery
First, working moms and stay at home moms need to be equally commended! As long as YOU feel comfortable, trustful, and confident of the people that you are entrusting your child with – the weaning process can begin as early as four months!
In Dubai, the concept of day cares is becoming more of a reality, with just a few at hand so far – so currently, a working mom’s option is limited. Having your child in as early as under two years of age, the top most priorities are (1) Feeding routine (2) Regular nap routine (3) Safety & Health. A well-fed child, a well-rested child, and a healthy child is the goal to be achieved! Social skills, cognitive achievements and so forth all branch off from the above. Make sure your nursery addresses this in its philosophy. For those moms who do have the option of being at home, a ‘sensible’ and ‘popular’ age that is commonly chosen to send our kids to nursery is at two years or closely approaching the two. The two top reasons moms seem to agree on at this age, are:
(1). Their child’s immunity is stronger. No doubt, your child will go through the whole first term with rounds of sicknesses. However, a two-year old plus child will more likely have a stronger ability to fight illnesses and then his/her body settles in. A one and a half year old child, mostly, will have sicknesses recur. The more absences make ‘settling in’ harder for child, and mom.
(2). Kids at two are talking more than a handful of words. This helps in their transition of socializing and communicating with less frustration. They have a degree of cognition, if practiced in earlier situations, that reads:
Mommy says a ‘happy’goodbye and ‘see you later’ = mommy comes back
By Shalini
No comments:
Post a Comment