Ask the Experts

Ask the experts for parenting tips, advice on nurturing kids and early childhood education or tips for primary school education. Read up questions from other parents.

Ask the Experts for Parenting Tips

Have questions on nurturing kids? Let our experts help! Your question might just be selected* to be answered and published in our bi-monthly posting! You can read up on answers for other parents' questions! Use the search engine to find your desired area of concern!

PARENT'S ANSWERED QUESTIONS (BY EXPERTS):

Enrichment
Academic

Question: How to determine whether my child requires any enrichment classes and what kind?

Mummy Teo

Question:People around me are all sending their children to enrichment classes. How do I know if my child requires any enrichment classes and what kind of enrichment classes should I send him to?Answe...

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The Expert:

Sue Lynn Lee 

Academic Director, Early Years and Lower Primary

The Learning Lab
Enrichment
Reading/ Phonics/ Writing/ English

Question: How to help my children who are confused between English Phonics and the HYPY?

Kelly Lee

Question:I realise that my child is being confused with the English phonics taught and the HYPY taught at school. Is there any way to help my child with this problem?Answer:Ensure that Children are Mo...

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The Expert:

Sue Lynn Lee 

Academic Director, Early Years and Lower Primary

The Learning Lab
Enrichment
Academic

Question: What is a suitable age for a child to start knowing about current affair and discussion?

Miss Khoo

Question:Is it too early to start my child with current affair knowledge and discussion? How can I interest him at such a young age of 5 years old?Answer:Never Too Young to Expose Children to What is ...

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The Expert:

Sue Lynn Lee 

Academic Director, Early Years and Lower Primary

The Learning Lab
School
Pre-school and Childcare Full Day

Question: What is the optimal teacher-child ratio for a preschool?

LittleKay

Question:I am worried about the teacher-child ratio for my child's preschool. Is there a standard ratio? I prefer the teacher child ratio to be smaller so that more focus can be given to each chil...

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The Expert:

MindChamps PreSchool

www.mindchamps.org

Enrichment
Others

Question: Should I enroll my child for enrichment classes in their preschool or send them to enrichment centres?

Mummy Claire

Question:My child's preschool offers enrichment classes during school hours at extra cost. Should I enrol him for such classes or will it be more effective sending him to the enrichment centres fo...

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The Expert:

Janice Lim

Deputy Director, Curriculum & Training (Early Childhood)

MindChamps Preschool
School
Pre-school and Childcare Full Day

Question: Will studying in a Chinese Preschool result in weaker English command for my kid?

Christine

Question:If a preschool focus more on Chinese language, does it mean that other subjects like Math will also be taught in Mandarin? Will their English language be weaker then?Answer:Place a Strong Emp...

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The Expert:

Joyce Sun

Centre Director of MindChamps Chinese PreSchool @ Tampines Central and MindChamps PreSchool Curriculum Team

MindChamps Chinese PreSchool
School
Pre-school and Childcare Full Day

Question: What is STEAM Education and is it appropriate for preschool?

Sam

Question:I understand STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics and I am seeing that some preschools and enrichment centres are starting to offer it. However what exactl...

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The Expert:

Ms Cheryl Francisco

Curriculum Development Manager

Cambridge Pre-School
School
Pre-school and Childcare Full Day

Question: How does Coding benefit young children

Mummy SL

Question: Why are coding classes so popular these days? How can my child benefit from coding classes? I mean, does my child really need to start at pre-school age, or can I wait till primary school?An...

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The Expert:

Dr Richard Yen

Founder of ChildFirst Pre-school & Managing Director of Ednovation Pte Ltd

ChildFirst Pre-school
General
General

Question: Are there any preventive measures I can take for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD)?

Joyce Tan

Question:Recently there was a case of HFMD in my son's childcare centre. I'm a little worried. Are there any preventive measures I can take for my 5-year-old?Answer: Combating HFMD in Singapor...

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The Expert:

Dr William Tan

Medical Director

MindChamps Medical
School
Pre-school and Childcare Full Day

Question: Can I replace Nursery 1 with various enrichment classes for my child?

IC_PRIS

Question:I'm intending to skip Nursery 1 for my son. Just wondering if that is ok. By skipping, i will enrol him to at least 3 enrichments classes a week - that will include an English Enrichment,...

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The Expert:

Mrs Esther Lim

Curriculum Director of LEAP Education Group

LEAP Schoolhouse
Enrichment
Chinese Language

Question: How do we teach our child to appreciate the Chinese culture here and speak mandarin fluently?

Wei Ling

Question: Although we are Chinese by ethnicity, both my husband and I are native English speakers who are more comfortable speaking English in everyday situations. In our hectic schedules, how do we ...

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The Expert:

MindChamps Chinese PreSchool Curriculum Team

MindChamps Chinese Pre-School
General
General

Question: How do I reinforce the bedtime routine for my 5 years old?

Janice Wu

Question: I’m finding it harder to keep to my 5 -year-old daughter's bedtime nowadays. She'll often bargain for 30 minutes more, whether it is to watch TV, or to just play with her toys...

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The Expert:

Samantha Tang

Consultant Psychologist

MindChamps Allied Care
Enrichment
Reading/ Phonics/ Writing/ English

Question: How to spend quality time with our daughter that is both fruitful and beneficial?

Celest Chong

Question: As both my husband and I work, we have very little time to spend with our daughter. How do you suggest we spend quality time together with her that is both fruitful and beneficial?Answer:The...

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The Expert:

Brian Caswell

Dean of Programme Research and Development

MindChamps Reading and Writing
General
General

Question: Time-outs are not working as well as before. What should I do?

Irene Ng

Question: Time-outs are not working as well as before on my kids, are there any options I can consider when disciplining my children?Answer:There is nothing wrong with ‘Time-Out’ per se. ...

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The Expert:

Brian Caswell

Dean of Programme Research and Development

MindChamps PreSchool Singapore
Enrichment
Maths/ Abacus/ Mental Arithmetics

Question: Is there an ideal methodology to learning Math for a pre-schooler?

Katherine

Question:Is there an ideal methodology to learning Math for a pre-schooler that can prepare him/ her well for primary school? Any guidelines on what they should have already grasped at N2, K1 and K2?A...

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The Expert:

Goh Wan Mei

Head of Math Curriculum

The Learning Lab
Enrichment
Reading/ Phonics/ Writing/ English

Question: What is a good age to start on proper English training?

Caroline

Question: Is a pre-schooler too young to start on any serious academic (eg. English) enrichment programme as some parents believe we should only start stressing them in primary school? What is a good ...

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The Expert:

Lee Sue Lynn

Academic Director, Early Years

The Learning Lab
School
Pre-school and Childcare Full Day

Question: What should we look for in deciding which pre-school to send my child to?

Berlyn

Question: My son is turning 3 next year and we are considering sending him to pre-school. What should we look out for in deciding which pre-school to send him to?Answer:As you embark on the journey ...

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The Expert:

MindChamps PreSchool

www.mindchamps.org

Enrichment
Reading/ Phonics/ Writing/ English

Question: When should a pre-schooler to be able to read independently on their own?

Rina

Question: What should be the appropriate age for a pre-schooler to be able to read independently? Is it advisable to use gadget/ video for teaching them the language?Answer:There really is no defini...

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The Expert:

Brian Caswell

Dean of Programme Research and Development

MindChamps Reading and Writing

Need more advice on Early Childhood Education or have questions on Primary School Tuitions?

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