For Tanglin Mums (!)

[Jenni72]

Hi Mums who have had a child in Tanglin Nursery... What you do with your children after the early (12 noon) finish?  As there are limited outdoor activities suitable in this climate for a four year-old between noon and 4pm, I'm wondering how I would keep a very energetic boy entertained in the afternoons. (At present he's at a lovely little playschool from 9:30am-3:30pm, which is just right for him, but he will outgrow that playschool soon.)
 
Thanks for your suggestions.
 

[dothosefaces]

Usually an hour or so at home for lunch & a rest then hit the pool or playground.

[in one case]

There was a kid at pre K in OFS (afternoons) who went to TTS in the mornings

[Prudence Thomas]

Lacross training followed by polo, theatre and other cultured activities only fit for Tanglin brats....geez.

[chavlicious]

Lacross training followed by polo, theatre and other cultured activities only fit for Tanglin brats....geez.

More likely - Nintendo DS, followed by 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' and then hit the malls.

[why??]

Why is this post addressed to Tanglin mums?? don't other mums have the same issues? geez again

[SAE]

First of all I do not have kids in Tanglin so maybe I am not equiped or eligable to answer but hey ho.  After a good mornings activities at a structured school most 4 year olds would be hungry and need a bit of quiet time followed by maybe a swim or a play with their toys - I do not and have never seen the need to entertain the kids every afternoon.  Boredom is actually good for them as then they learn to be creative and think of things themselves to do. 

[Yawn]

Tanglin Mum, just hand your little darling over to your maid. This will give you time to get your stuck up self to Tanglin Mall for Latte.

[The Troll Is Sleepy]

OP, ignore the PP. I DO agree with SAE, however.

[Horse Teeth]

Stupid arrogant Brit.

[Hey PP,]

unfair! not all British women are Tanglin mums!

[nor British]

Nor are all Tanglin mums Brits.

Don't understand the 'Tanglin Mum' label. I'm not one, but I can't see any difference between SAS mums, Tanglin Mums and UWC mums. The people I've met with kids at Tanglin seem very nice.

The short hours were one reason why I didn't send my child to Tanglin nursery.

And agree that kids don't need to fill every day with organised activities.

[Short Hours R Good]

This gives kids a chance to simply be at home and do other, non-school things. With early bedtimes (in our case, lights out at 7 pm), their days are short. We deliberately chose a school with short daily sessions for that reason.

Perhaps OP works and does not want her child to spend too much time with the maid (Very wise, if that is indeed the case. You know your maid's strengths and weaknesses, obviously). If so, there are other schools with longer days. Defer the Tanglin place for a couple of years, when the Tanglin day will be longer in Key Stage One and send them to another school in the interim.

[Easier]

Just hand your little precious Tanglin child over to your maid like so many others seem to do...can't believe so many expats put so much faith in people they barely realy know.

[Agreed re: the label]

Tanglin Mums are usually British and seem positively down to earth compared to some pre-schools that charge far higher fees and appear to be populated by vastly wealthy 'international' parents for example.

Having children at different schools I have found those that do all accusations that are levelled at Tanglin Mums, having lots of staff, handing child to maid, talking down to maid, dripping in diamonds and branded items, drivers waiting kerbside in Bentleys etc, spending no time with child, shopping all day, I could go on are far more likely to be practiced by the parents at these other sorts of school. These things are often far more culturally acceptable there too. Maybe that's the key? The British are generally uncomfortable with employing staff and leading a privileged life, probably a different one to the one they led back home. The Brits love to beat themselves up about this.

We've been here years and I know Tanglin. In my experience the average Mum there is very involved in the child's life, isn't the hugely rich expat some imagine and is basically a fairly  ordinary, decent person. To suggest otherwise is to have no breadth of experience of all the international schools and variety of parents there are. Not that you can generalise about any parent/school.