If you’re expecting a baby or already raising one, choosing between hiring a family member for childcare and enrolling the child in a preschool can be a tough nut to crack. From what we understand from the parents who enroll their children at https://ourfirststeps.com.sg/macpherson/ for dedicated childcare, everybody wants the best for their children.
From safety to education and healthy living, the needs can be mind-numbing. Before hiring family childcare or enrolling your baby in a preschool, it is important to understand that there’s no one size fits all when it comes to caring for a baby.
It is possible that one of your friends found may have found success with hiring a family member for the childcare role, but you should not assume that the results will be the same for you. It would be better if you did a bit of background research, compare your options, and go with the one you believe will perfectly suit you.
This guide compares the pros and cons of choosing a preschool in Singapore vs. hiring a family member as a childcare provider. You can use these pointers to weigh your options and choose what you believe would work best for you.
Family Childcare Pros
Less costly
Hiring a family member may be a lesser expensive option than enrolling the baby at a preschool. You can always negotiate the fee with the family member to pay lesser amounts that you could have paid in an accredited preschool in Singapore.
Convenience
If you work at odd hours or drive for long hours to and from work, hiring one of your family members to assist with childcare may be convenient compared to the childcare center. Ideally, the location won’t be a problem since you won’t have to worry about making extra trips to the preschool.
Ease of Adjusting
It is highly probable that the family member you’ll hire to help with childcare had babysat him/her before. This implies that the child wouldn’t find it difficult adjusting to life with the caretaker. Besides, there’s also a reduced risk of separation anxiety as the child will be living with someone they’ve been seeing regularly and used to.
Sufficient one-to-one Care
Adult to child ratios in preschool is still an issue in developing preschools. Ideally, if you are not lucky to find a good preschool with the ideal ratio of child to adults, there’s a risk of your child not getting plenty of attention and care that he/she would get with a hired childcare giver.
The Drawbacks of Hiring a Family Member for Childcare
Professionalism
If you have a close personal relationship with the family member you wish to hire for childcare, you may find it hard to build a professional relationship you’d build with employees in preschool. Because of this, there is always the risk of tension boiling if you can’t reach an agreement on how you want your youngster to be cared for. Besides, a close personal relationship may also make it difficult to make any sound work arrangements and ground rules, something you won’t have to deal with in a reputed preschool in Singapore.
Training
Preschools only employ childcare experts who are fully trained and have the required qualifications to take care of toddlers. Therefore, they fully understand what is best and what may be harmful to your baby.
On the other hand, the relative you want to hire may not have any relevant childcare training. Therefore, there is a risk of mistakes happening, some of which may be costly to rectify or, worse off, strain your relationship with the relative.
You Basically Must Have a Backup Plan
Having a relative as a childcare giver may sound convenient, but it isn’t easy as many would assume. Let’s take, for instance, if the relative falls sick or gets an emergency.
You will have to find your own way of taking care of the child when the childcare giver is not around. This may not only affect your baby psychologically but may also be costly to you in terms of personal commitments. If the baby were enrolled in a preschool, you really wouldn’t have to worry about such issues.
No Connection with Peers
This is probably one of the biggest concerns with having a relative fill the childcare provider role for you. Most commonly, your baby will be confined to the house.
This limits the baby’s connection with peers; therefore, he/she would find it difficult to adjust to life or get along with peers when they finally join kindergarten or school. Besides, the family member may not have the required energy to stimulate the child and entertain the youngster like they’d be entertained at a preschool in Singapore.
Is Preschool Worth the Money
From the comparisons, it is easy to see that the drawbacks of hiring a family member as a caregiver outweigh the pros. Besides, studies have proven that if you take your child to a preschool, chances are high; he/she will display better academic and self-regulatory behavior skills than peers who didn’t go through a preschool.
That implies that preschool is worth the money. It wouldn’t be any good gambling with your child’s future. Schedule a tour now to see how a certified preschool can help with your child’s development and growth.