Parents share how they are unable to quickly find childcare vacancies and how these vacancies are not up to expectations.
By Sarah Lim Xue’er
Nov 15, 2019
From left: Ms Chong Yimei, her four-year-old son and her two-year-old son. Her older son attends a childcare centre just opposite the family’s apartment. Photo by: Sarah Lim Xue’er
It took eight months of searching and waiting for Mrs Brenda Leow, a young parent residing in Punggol, to find a placement for her son in a suitable childcare centre nearby.
Statistics from the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) shows there are 54 childcare centres in Punggol as of the first quarter of 2018. However, residents still struggle to find placements for their children and have reported waiting several months to hear a favourable reply from a childcare centre.
In regards to the waiting time, Ms Marlin Xu, the principal of NurtureStars Punggol, says, “It could take days, weeks, or months. It depends on vacancy, and we are unable to predict when there will be another placement.”
Ms Xu also mentions that Punggol is a young estate; more young parents are moving in and starting families, causing a greater demand for childcare centres.
The Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) shows that as of June 2019, Punggol has 16,480 children ranging from 0 to 4 years old. Punggol also has 14,710 children ranging from 5 to 9 years old. This area holds the title of the second highest number of children from the two age groups.
Ms Chong Yimei is a mother of two young sons and a Punggol grassroots leader. She shares her past fears of not being able to find a fitting childcare centre for her first son due to the high number of children in Punggol.
Kindergarten students having a tea break at NurtureStars Punggol, a private childcare centre. This centre currently has 141 students, which is more than its maximum capacity of 137. Photo by: Sarah Lim Xue’er
“I heard scary stories where parents had to wait for two years to get their child into a school,” says Ms Chong, “Five years ago, my friend from grassroots couldn’t find any schools and the only ones she could find were small childcare centres that were oversubscribed by a few hundred.”
As such, Ms Chong started to search for childcare centres six months before her son’s enrolment.
According to the Straits Times, two mega childcare centres that have 1,000 places each have been set up in Punggol to assist stressed parents.
However, the problem of the inflating demand for childcare centres does not stop at just enrolment. Parents also have certain expectations of these childcare centres while they are away from their children.
“Punggol parents have quite a taste and have high expectations of preschools – they don’t look for just any cheap place,” Ms Xu says. Common concerns parents bring up when enrolling into NurtureStars include the distance from their homes, teacher-child ratio, quality of food provided, and how the school prevents and handles outbreaks of illnesses.
The eight-month wait was not completely worthwhile for Mrs Leow, as she still compromised on her expectations of distance and transport.
Mrs Leow does not have an LRT or bus route to take her kids to school. Although the childcare centre is relatively near her apartment, she has to flag a cab to send them to school every day.
Despite that, Mrs Leow is optimistic about the childcare situation in Punggol and is relatively pleased with the education her toddlers receive. “The childcare my kids are in is very conducive as it’s clean and spacious. It’s also surrounded by greenery and water, which suits my children as they are very energetic and love the outdoors.”
Infographic by: Sarah Lim Xue’er
Comments