extended hours kindergarten - both parents working full time - advices please

[bryant.english]

In Tuen Mun, (and I'm sure other towns?), there is a scheme run by the Govt. which is a network of trained 'babysitters' and even regular daycares. It is rare for Gweilo to use them because the service is not readily advertised even in Cantonese.

In Tuen Mun:

Under 2 years = 20HKD p/h
Over 2 years = 13HKD p/h

and of course it's not means tested, it's for working people.

Reminds me a bit of hemskole actually..

My point is that a helper will cost a little over 100HKD p/d and this guy has two kids, I may not be bryant.maths but I'm pretty sure I'd be getting a helper.................wait a minute, that's exactly what I did after a couple of months of by the hour!! ding dong!

[Mat]

Alright apologies then, not sure but the way your post was written made me think you were trying to get into an endless debate like we have on here sometime. My bad if it wasn't the case.

So to answer you query, yes your secretary is partially right. some are hard to get into and cater to the less well off. A few on the other hand are rather expensive but still very hard to get into making it a very difficult alternative. A thrid alternative is the other link I posted: Extended Hours.
http://www.swd.gov.hk/doc/family/EHS...st%202011).xls


It's a major issue here in my opinion.

[rpl22]

thanks for all the replies, it gives me many options to investigate. i really appreciate it.

I also want to add that I prefer a kindergarten / care center over a maid because I want my kids to be left in a place where :
- they can interact with other kids
- they are given some educational contents during the day.
We currently live in Japan, where the kids are in public day care from 7am to 6pm. I was hoping to find the same system in HK.

About the location, working place will be in Harbour city Kowloon, but we haven't settled for our residence yet. (will be probably in NT, close to a MTR station, in order to have a 3 bedroom flat for reasonable rent...).

I will definitely go through all the options given in earlier posts, and pls feel very welcome to add your advices on the subject.

[carang]

the kindergarten my kids attended (1 is still there) has full day option (but only for kids over 2 yr 8 m). currently, full day costs $699/month (plus extras for food, stationery etc), but that only comes to about $300/month or so.

we can drop our daughter off between 8-8:45 am and pick her up again between 4-5:30pm. nothing extended beyond that.

[shenwen]

thanks for all the replies, it gives me many options to investigate. i really appreciate it.

I also want to add that I prefer a kindergarten / care center over a maid because I want my kids to be left in a place where :
- they can interact with other kids
- they are given some educational contents during the day.
We currently live in Japan, where the kids are in public day care from 7am to 6pm. I was hoping to find the same system in HK.

About the location, working place will be in Harbour city Kowloon, but we haven't settled for our residence yet. (will be probably in NT, close to a MTR station, in order to have a 3 bedroom flat for reasonable rent...).

I will definitely go through all the options given in earlier posts, and pls feel very welcome to add your advices on the subject.

appreciate your concerns but as hello there said, due to issues of availability and your won economic situation, you are most likely going to have to compromise.

Given the age of your kids, the eldest will most likely be in kindergarten anyway, the other almost at playgroup stage, so both educational content and interaction will be there.

anyway, there are others on here with more experience of services in new territories if that is where you intend to live.

[hello_there]

I also want to add that I prefer a kindergarten / care center over a maid because I want my kids to be left in a place where :
- they can interact with other kids
- they are given some educational contents during the day.

This was our initial opinion also and why we were so suprised that there aren't more educational childcare options for young kids outside of the home in HK. I have the following comments on this:
If you can find the right domestic helper, she can provide a constructive, educational environment for your kids and take them to playgroups where they can interact with other kids on a regular basis. Most of my friends have gone this route and, after finding the right helper for the job, are very happy with their decision. The kids get the best of both worlds - someone who genuinely cares about them while parents are at work to look after them and educational activities and time with other children (they attend daily organized playgroups with their helper). But, the downside is that finding the right domestic helper is not always easy and if things don't work out it is difficult for all involved.

I have asked my secretary over lunch some more about her thoughts on the local day care centers and she seemed to think that they were crowded (not overcrowded, but the kids do not get much individual attention) and they are not run by qualified child educators. Rather it is basically a babysitting service. You don't control who takes care of your kid of what they do during the day. Also, she seemed to think that quality varies quite a bit at different facilities. Her opinion is based on several of her friends having used them in the past, and her looking at them as an option for her own child. Also, she said all the services were in Cantonese and staff only spoke Cantonese.

The real local "kindergarden" option that Cara mentions seems perhaps like a better option for an older child - but you may want to keep your children together, at least initially, I don't know.

Another thing to consider is how long you plan to stay in HK. If it will be for several years, you should start thinking about kindergarden and primary school for your 3 year old now. I won't go into all the details on this thread, but school places are always an issue for expat families and it is generally better to sort things out sooner rather than later...

[Liebling]

My son attends Po Leung Kuk mok hing yui creche in CWB, and I am quite impressed by their operation. It is around 5,000 HKD/mo. We chose to put him there because both of us work and we feel the advantages are much better than a DH. Better socialization skills, better language skills, and the staff are well trained, professional, and devoted to their jobs.

The kids that attend are well adjusted, these are not little emperors. The staff give a fairly detailed progress review delivered in a parent/teacher conference every 2 months. The creche is pretty well equipped. For example, they have a room full of toilets and regularly teach "potty class" which consists of everyone sitting in a circle on a potty while the teachers use slides and explains how to use the toilet. Pretty much every kid knows how to wash their hands, put on shoes, feed themselves, and use the toilet by age 2, which to me is pretty awesome. The parents that put their kids in creche do so for similar reasons as we do; obviously everyone can afford DH, and many families have the DH in addition to sending their child to creche (I see them drop the kids off).

If you are cost conscious, the creche in HK are much more expensive then getting a DH. A word of warning, the creche has max capacity of 40 kids, and takes a year of waiting to get in. We applied when wife was 3 months pregnant.

[emmie]

Liebling - Yes... many more pre-nursery and kindergarten choices - plus extended hours services, as they call it here - are open if one or both parents / close family member speaks Cantonese (even Mandarin, or is from one of the community supported ethnic minority groups). Lots of good points noted (similar to yours) by the mothers I know (HK-born and 'recently arrived' mainlanders) of a handful of options I've my eye on (planning to be in the NTs, BTW).

Re Po Leung Kuk, I was under the vague impression that with the very limited number of kids' places in such organisations the admission priority would usually be given to those families of lower income backgrounds? But it seems that no real checks are made... and that simply applying YEARS early is the way to go, too. The general practice here. Have heard friends say as much...

[Liebling]

There was no financial check at all. Many well off families send their kids there from what I see. Quite a few families drive their kids to creche in mercedes. You do need to speak fairly good cantonese though. Nobody speaks english except for the headmistress.

[emmie]

There was no financial check at all. Many well off families send their kids there from what I see. Quite a few families drive their kids to creche in mercedes. You do need to speak fairly good cantonese though. Nobody speaks english except for the headmistress.

Yes, indeed. Several Po Leung Kuk schools - primary and secondary - have a good-to-great reputation with the locals (incl. the well-heeled and long-time 'expats')

It's just that I've one local mother-friend who advised that a PLK kindy in a particular NT district was not a 'suitable' choice... Probably spoke out of ignorance + snobbery.