Many parents think that they should leave their children at home with grandparents or a nanny, and then let them go to kindergarten when they are 4-5 years old to avoid getting sick. What do doctors and educators advise?
Seeing that her 23-month-old baby was still at home with the maid, the neighbors asked Ms. Thuong why she didn't send her child to preschool. Ms. Thuong smiled: "I'm waiting for my child to be stronger, I'm afraid it's too early to send him to preschool, he'll easily get sick at school."
Children of nursery age (under 36 months old) are entertained and cared for at preschools.
CHILDREN SUFFERED BY SCHOOL CLOSURES DUE TO THE COVID -19 PANDEMIC
Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, an epidemiologist and former Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Neurology at Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, advised: "Parents should not "hold" their children at home all the time. How can you hold them like that all the time? Sooner or later, children will need to go to school. Going to school is not just a matter of nutrition, but also about children being exposed to the community and their age group. During the Covid-19 pandemic, isolation, social distancing, and school closures, everyone must have clearly seen how disadvantaged children have been."
Therefore, according to Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, parents need to change their mindset, feel secure in sending their children to school, and at the same time, need to take care of their children with enough nutrition, full vaccinations, enough sleep, and enough water. "Children who go to school will often get sick for 3-6 months. When picking up children from school, you should not let them wear the same clothes as in class to play, but need to change their clothes, wipe their face, and put drops in their nose. When sending children to preschool, choose a well-ventilated school, free of dust and smoke, and do not sleep in a place that is too cold," Dr. Truong Huu Khanh advised.
In Ho Chi Minh City, many qualified preschools are allowed to take care of children from 6 months old, helping many mothers feel secure when sending their children to school after their maternity leave ends. Some people ask their grandparents to take care of their children until they are 2 or 3 years old, depending on their family's circumstances. Doctor Truong Huu Khanh said that the common age to send children to preschool is when they are 18 months old.
LEARN MANY BENEFITS
Specialist Doctor Phan Thi Thanh Ha, Head of the Department of Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases, District 8 Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, affirmed that "no matter how well relatives and grandparents support and take care of children at home, children still need to go to preschool". According to Dr. Thanh Ha, when going to preschool, children have many benefits. Children are fed with enough nutrients, sleep on time. Children learn to be independent, teachers will have methods of care and education so that children know how to serve themselves, from basic things such as eating by themselves, getting toys... Children are taught by teachers to get familiar with letters and numbers, listen to stories, learn to dance and sing, develop thinking...
In addition, children in preschools with full legal basis are given an initial health check-up every year. From there, children are screened for health, overweight, obese or malnourished children can be detected, and some disabilities and diseases can be detected early.
"We see a common situation in many modern urban families, where several adults take care of and serve a child. The child only needs to cry out and someone will pick him up, cry out and someone will feed him, point to the TV and someone will turn it on... Thus, gradually the child loses self-awareness and becomes dependent," said Dr. Thanh Ha.
In particular, according to Dr. Thanh Ha, the school environment for children has friends, teachers, connections, and communication. Children who are in the stage of learning to speak will develop language quickly. "Recently, many parents with children born between 2019 and 2021 - the time of the pandemic, social distancing, and school closures - they went to the hospital, saw the doctor and asked why their children were slow to speak, or tended not to want to play with other friends, how to overcome it... This further affirms the important role of schools. Children need to go to preschool early, not wait until they are 4-5 years old, preparing to enter grade 1, then they can go to school," Dr. Thanh Ha emphasized.
Dr. Thanh Ha also noted: "It is normal for preschool-age children to have minor illnesses such as coughs, runny noses, teething fevers, etc. Parents must take their children to get all the necessary vaccinations against diseases such as measles, diphtheria, rubella, etc., and vaccinate them on schedule according to their age and the doctor's instructions. Next, parents also need to feed their children enough nutrients, give them enough water, put them to bed early so they get enough sleep, and monitor their health. If children have a fever, fatigue, or unusual symptoms on their skin, hands, feet, mouth, etc., they should be kept home from school and taken to a medical facility for examination and prescription. Absolutely do not go to the pharmacy to buy medicine for your children to take.
At school, children learn to be independent and know how to take care of themselves, starting with basic things like feeding themselves, getting toys...
PARENTS ARE THE PEOPLE WHO NEED TO BE PSYCHOLOGICALLY STRONG
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Huong, Principal of Mi Mon Kindergarten, Ward 1, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, gave many examples: children are at home, used to their parents and grandparents. When they are brought to a strange environment like school, the child will definitely cry for the first few days. When changing environments, children can also get sick, parents should not worry too much. "Many people see children crying too much and feel sorry for their children and grandchildren, sitting by the camera all day or standing at the school gate, watching what the teacher does to the child. Some people see children crying and let them stay home. Children are very smart, if they cry, they can stay home from school, so from now on, if the child cries, they will be able to stay home. That should not be done. Parents must be mentally strong," Ms. Minh Huong advised.
"When children stay at home with grandparents, parents, and housekeepers for a long time, they have little contact, connection, or communication with their peers, but spend a lot of time on TV, iPads, phones, etc. In many cases, Vietnamese children are shown English videos on YouTube by their grandparents and housekeepers all day long. Many children are slow to speak, or only speak English well but are very slow to speak Vietnamese," said the principal.
According to Ms. Minh Huong, before sending their children to school, parents need to carefully research the preschool where they will send their children. They must find preschools that are legally qualified, reputable, have adequate facilities, and have a team of qualified teachers (publicly available on the Ho Chi Minh City education database, https://pgdmamnon.hcm.edu.vn/congkhaicosogiaoduc ). Then, they need to consult other parents and teachers, and can let their children try out the program for 1-2 days to observe and monitor their adaptation. At the same time, according to Ms. Minh Huong, if the family hires a nanny or a housekeeper to take care of the children at home for 12 or 24 hours a day, they also need to observe and pay close attention to how these people care for and educate the children, ensuring their healthy development and absolute safety.
Many options for parents
In Ho Chi Minh City, the project to care for and nurture children from 6 to 18 months of Ho Chi Minh City has been implemented in all 21 Departments of Education and Training of districts, towns and Thu Duc City. Each district, town and Thu Duc City has planned public and non-public kindergartens, independent kindergarten classes, in compliance with Circular 49 of the Ministry of Education and Training to care for children aged 6 - 12 months, 13 - 18 months (facilities can combine these two age groups into one, because the number of children aged 6 - 12 months in the facilities is not large). At these facilities, teachers are always trained in skills and knowledge to take good care of children, trained, and develop plans to coordinate with health care, agencies and sectors... Preschool teachers have a harder time caring for and nurturing children aged 6 - 18 months, so these teachers also have special policies in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ms. Luong Thi Hong Diep, Head of the Preschool Education Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that schools and classes for children aged 6-12 months and 13-18 months require larger investments in facilities than regular classes, ensuring the safety of children... For this age group, each teacher is in charge of fewer children, such as one teacher taking care of 3-4 children, or one teacher taking care of 5-6 children.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngai-cho-con-di-hoc-mam-non-vi-so-de-benh-185241112191511704.htm
Comment (0)