Most dual-income families in Singapore often send their child to a Childcare centre, especially when they do not have a grandparent or a helper to look after their child. Similarly, infant care centres are increasingly becoming more popular in Singapore as we observe long waiting lists in many centres. Many parents also rush to enrol their babies even before they are out of their mothersâ wombs!
If youâre wondering why that is the case, read on to find out the benefits of enrolling your little ones in an infant care centre!
Benefits of Enrolling Your Child in an Infant Care Centre in Singapore
1. Improves your infantâs social skills
At infant care, your baby will have greater opportunities to explore and play together with other children. The entire environment provides them with the much-needed social element in their formative years as they pick up concepts of sharing and waiting for their turn, which can be extremely helpful and beneficial for young children.
2. Strengthens muscle development
In childrenâs early years, they are in a rapid stage of physical development and require continuous and consistent exercises to practise and stimulate their growth spurt. Heard of baby-appropriate gyms and infant playgrounds? These places are equipped with cruising bars, floor mats, gym blocks, push cars, and balls alongside sensory play areas for children to flex their big and small muscles.
A simple movement of pushing a ball can help a baby develop hand-eye coordination and nurture spatial awareness. Rather than purchasing all the relevant items for your home, perhaps it is better to enrol your child in an infant care that possesses all the necessary equipment!
3. Nurtures your babyâs linguistic capabilities
Is storytime a regular activity for your infants? Research has shown that talking to your babies even before they start to say their first word is extremely essential because it builds a strong foundation for language and communication skills. Chatting or reading to them enables them to understand the rules and rhythms of the English language at an early age. Besides that, it also helps develop the brain of young children and can aid them to do better when they begin school.
Most infant care centres in Singapore do have numerous programmes to nurture your babyâs linguistic capabilities and keep them entertained when they are up from their naps. Storytelling is one such example as infant educarers will pick an age-appropriate book and read to the babies and toddlers, with the most engaging and expressive voices and gestures!
Childrenâs songs and catchy nursery rhymes that tend to have silly repetitions of words and phrases will also help children to pick up vocabulary and learn the sequences of words!
4. Engages them in a multi-sensorial environment
Children explore the world through their five senses â touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing. In their early years, it is crucial to allow them to explore their surroundings through various activities, objects, and thematic experiences as they discover and comprehend the world around them!
Sensory boards are usually found throughout an infant care centre. These boards encourage little children to feel different textures, colours, and even complete simple tugging and pulling activities to help them strengthen their finger muscles.
5. Cared for by Qualified Infant Educarers
Especially for first-time parents who are still learning how to care for their babies, sending their child to an infant care can really ease their minds as qualified infant educarers take over duties in the day!
Some parents may mistake infant care as a baby-sitting or nanny service that only provides routine care like feeding and diapering. They may even think that it is done by individuals without much training. However, in reality, the Singapore government mandates that infant educarers need to be properly certified in infant and toddler care, be trained in first-aid to administer help in emergencies, and have sufficient experience in the early childhood industry.
Infant educarers also go beyond just the routine care activities as most established providers do have a structured programme in place to help bring out the best in every child!
Infant care teacher-child ratio is also in fact, much lower than child care centres. Though the Early Childhood Development Agency recommends 1:5, some infant care centres may go even lower to a 1:3 ratio ensuring that your baby’s personal needs are met.
Be it feeding a child, bathing, putting a child to sleep, or engaging them in various activities, trained infant educarers with many years of experience under their belts can assure parents that their little ones are in good hands!
All in all, rather than viewing infant care centres as a place to send your little ones to as you head for work, bear in mind that they do also provide numerous benefits for your child. Through the various activities, programmes and facilities, children get to develop and learn at their own pace and pick up important social skills.
Infant and Toddler Programme @ Mulberry Learning
Animated songs and story-telling sessions capture your little oneâs attention and stimulate speech development. During Music StimulationTMÂ time, we use music to spark connections in infantsâ brains, stimulating their creativity, spatial intelligence, emotional and cognitive development. Â From cooing and babbling to saying their first words, we, at Mulberry Learning help your child build language foundations early.
Mulberry Learning uses Experiential Learning as the main approach for infants and toddlers as it has been deemed by experts as one of the most fun, engaging, and effective methods to learn new concepts. At Mulberry Learning, children are encouraged to be mini-explorers, to express and communicate their reflections and experiences, while having lots of fun in the process!
