Whoa whoa ... a lot of posts today. And it always happens when I disappear! Hhahaa. Brought Nat for playdate at Peekaboo today. And yeah ... I was just thinking to myself today, Singapore does have many of such indoor playgyms, playgrounds. And more are still sprouting.
I guess it's really about capturing the market, knowing how willing parents are to spend for their kids these days. Plus it does appeal to HDB heartlanders who usually don't have such fancy playarea. That being said, I also agree with posters like furby and smalldreams that sometimes, nature are the best environments for our kids. Our LOs at this age, throw them in any environment and they'll absorb whatever that's given to them. It doesn't always have to be fancy playareas. After reading posts here, I feel very heartened that some of the moms here have learnt the beauty of living in Singapore.
Having lived away from home for the past 5 years, I have learnt to appreciate the beauty of being in Singapore. I guess everything is so well thought through in Singapore that we have more often than not taken things for granted. It really isn't after having lived overseas, that you'll realize, that a lot of things in life, are not necessary given. You have to really work hard for it. Take for example, people in big countries, they leave their families in their hometowns to move to the bigger cities to work. And it's possibly only when during public holidays, that they get to go home to spend time with their family.
And here we are here, grumbling about having to stay with our parents/in-laws. I am a guilty party. But because of the compact size of our country, the government is able to govern the country easily without messages being broken down along the way. Big countries sometimes do not really come down to the level of the people. They tend to look at bigger pictures like economy, defense etc. But this trip has also opened my eyes to some of the issues that have surfaced during GE 2011.
Yes, costs of living are truly high. A bowl of beef noodles in a food court costs me sgd5! And when I visit some retail stores, I see foreigners being hired and they cannot understand english! It makes me wonder isn't it better to hire a senior Singaporean to do the job? Is it really much more expensive to hire Singaporeans? And education system, I've talked to some friends whose kids are in primary school and the shared sentiments is that branded schools are not necessary better.
It all boils down to the fundamentals of education in Singapore. What is their objective? It is no longer to care for the interests of the students but more to make students work things for them in putting them high on charts. It's so typical of Singapore to be meritocratic in every single thing. Even when it comes to sacrificing the welfare of our kids. Seriously ... are branded schools necessarily better?
Queueing overnight for a place in a good school, does it really make sense? I have seen how kids who have gone to neighbourhood schools and have still thrived and done well. So what really is the big deal? Ultimately, isn't it to just get a cert and to get ahead with life and leading it with passion? What's with the obsession in getting good grades to surpass other kids? I know I may be saying it easy now and when it comes to my turn, I might feel the heat.
But all this while, my dreams for Nat has never been to top the class or be in top percentage. DH and I hope to have her lead her life with passion. But of course if her passion is to be top student, we won't stop her either.
Without passion, whatever tasks she takes on, it's just going through motion. She has to learn to love herself, love her life. And as parents, we are only there to support.
As for choice of primary school, we're not gonna stress ourselves over it. DH's alma mater was a neighbourhood school whilst mine is a school with rich history and a strong culture where teachers truly love children and have a strong passion in what they teach. Both has its advantages. Neighbourhood school is near where we live. My alma mater, I loved the strong culture that they evoke in their students. We are not gonna get too stressed about sending her to a branded school whatsoever.
To me, nothing matters more than sending Nat to a school with teachers who truly love children and lead with passion. Wonder if you gals watched CNA's 'How to be a super parent' in today's episode? If you haven't, there'll be repeats. A lot of things that Julia Gabriels said made sense. Do watch it when you can.
