Transcript
ENGLISH AND ARABIC

How to Choose a Nursery

Guest: Lea & Melissa

00:00
I'm Melissa.

00:01
And I'm Lea and we are busy mums, company founders and all round early learning nerds. Welcome to our podcast Growing Little Humans. Kids aren't born with a user manual so each week we'll try and cover many topics that you guys encounter and worry about each and every day while you're raising your little humans. Hi Mel. Hi Lea. Again, just us today. Just us! It's always interesting, like some days we have guests and some days we don't. So today we're here to talk

00:31
about how do parents go about choosing a nursery for their children? And it's a really big one, isn't it? So why do you think it is so important, is such an important decision? I think it's really important because it's really setting a foundation for your child's readiness, school readiness. And then obviously your child's overall emotional and social wellbeing. So really setting some foundation blocks for their future

00:58
educational experiences. And it's their first taste, isn't it, of education? Yes, absolutely. And being their first, you want it to be good because you want them to set that basis of loving going to school. Yes, you want that to continue, obviously, as they continue to go through school. So, I think it's really important to make, spend the time and have a look around and see what's available so that you really make an informed choice. Choice, yes. Because we don't want people to go to a nursery and then move their children because

01:28
for whatever reason, they're not happy or they don't feel their child's thriving. So, I think it's, it is a really, really important decision. So, as our early childhood expert, Mel. No pressure. What are the key differences between a nursery, a daycare center, and a preschool? What are the differences between those? Nursery school would be, is more your zero- to three-year-olds space. And then your preschool is three- to five-year-old space. And then

01:56
you have daycare centers, which in the Middle East, are known for being drop-off centers or creches or sometimes called hospitality centers. And then they've usually got flexible hours and it's a little bit more of just play-based, not an educationally based program. Yes, I think that's the key part of it. Is it educationally based or is it not? And I think

02:23
as soon as you go into an educationally based program that tells you about the qualifications that should be there for those educational staff. For your staff, definitely. And so that's a big thing. At the moment, obviously there's so much talk about that before you're looking at more educational programs for your three- to five-years but best practice and current research is all based around that should be starting from zero to five now. So that's an exciting time.

02:49
And so, what factors do you think that parents should be looking at when they're trying to choose their child's daycare, nursery or early learning center? What are the things that they should primarily focus on? I think a lot of the time parents will look at what's logistically feasible for the family and what works with the family dynamic. So, you're looking at, is it close? Is there a close location? You don't want your little one in the car for too long. You want to have a look at your costs.

03:17
How expensive it's going to be. And then obviously the hours, again, does that fit with the family dynamic? And then, your children's age and their developmental needs, things that they're interested in, especially a lot of boys, they want to have time that they can be outside and play and things like that. So that's definitely something to look into. And then we really want to look at the educational element. We want to look at

03:39
what curriculum are they operating with? What are they delivering? What are the qualifications of your educators? And then what does the program look like on a day-to-day basis? What's the structure of the program? Is there a time for them to develop some academic skills and lots of play and then be able to develop those independent skills as well through having their snack and their lunch and coming in and out? And then I think another important factor is

04:08
the educators, what their qualifications are, the space, like are, is there a good child space ratio? Because I know in Australia, we have very strict standards, most countries have standards on how many square meters per child there should be. Another one was the quality of the facility itself and

04:33
the equipment and the resources if they're really run down or if they're broken. And if there's a lot of resources there with a lot of choice, they call it agency with children, it's just choice. So, you want to be able to develop a sense of agency and you can't develop that when there's not enough resources that they're interested in as well. So that's really, really important as well. I always talk about how you're feeling, how do you feel about that center when you walk in.

04:57
Again, we talked about this before, a lot of parents will go in and they're looking for something that they had in their experience. But like everywhere in the world and everything in the world, education's evolved since we all went to school. So, I think go and have an open mind to what is on offer. And the same as when we're talking about school. If you have got a child that's extremely active and the center that you're looking at doesn't have very good playground facilities, then that would be

05:24
to me an immediate no because your child has to run off that energy. So yes, there's a lot of individual factors as well, aren't there? And I think that also tapping into that shows that the center knows what they're doing because we know that having space, having outdoor space, having enough of that space develops certain skills in children. Imaginative play. Absolutely. So if you don't have enough space for them to run, jump, hop, skip, whatever, then that's not going to develop those gross motor skills for the child because you haven't got that space.

