Congratulations to my little bulb. He turned 7 months just recently.
He is totally adorable and is 'D Baby' of the hearts of many people who loved us.
I remembered how when my son was turning to his 6th month, his nanny told us that he could respond to 'High 5's. And he can do a little twinkling on his little fingertips to signal 'Goodbyes'.
More often than not, I am blessed by my little boy's ability to quick-learn. Now in 7th month, he can identify with you, his little hand, his hair, his nose, his fingers... and I know the list will carry on....
I started to think of signing him up for enrichment courses; seeing that he is so witty and the thinking became louder esp; when I saw him effortlessly mimicking the sounds I make to him, and when he started speaking 'ba ba ba ba...'.
Seeing that he has such quick absorption compelled me to want him to learn the 'right things', fearing that he will pick up the 'wrong things'. But the important thing was, so many babies I know, they all go for enrichment classes and most of those you hear? Heguru.
So, in the last 2 weeks, I planned out a even more precise weekly schedule for my son. And was thinking to slot an hour of Heguru and an hour of Mygym for him every weekly.
The first time, we went for Mygym trial, I had to try to figure if he actually was enjoying himself. Or does the activities actually catch his attention or did he try to 'communicate' with other children.
Even after the trial, my big guy and I were discussing profusely with just the same questions over and over again. Should we sign him? Does it benefit him? Will he make friends? Was he enjoying himself... etc..
Then I went to sign him up for Heguru. Each Heguru lesson caused about $100. First, I do find it amazingly pricey. But 2ndly, it was once again the same questions all over again. Should we? Or should we not?
To tell you the truth, I do not want to sign him up for Heguru neither for Mygym.
1. I know that my son is very neutral. He is at this stage of his life (7months old) happy to be happy. Happy that he is fed and he napped and that he has Papi and Mami around him. So was he enjoying himself? I would say it does not quite matter to him.
2. Why would we want to send him to classes? To make friends. We want him to have interaction with other children. But does other children want to interact with him? I doubt so. Because at this age, the babies have no concept of friends. Besides, the Katong i12 group is mainly a group of babies, mostly brought to the Mygym Class by their maids.
3. Will his development be affected because he did not attend enrichment classes now? I doubt so. Can it enhance? Likely. But will he become academically weak because he did not go for enrichment at 7months? I highly do not think so.
So, why do I still feel torn? 'Kiasu'? I think to be more accurate. Fear.
I fear that my son lose out. Fearing that I shortchange him the opportunity to shine even brighter because I did not send him for enrichment classes. For the fact, almost every and any other parent sends their kids to some enrichment classes one way or another, majority being Heguru kids. I became insecure that all my last 6months of curriculum/schedule with him was not enough.
I asked a number of parents before, when they have sent all their kids to Heguru. They mostly cannot tell the difference or even if those things really helped their kids. But it is a rat race. It is cycle. You go? She go? I better go.
So I have decided to stop and keep in lieu of these enrichment classes and continue my curriculum with my little bulb. I don't want to do anything out of fear. I felt like I missed the whole point of sending my son for enrichment classes. It was supposed to be something positive. And the important thing was for him to have fun and enjoy his childhood. But I was thinking about his brains, his academic and etc...
I want to learn to make a stand. The paranoia of parent is very powerful. The herd mentality is ridiculously great. Because I must decide what is really good and appropriate for him. So I will continue my own little schedule & homemade curriculum with my son. Filled with fun and stimulation. I will continue to tell him all our funny stories, illustrating with the little finger puppets. Swimming, bring him to the beach for nature. To experience learning without the 4 walls of a classroom.
So I feel like if you are a parent, struggling with the fact of if you should or should not sign your child up for more curriculum, you need to reconsider from the perspective of your child. Is it a must or is it just your personal want? I cannot tell anyone if they should send or they should not send. I am neither saying that curriculums are bad. I personally think that the right enrichments can actually enhance a child. But this experience only has reminded me that there will be more of such decisions for me to make. And I encourage ourselves as parents to have the right perspectives. It is not about us. It is not about what others are doing. It is what is right and appropriate for the child.
