Friday, February 5, 2010

Ukranian Girl Raised By Dogs

Start school at 6 vs 4 years old

original author : Brigitte Rozario

Should your children start going to kindergarten at the age of six or four? When we were children, most of us started going to kindergarten only at six, one year before entering primary school.

These days, however, children have been known to start at age four or even three. What age is too young, and should children start school so early? Should we be worried about the consequences of them starting so early?


Yasmin Emi

Yasmin Emi, mother of four:

I went to kindergarten at age six. However, my kids started kindergarten at 4. I had my reasons. My eldest started school at six. My second and third I sent at four years old because we didn't have a maid so I put them there to pass the time. Actually at my company, we have a nursery for children. I could have put them there the whole day - it's not a problem. It's for children from babies till 12 years old. But I felt my children were a bit bored. So, we decided to put them in the nursery for half a day and the other half a day they went to the kindergarten. The kindergarten accepts children from age four but of course they don't teach that early. It's only when the children reach six years old that they really start teaching them more.

I think it's up to the individual if they want to send their children to school from age four or six. But for me, I think they should start at age five. Four is too early actually and I feel the syllabus is almost the same for the four and five-year-olds. There's not much difference. It's just singing, painting and teaching them to mix with the other kids.

Our youngest son is a special child. He is hyperactive. He is classified as an OKU (disabled person) and the government has a special preschool for children like him. He went to that preschool as well as a kindergarten. At the special preschool he learnt more about painting as well as how to be more independent and do things on his own. At the kindergarten he learnt about writing, singing and art. In his first year there was no impact. In his second year, at age five, he became the example child at the kindergarten because he made such progress. My son was there from age four until he turned seven. Am I being harsh as a mother to send my child to kindergarten for four years? I don't think so because that kindergarten motivated him to go to school and learn.

My son improved so much. I'm happy because now he can read and write.

There are two categories of children. Those who are not slow and those who are slow. If they start at six years old, those who are not slow can catch up. For those who are slow like my son, it's better to start at four years old.

I think, on average most parents in the city send their children to school early because they don't want to be left out because the other parents are sending their children early now.



Mazniha Mohd Ali Noh

Mazniha Mohd Ali Noh, mother of four:

My mum was a primary english teacher, so I did not go to kindergarten. Instead I followed my mum to her school where I sat at the back of the class from age five. She said I did well and got number 10 in the class considering I was only five. Basically, I was in Standard 1 at age five!

For my own children - Jasmin, Dahlia and Lily started kindy at three years old. I think it's okay as children nowadays are more advanced than we were due to the exposure to the TV, computer etc.

I think three years old is the the right age to start sending children to school. It's not too early and it is scientifically proven too. It teaches the children not so much of academic but also social skills, friendship, sharing and that the world does evolve around us there are others too.

Children today are starting school earlier because they are more advanced. Parents have no choice really. As parents we try to provide for them so they can cope well along with others. Especially now that the environment is changing and becoming more competitive, with global challenges, it's going to be tougher. We have to brace ourselves and get our children ready for the future.

I am more worried about the consequences of not sending them to school early and the consequences of them not studying enough!

I am not a studious person, so for me I think the solution is to work hard and play harder. You have to strike a balance. Life is short. Yes one must study to get good grades. That's the beginning of life. Yes, getting a good job means getting a good salary but one must be happy. Money is not everything because money is never enough.

I agree that children nowadays lose a lot on not being able to have fun ... good, innocent fun that we used to have those days. Why? Because of the rat race. So, we parents make them study so they can get good grades, good university, good job. We do it with good intentions but sometimes we get carried away!

Children should be allowed to have time to be children, fun time as children because that is the only time a person can have for him/herself, because once they grow up and have their own family, then their time is not their own anymore. They will not be able to regain the lost childhood so don't make them grow up too fast and have no childhood at all.


Source :


@credits to : Peh Boon Kuan


Thursday, February 4, 2010

Reasoning




According to Piaget, child in concrete operational stage is able to reason logically but not abstractly.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

BlooDah, not FUNNYYYYY!!!




this poor little boy is trying to tell his father that his brother has blood on his mouth.. xD

enjoy ;D

Monday, February 1, 2010

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The History of Childhood

DeMause has identified six modes of parent-child relations from antiquity to the present. Until the fourth century, infanticide was commonly practiced. Infanticide did not begin to be reduced until the Middle Ages, and the killing of illegitimate children, though unlawful, still occurs today.

DeMause believes that, in the period from the fourth to the thirteenth century, abandonment replaced infanticide as a common way in which parents disposed of their children. The abandonment included giving child-rearing responsibility for the care of the child to others as well as emotional abandonment at home.

The mode that gained prominence during the period from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century was characterized by deMause as ambivalence. During this third period, parents were advised that children were like clay forms that could be physically shaped by their parents.At the beginning of the eighteenth century, an intrusive mode evolved in which parents sought not only to physically shape the child but also to gain control of the child's will.

The fifth mode, the socialization mode, prevailed from the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. During this period of parent-child relations, the father began to assume a definite role.

In the mid-20th century, the present helping mode began. “The helping mode involves the proposition that the child knows better than the parent what it needs at each stage of its life, and fully involves both parents in the child's life as they work to empathize with and fulfill its expanding and particular needs. There is no attempt at all to discipline or form habits. Children are neither struck nor scolded, and are apologized to if yelled at under stress. The helping mode involves an enormous amount of time, energy, and discussion on the part of both parents, especially in the first six years, for helping a young child reach its daily goals means continually responding to it, playing with it, tolerating its regressions, interpreting emotional conflicts, and providing the objects specific to its evolving interests.”