05:51
It definitely looks like the people that are running it know what they're doing because they've allocated certain space to develop certain skills within the child. And we don't, not everybody kind of recognizes their educational development, do they, the developmental milestones in the early years. Yes, they're really, really important. So important, the coordination skills, yes. They're really, really important. And physical, such as standing on one foot, jumping, hopping, skipping, but then you've got your hand-eye coordination skills as well, which are important from

06:20
your play and things like that, which is groundwork for being able to pick up a pencil, et cetera, down the track. And Mel, so when a parent goes and does a school tour, what questions do you think it's really important for them to be asking the director of the center?

06:36
or the registrar of the center, what are the questions you think should be asked? I think you really want to have a look, we talk about this a lot, is look at the timetable so that you can have a copy of that at home. You can discuss that with your child as a conversation starter. What does the structure of the day look like? Is there enough balance in there? Is there enough time for them to eat, nap, do the things that, play, and where are those spaces? Are they moving from their classroom to the outdoor play

07:05
to another area, they're not just in their classroom the whole time as well. I think a big thing is and you have already touched on this is your educational qualifications and your ratios. So how many teachers are there to how many children? And I think that's important. It does look different in different age ranges, but that's something very important to make sure that they're sticking to those ratios because you want to have accurate and adequate supervision for your child.

07:31
If something happens, someone's seen it and they know what's happened or they can intervene and be able to support the play and the learning that's happening as well. And again, I think one of those, another thing is communication again, how is their progress being monitored? How is their progress being communicated with you in formal and informal settings? How is the

07:53
nursery or the daycare center going to be communicating on a daily basis with parents. I think it's really important because if they make it easy, if they have good communication tools, then that's going to make your life easier as a parent. Yes definitely. And so, Mel, obviously children's development, some of its educational at this stage, but also, you know, holistically a child, there's social and emotional and cognitive development as well. So how can we make sure that

08:21
what questions can we ask to ensure that, you know, a center is holistically looking at the development of a child and their needs at this stage? At the end of the day, it's all about balance. Like you said, it's not just all about academic. Are they developing the child's overall growth? And to do that is by providing those opportunities for them to do that. And in the early years, that's through their play. So, and then again, how are they assessing that? How are they documenting that to be able to share that with you? Yes.

08:50
A lot of the time people can have a list of developmental milestones that they're just ticking off just to check what's happening. How are they interacting with their friends? Are they forming friendships? Are they following the rules of the classroom? Normally even with the little ones now we call them agreements so there's agreements on how we all

09:06
will behave and respect each other and support each other. So, I think that's something that's very, very important. As well as I think you want to look at how your staff are interacting with the children. Really, really important as an educator is that you're always being watched and you're always scaffolding the learning for the children, but they're looking to you how you behave is how they're going to behave. And I think that's very important. So have a look when you're doing your tour

09:36
how the educators engage with the children and how are they disciplining the children is very important. And do you think that's going to be a good fit for how your family work? It's actually, when we talk about the holistic development of children too, it's about promoting independence, which goes through to their toilet training and I think ensuring that

10:01
the center perhaps has programs in the place to support parents at home with the development of their children's milestones so that there's consistency between the daycare early learning center and the home. Yes. You know, at The Wishing Tree we have, safe sleep programs, we have a whole toilet training program, and we've developed those with industry professionals, and we share those programs with our parents, and I think it's those types of things that ensure that we are

10:30
definitely focused on educational development of the children in our care, but we're also looking at, holistically, at their whole growth and to ensure that we are preparing them for that transition through to elementary. And we always talked to parents that things don't work in silos. Everything's working and growing and as we know there's so much going on when children are aged zero to eight.

