What are your childcare arrangements once your maternity leave ends?
For many, infant care is the best solution to ensure that your precious 2- to 17-month-old is well taken care of while you return to work. But infant care isn’t just watching over a baby. The best infant care programmes nurture babies and prepare them for their nursery and preschool journeys, helping them to meet developmental milestones. Infant care is crucial for several reasons, encompassing physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development.
Choosing the right infant care that suits you and your little one’s needs is highly important.
Safe environment for infants
One of the most important factors of a good infant care programme is that they take the utmost care to provide a space that is free of hazards for your baby. The environment should be kept clean and frequently sanitised, particularly diaper-changing areas, toys, and play mats. All toys provided to the babies should be safe and age-appropriate, without any loose parts that can pose choking risks, and furniture should not have any hard, sharp edges that could hurt a baby.
Ultimately, a safe environment encourages infants to explore their surroundings, which is essential for cognitive development and promotes curiosity and learning.
KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse’s infant care environment is specially tailored to host young infants, particularly for those who are crawling, toddling and cruising. For example, the utmost care is taken to ensure that play surfaces have round edges.
Some of our KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse centres also feature a Sensory Oasis™ facility, which features a peaceful and relaxing environment for infants that promotes relaxation and encourages development and stimulation. KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse is also proud to be the first preschool in Singapore to introduce such an innovative facility.
Immersed in soothing sounds, captivating lights and a variety of learning materials, our little ones get to explore the environment using their five senses. This helps to uplift their sensory play experiences and discoveries while keeping their minds and emotions calm.
Physical, psychological and emotional well-being of infants
Providing a supportive, safe, and nurturing environment is essential to foster healthy growth and development in our little ones. With good nutrition to help keep babies well-nourished, as well as an established sleep routine, we can help to meet babies’ physical needs.
The best infant care programmes will also ensure psychological well-being by offering children a stimulating learning environment, and plenty of opportunities for exploration and play. Finally, caregivers should foster secure attachments and relationships with the children, allowing them to feel safe and build emotional resilience.
KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse prioritises not only meeting children's basic needs but also nurturing their emotional, social, and cognitive well-being. Our approach to infant care is rooted in the concept of Natural Rhythm™; we take our cues from the babies. While many infant care centres may fix a set naptime for all babies, at KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse infant care centres we are flexible so that infants can nap whenever they need to.
Finally, in accordance with the concept of Natural Motricity™, we believe in letting babies explore and initiate activities independently. This builds their innate sense of self-belief and confidence.
Educational aspect in infant care
You might be surprised at how much an infant can actually understand and absorb. An infant’s brain is extremely dynamic and evolving, meaning that it grows, adapts, and takes in information at an amazing rate. Primed for rapid learning and development, babies need early exposure to a rich and stimulating environment - whether toys, books, or even interacting with caregivers. All these boost their ability to understand and interact with the world, promote socio-emotional skills, and set the stage for future academic success and lifelong learning.
Through KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse’s FIITercise programme, our infants strengthen their gross motor skills and explore the world around them. Building their confidence in understanding how the physical world works is highly important for development as well.
Finally, our Pic-a-book programme makes use of well-loved nursery rhymes and stories to promote language acquisition through listening, comprehending and speaking. The nursery rhymes and stories are brought to life through pictorial scenes and sensorial play experiences, bringing a delightful interactive learning experience to all our infants.
Cost
Sure enough, cost may be a concern for parents, as in Singapore, many infant care programmes can involve significant costs. However, there are several ways that cost can be reduced thanks to the different types of subsidies that are offered.
ECDA defines a working parent as a mother or a single father who logs at least 56 hours of work per month. This includes both freelance and part-time work, which allows for more flexibility among parents who are not working full-time.
As a working applicant, you are entitled to $600 of basic subsidy per month to offset the high costs of infant care centres in Singapore.
Additional subsidy provided by the government is means-tested to allow the lower income families to receive a greater amount. This is to encourage them to enrol their infants into a suitable infant care centre while they work to provide for their families.
Non-working applicants are entitled to $150 for basic subsidy, but do not qualify for any other additional subsidy from the government.
Conclusion
When considering an infant care centre for your precious little one, do think about these factors: a safe environment; nurturing of physical, psychological and emotional well-being, educational aspect; and cost.
Putting together these factors, you will find that KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse has all you need and more. To find out what KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse can do for you and your child, book a tour to visit your preferred centre and speak to our staff for personalised advice.
FAQ Section
What is infant care?
Infant care refers to the specialised care provided to babies and toddlers in a childcare or early childhood education setting. It involves attending to their basic needs, fostering their early development through age-appropriate activities, and creating a safe and nurturing environment for their growth.
At what age is it appropriate to send my child to infant care?
Parents often start considering infant care when they need to return to work or when they feel ready to introduce their child to a structured social environment. Typically, infants can start attending infant care as early as 2 months old, although this varies depending on parental preferences, childcare availability, and individual child development.
What is the difference between sending my child to infant care versus getting a nanny?
To learn more about the difference between sending your child to infant care and getting a nanny, you may read our blog article here.
Is it more beneficial for me to send my child to infant care before advancing to higher levels within the preschool?
Deciding whether to start your child in infant care before moving them to higher preschool levels depends on factors like your child's needs, your family's schedule, and available childcare options. Starting early can offer socialisation and developmental support, but some families prefer waiting until their child is older. Consider your child's temperament, your work schedule, and quality childcare when making this choice.
How can I track my child’s well-being and progress in infant care?
Parents will receive monthly developmental updates, along with weekly updates via LittleLives, a communication platform.
What if my infant child is not interested in participating in these activities?
It is not uncommon for infants to take time adjusting to new activities. Our infant educators will closely monitor your child's reactions and tailor activities to their interests and developmental stage. Our caring staff is experienced in supporting children through transitions and helping them feel comfortable and engaged.
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