You should recognize that parents of earlier centuries were not all ignorant, mean-spirited, lacking in compassion, and abusive. Indeed, some historical documents do record the kindness and affection of parents of earlier eras towards their children. The obvious fact is that across the centuries the world's population increased as more and more children survived to adulthood. Progressive improvement in child-rearing practices supported this population increase.

References
Borstelmann, L.J. (1983). Children before psychology: Ideas about children from antiquity to the late 1800s. In W. Kessen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol 1. History, theory and methods. New York: Wiley.
deMause, L. (1974). The evolution of childhood. In L. deMause (Ed.), The history of childhood. New York: Harper & Row.
Mintz, S. (2006). Hucks’s Raft: A History of American Childhood. Cambridge: Belknap Press.
Pollock, L. (1983). Forgotten children: Parent-child relations from 1500 to 1900. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Wild Child: Victor of Aveyron

Debates on week-5

  1. It can either be within the tutorial or inter-tutorial debates. Class-rep please let me know by next week if it's possible to combine 2 tutorials together at one time for inter-tutorial debate on week-5.
  2. Each team will consist of four debaters and one advisor.
  3. They will deliver speeches in the following order:
    • Prime Minister: 1st debater of government team
    • Opposition Leader: 1st debater of opposition team
    • Deputy Prime Minister: 2nd debater of government team
    • Deputy Opposition Leader: 2nd debater of opposition team
    • Member for the Government: 3rd debater of government team
    • Member for the Opposition: 3rd debater of opposition team
    • Government Whip
    • Opposition Whip.
  4. The first two debaters from both teams will deliver a substantive speech of three minutes duration. This should be signaled by two strikes of the call bell.
  5. Next, 3rd debater for both side will stand and have liberty debate for 3 minutes each. Start from the government team. Once one team stopped their argument and sit down, and time for another team will start counting, until 3 minutes end. Then, each of them has to make a sub-conclusion for 2 minutes, starting from the government team.
  6. Following is the liberty debate; with each team has 5 minutes. Start from any one of the debater from the government team, once the debater has sit down, the time of other side will start counting, until 4 minutes end for both teams.
  7. Finally, the last debater from opposition team will give a final conclusion within 4 minutes; follow by the last debater from the government team.
  8. The elements of presentation include eye contact, voice modulation, hand gestures, language, the use of notes and any other element which may affect the effectiveness of the presentation of the member.
  9. The use of notes is permitted, but members should be careful that they do not rely on their notes too much and detract from the other elements of manner.
  10. Titles are yet to be confirmed.
  11. Please select 2 of your classmates to be the time keeper and one as the host.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Vacancy: Childline Malaysia

Childline Malaysia is a national 24-hour free phone outreach service for children up to the age of 18 years in need of care and protection. A privately funded project, run in partnership with NGOs, Child Helpline International, UNICEF, the Government of Malaysia and the corporate sector, we hope to provide a friendly confidential helpline for children who need any kind of assistance. We work closely with other organizations to provide direct assistance or referrals to protection, rehabilitation, and care support services.

The Childline Malaysia Call Center responds to calls from children needing assistance and someone to talk to about their problems utilizing established emergency and referral protocols. Childline Tele Counselors will manage a front-line operation providing a friendly but professional “listening ear” to children in need. The Call Center will operate 7 days/week, 24 hours/day, including public holidays. We currently have vacancies for the following positions:

CHILDLINE TELE-COUNSELOR:
  • Job Responsibilities: Provide excellent support on telephone counseling to children Speed and accuracy as well as effective communication is a pre-requisite Upon receiving a call, the individual evaluates the situation utilizing Childline Malaysia’s established protocols and, if warranted, links up to the appropriate agencies and referral services.
  • Receives, counsels, escalates and coordinates all calls with the appropriate agencies and referral services. Good telephone etiquette and professional conduct with all callers is required
  • Responsible for data compilation on a daily basis. And maintains call log book
  • Escalate the call logs to supervisor for follow up actions.
  • Job Requirements: 2 years working experience in customer service or preferably related to early childhood or youth supervision will be an added advantage. In house training related to call taking and counseling skills will be provided.
Contact:
MALAYSIAN CHILDREN TV PROGRAMME FOUNDATION
Lot2, Jalan Pemberita U1/49
Temasya Industrial Park
Glenmarie 40150 Shah Alam
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03-55692755
En. Zulzaha Shaari: zulzaha@dapat.com OR
En. Nur Azlan Azizi: azlan@dapat.com

Friday, January 15, 2010

Overview of Child Development

SYPNOSIS:

  • This unit introduces the impact of genetic and environmental factors on child development.
  • It covers the growing body of knowledge about how children learn language and continually sharpen their cognitive skills, and the way children develop skills through interaction with peers

OBJECTIVES:

  • To develop an understanding of the dynamic nature of child psychology
  • To explore the effects of family arrangements on children’s development
  • To identify and evaluate the genetic and environmental factors in children’s learning

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • At the end of this course, students should be able to :
    1. Conduct mini research base on understanding of the dynamic nature of child psychology
    2. Differentiate the effects of family arrangements on children’s development
    3. Identify the genetic and environmental factors in children’s learning