Introduction
Are you looking for a quality creche in Lagos? Are you tired of the services rendered at your child’s current daycare? If both questions apply to you, then keep reading.
We will give you seven tips to help you choose a good creche in Lagos.
It can be a difficult process choosing the right creche for your child as a parent. However, there are lots of factors that should be considered before settling for a particular creche in Lagos. Some parents are more concerned about the location of the creche, while others are more interested in the facilities, open hours, ownership and how the creche is run etc.
What makes a good creche in Lagos?
A good creche in Lagos is made up of the following factors:-
– Licensing
– Quality of education
– Environment
– Ratio of caregivers to children
– Security
– Feeding
These things should be considered when looking for a creche for your child. A lot of parents in Nigeria might not see the need to enrol their child in a quality creche in Lagos because they believe it might be a waste of their money. However, this is a wrong mindset to have because young toddlers also deserve quality care in an environment that is clean and safe.
A creche should be a place away from home and the setting should be tastefully furnished to cater for the needs of the tots and the demands of parents. For example, Greensprings school creche is designed in such a way that stimulates the mind of a child.
If you choose a high quality school and your youngster spends a few hours there, your child will be well on their way to building a solid foundation for their successful future.
Parents should be confident and at peace knowing that their toddler is growing positively in a safe and happy learning environment.
However this is not always the case in some creches in Lagos, as there have been lots of reported cases of neglect on the part of caregivers in playschool.
As reported in Vanguard Newspaper, a video surfaced on Facebook showing several scenes of an eight year old boy heavily bullying toddlers in a day care center while the absent minded caregiver who is apparently the boy’s mother, acted completely unaware of the cause of their cries of the toddlers. This video clip led to a bitter outcry from Nigerians, highlighting numerous negative experiences in some creches in Lagos.
Unfortunately this is not the only case reported in the news on ill-treatment of toddlers in daycares or creches in Lagos. There have been dozens of different tales concerning daycare and their employee’s poor treatment to toddlers left in their care in Nigeria.
It is important for parents not to rush their decision when it comes to choosing a creche for their toddler. Instead they should put several factors into consideration and also visit the facility before making a conclusion.
Here are 7 tips to help you choose a quality creche in Lagos.
1. Play based learning
Play based learning is important when looking for a good creche in Lagos. You may be wondering, what about Montessori?
Montessori is not the same as pure play – based learning. However a good Montessori pre-school will integrate play and creative learning in educating students in the classroom.
The opposite of play-based learning is formal education; just imagine for a second a teacher in front of the board drilling your 15 months old child with ABC or 123 rhymes and urging them to repeat. This type of learning is not the best for a toddler to grasp information.
Play is adequate enough to provide learning for young children between the ages of (0 -5). Therefore the best advice is that you observe the daycare or preschool in its normal state. You can schedule a day to visit the school and spend adequate time at the creche before enrolling your child.
Schools like Greensprings organize “Get to Know Us” events, where parents have a one day opportunity to experience the school and engage with students, teachers, administrators and parents of pupils in the school.
2. Ratio of caregivers to children
How big is the class ? How many youngsters are in the class? Is there a maximum number of children per class? How many caregivers are in each class? These are questions you should ask yourself before settling for a creche in Lagos. You do not want a creche that has just one caregiver looking after more than ten children in a class; because adequate attention will not be given equally to every child. For babies 0- 15 months, you wouldn’t want to see more than three children to one caregiver, and there should be only maximum 3- 5 children in one room depending on the size, with two adults available. It is also important to pay attention to how bright and spacious the room is for the kids.
3. Time for free play
Before picking a creche in Lagos for your child, you need to ask if they have days allocated for children to choose what they will like to play with. During free play, young children get to freely interact with one another and this is when they usually practice collaboration.
Children are in control during free play and are able to act without instructions. It is during free play that they are able to improve their motor skills. Also children should have the chance to play outside every day. This is good for them socially, physically and mentally. However this is dependent on the age of the child.
4. Environment
The environment is essential when choosing a creche in Lagos. You want a place that is spacious and with access to clean filtered water. The rooms should be air-conditioned, properly lit and ventilated. You do not want to keep your infant in a hot and stuffy environment.
5. Individualized learning.
Does the caregiver follow each child’s interest and abilities? The level of concentration the caregiver or teacher places on your child is essential. You need to ensure that your child will be given the required attention to learn and develop the right skills.
For instance, when you see two 28 month olds, what they can do cognitively, speech wise and even their social interactions will be different. One child might be quite fluent and the other might be able to identify a-z and love puzzles but yet might not be able to communicate in full sentences.
It is the job of the caregiver to know this and learn how to interact with both children, adopting materials to suit the individual needs of the children in the creche.
6. Qualification of the caregivers
The qualification of the caregiver who will be taken care of your child is significant. During your visit to the creche, it is important to pay close attention to the person who will be giving care to your child on a daily basis and try not to get carried away by the ambience, owner’s appearance or sales pitch. While you should be able to get a feel for their command of English language, it will be great if the person has a relevant qualification to provide such services. You also want to observe how the caregiver communicates with children.
7. Potty training
Lastly, find out about their potty training policy. There are cases where caregivers in some creches in Lagos hit or scold toddlers when accident occurs or when the child is yet to comprehend potty training. When you pay a visit to a creche in Lagos, ensure you engage with the administrators, caregivers and any existing parent available in the creche, to enable you get the true picture of the potty training policy.
If their ideas do not correspond with your expectations, then it may be wise to look elsewhere.
It is important to note that the creche you choose for your child matters a great deal in their learning and development. For parents that are wondering what sort of activities one should look out for in a quality creche in Lagos.
- Here are some of them; including but not limited to the following:
Physical activities
Group tasks
Observation of quiet time
Independent feeding
Reading storybooks
Outdoor play - Role play
- Singing nursery rhymes
- Dancing to favorite tunes
- Learning sounds of alphabets
It is also important to be aware that the activities that take place in the classroom are reliant on on the age of the child.
In summary, the creche your child attends is very essential to his or her early childhood development, therefore parents should not make hasty decisions in choosing a creche in Lagos for their child. They must take care using the guidelines provided above to help choose a creche that suits their child.
According to Bill Gates, “The first five years have so much to do with the how the next 80 turns out”.
