With over a thousand infant care centres in Singapore to choose from, it can be pretty daunting as you try to figure out where to enrol your child in. It can be even worse when you are a first-time parent, not knowing what you want or what questions to ask. Read on to find out more tips on how to select an Infant Care Centre!
So what should you look out for?
These are some of the most important things to consider when choosing a care center for your baby.
General feel of the centre
You are encouraged to go down to the centre you are interested in for a guided tour. As you enter the school, what does your instinct tell you?
There are generally a few things that you may pick out immediately, such as the cleanliness of the school, how comfortable the environment is and how friendly and dedicated the caregivers are. How about the equipment, resources and toys that are at the centre, are they appropriate for the children?
These factors all contribute to the overall impression of the centre, which is ultimately important in determining whether you trust the centre enough with your child or not.
Here at Nurture Infant House Tampines, we have designated areas for sleep and play in a double-storey building. The space is well ventilated with air-conditioners and fans. We are located 1 minute away from a playground and 5 minutes away from greenery.
Babies and toddlers are taken care of exclusively on separate floors.
Staff
The caregivers at your chosen centre are paramount. After all, they are the ones who spend a major part of the day with your child. The way they interact with your infant can affect their future behaviours and development, hence knowing who the educarers are could be a determining factor when selecting an infant care centre.
You can also take note of the state of welfare of the caregivers. Do they look happy, well-rested and satisfied with their jobs? Caregivers who enjoy their work have higher capacity to be more patient and loving with children. This also suggests that staff turnover is likely to be low, preventing your child from having to go through a tough situation when they have to change caregivers in the middle of the school year.
At Nurture Infant House Tampines, our team of caregivers are respectful, warm and responsive to children. We genuinely care for the well-being of our students and we strive to educate them so that they can reach their fullest potential!
We work closely with one another to bring out the best in our children.
In addition, we send our teachers and educarers for regular trainings so that they are able to continuously sharpen their skills and impart their best to our precious little ones.
Attention given to children
Do you see children’s artwork displayed around the centre? Such displays are actually encouraging as the children would feel appreciated, making them feel like they belong . As they develop a feeling of familiarity and comfort in the centre, it allows them to learn and grow better too.
If you’re worried about whether your child is getting enough attention at the centre, look out for the teacher-ratio in the care centre. Many parents tend to prefer lower ratios so more attention can be given to individual children.
Observe how the teachers talk to the children, how they carry the children, is there a system in place for meal times, toilet training and others? Go through the infant care’s daily timetable and daily routines and how it fit with your home care. As a general rule, children below three years old benefit most from one-to-one interaction with adult, the minimum ratio of carer to infants is 1 carer to 5 infants.
With a teacher-child ratio of 1:3.5 at Nurture Infant House Tampines, it means that the educarers can spend more time attending to each and every child, ensuring that he/she is taken care of properly.
In addition, the well-trained and qualified caregivers/teachers are responsive to children. They plan and carry out an organized, fun-filled and professional routine care for your children. There are also nutritious meals specially planned according to the dietary recommendations for infants.
Meal plans
Diet is an important pillar of health, it is crucial for optimal development of their body and growth. Assurance of knowing how the school plans their meals are important, do find out how they do they go about planning the choice of food and is it in line with guidance with nutritionists or pediatricians. If you child has food allergy, also find out if the centre is well equipped to handle children with allergies, both teachers and equipment wise.
Taking the aforementioned factors into consideration, you are likely to be able to make a more informed decision on which infant care centre you can enrol your child in!
Nurture Infant House (Tampines)
At Nurture Infant House, our passion is to love and care for each infant and to provide a safe and interactive environment for infants to learn and grow in body and in mind independently.
If you are looking for infant care in Tampines or in East, do visit Nurture Infant House. We have over 30 years of experience in nurturing thousands of infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
If you are looking for a preschool for toddlers and older children in Tampines or in East, do visit Genesis Childcare 1989.
Feel free to book an appointment through WhatsApp. You can visit us at the following venues:
Nurture Infant House (Tampines) (2 to 18 months Infants) Blk 433 Tampines Street 43 #01-61 Singapore 520433
Tel: 96664141
Genesis Childcare 1989 (Tampines)
Blk 433 Tampines Street 43 #01-63/65 Singapore 520433
Tel: 96664141