In Singapore, childcare is available for children from 18 months, with the option of a half-day, or full-day. Some schools may refer to these classes as Playgroups, which are typically two to three hours each day.
Since Vera started Playgroup late last year, like most first-time parents, we were worried about her adapting to the new place, routine and being away for most of the time. We opted to have her try half-day sessions for a month, before going full-fledged into full-day.
I guess it also allowed some transition and adaptation for her as well as us. Dropping her off at school was greeted with tears, no less.
Now that she has entered N1 this year (Sobs! Where did my baby go??), we’re glad to say that those teary sessions have reduced greatly, and she seems to be enjoying school too, often asking me to talk to her about school! :)
Before the first day, it is important to make preparations to reduce any anxiety (from parents!) who may forget to pack certain things in your child’s bag for school.
To help fellow first-time parents who are sending their children to their first official school, here’s a list of items you will have to prepare for her back-to-school needs:
Checklist on what to pack in your child’s school bag:
- Water bottle
- Diapers (*we pack 4 pieces now since she’s on full day)
- 1 – 2 extra change of clothes, including pyjamas for naps* (*If your child is on full-day session with shower and naps in school, this would be necessary. Otherwise a spare change of clothes is needed in case the uniform he has gets soiled.)
- Towel* (*If your child showers in school, do bring your own towel for hygiene reasons.)
- Milk (Breastmilk, formula milk or packet milk)
- Milk bottle (*if your child is taking formula milk)
- Wet wipes
*Individual schools may differ in terms of what’s allowed in school. Do check with your child’s school to ensure your child’s bag is not over or under-packed.
For example, some schools do not allow food/snacks from home or outside to be brought to school, due to reasons which may include hygiene, halal-certification or to eliminate comparisons from other children (“Why does she have that and I don’t??”). So do check with the school on their standards too!
For your child’s source of milk, if you’re planning to prepare expressed breastmilk for him, do inform the teachers prior, to ensure that they are able to handle the breastmilk with appropriate equipment needed, for example, bottle warmer. Remember to label the stored breastmilk with your child’s name and class for easy identification.
Scratch that, it’s important to label ALL your child’s belongings to avoid/reduce a mix-up!
In fact, little V’s belongings are labelled with her name, but there was a day she returned home with a formula container that wasn’t hers :( These things do happen, and we don’t blame the teachers as we understand how it can be caring for a group of young kids. There are also days she returns home with the wrong diapers too, oh well. As parents, we can take steps to lower such occurrences :)
We knew that labelling would be essential when it comes to preparing for school, and we’re elated to discover StickerKid, a Swiss brand that offers quality personalised labels and stickers for easy identification of belongings.
Founded by a Swiss-German couple who have their hands full on the business as well as raising children, their brand has been wow-ing parents all over the world since 2004! Millions of stickers have been manufactured since then, garnering the stamp of approval and assurance of like-minded families.
StickerKid allows easy customisation via their site, and you can even decide the colours of fonts, type of fronts, size of fonts, colour of stickers and even a cute logo to go along (for selected sticker type due to size). Hassle-free, convenient and super easy to do – it’s basically idiot-proof, because if I can do it, so can you! :P
And once, you’re done with your selection, simply click on confirm order and proceed to check-out. Waiting time takes anywhere from a week up to two weeks, as sometimes the items do get halted at the customs, which is entirely normal.
To suit different needs, StickerKid has stickers in various sizes as well as usage. There are also iron-on stickers for parents who’d like to label their child’s clothing too, available in plain skinny strips or coloured shapes!
We’ve personally test-driven our set of stickers over the last three months, and are happy to report that ALL of them are still intact on her belongings! Indeed, the quality does speak for itself, having heard from other parents that alternatives have failed them (peeling off easily, or left a sticky unsightly mark on their child’s belongings) – these sticker look like mighty ones to stick with (pun unintended!), hooray!
Within these rigorous three months, milk bottles, water bottle, shoes and bag have undergone frequent washing and sun-drying. We’re delighted to share that all the stickers are still as good as new, with nary a sign of deterioration such as discolouration, peeling or smudges at all!
In fact, even if your child is headed for kindergarten or primary school, it would be wise to label their stationery and belongings too.
Read on for a special discount, just for our readers! Every bit of savings counts too, when preparing for these back-to-school essentials! :)
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Valid till end February 2016. Applicable for orders within Singapore only.
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What other items do you pack in your child’s bag for childcare or preschool? Do share with us too!
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