10:53
They are interconnected; you can't disconnect them. And, if children are learning, they have to feel they are in a safe environment where they're feeling nurtured and cared for as well. And if a child wants to come and they're making friends and they're eating well and they're getting to nap and they're having all those needs being met, then they will make progress academically as well as develop all those important skills that they need. And so, Mel, finally, what are some

11:21
perhaps some red flags that you think might indicate that perhaps this is not the right nursery or daycare center for your child. No particular order because these are all sort of very, very important. Individual, yes. Individual and very important, but I think safety is just so important. Yes. You need to be able to leave and go to work or go home or wherever you go and feel confident that your children are safe and being cared for.

11:48
I think another really important thing is communication. As an educator, that is just so vital. It's just a critical, critical component. So, what is the communication like? Do you know what's going on a day-to-day basis? And can you plan your life around some of the events that are happening? And another thing would be turnover of staff, because if staff are being constantly turned over, it's really not good for the children. They like to come to school, and they like to see the same person every day. And then year after year, a lot of the time,

12:17
parents would sometimes request me because I taught their child previously. And I think that says a lot about what's happening within the culture of the center. Yes, it can indicate it's not a healthy culture. If people aren't, as we know

12:31
if you're not happy to go to work, how that goes to your performance. In the education sphere, we need people that want to be there and they're happy to be there and they're feeling valued as educators. And that's really, really important. At the end of the day, Mel, I guess after you've been through that whole process, you've gone and evaluated the centers, you know, that might be good candidates. And then I think you just have to trust your gut, don't you? You have to trust your instincts. And then just, you know, you've done all your

13:01
due diligence, you've laid the groundwork and then you just have to make the choice that you think fits your family best. Yes, and I think like we said before, really make an informed decision because you really do want your child to go there and be settled and so that they're not moving from place to place because routines are just so critical at this age in the home and obviously in the center as well. So, yes, trust yourself, you know your child and we'll definitely share some things for you to look at in the show notes.

13:31
Have a look at the show notes list as a guide. I was going to ask you that. Yes take that as a guide when you go in there but I do agree with you and I say I used to say that to parents when I would tour them a lot you know go with your gut feeling and trust that you know this a safe environment for your child that they will grow and develop and thrive. Great and we will share on the show notes some of the tools and the websites and resources that might be handy for parents to refer to. And we've done a checklist up for you with

14:00
questions that you can ask, potential centers, so that might help parents take that along and ask those questions. The websites are good these days too, they're a good starting point but then always really go and have a look and follow up that information you found on the website and see what they're saying, is actually what they're delivering. Great. Well, I hope we've been able to help parents to think about a few things they should look at and help make that decision a little bit easier. And I think this will generate some more questions, so please send them our way. We're happy

14:30
to answer them on the podcast. And here come the Legals. Our podcast is purely brought to you for educational and entertainment purposes. We are just two hectic mums, and we are certainly not licensed therapists. This podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of licensed or qualified professionals and if you do need some help, please seek out some professional advice.

مقابلة مع المضيفين
كيفية اختيار الحضانة

الضيف: ليا وميليسا

00:00
أنا ميليسا.

00:01
وأنا ليا، نحن أمهات مشغولات، ومؤسِسات شركة، ومهووسات بالتعلم المبكر. مرحبًا بكم في بودكاست "تنمية الصغار".
الأطفال لا يولدون مع دليل استخدام، لذلك في كل أسبوع سنحاول تغطية العديد من الموضوعات التي تواجهونها وتقلقون بشأنها أثناء تربيتكم لأطفالكم الصغار.
مرحبًا يا ميل.
مرحبًا يا ليا.
مرة أخرى، نحن فقط اليوم.
نعم، نحن فقط!
الأمر دائمًا ممتع، فبعض الأيام يكون لدينا ضيوف، وأيام أخرى لا يكون لدينا أحد. لذا اليوم نحن هنا لنتحدث عن...

00:31
كيف يمكن للوالدين اختيار الحضانة المناسبة لأطفالهم؟ إنها مسألة كبيرة جدًا، أليس كذلك؟
لماذا تعتقدين أن هذا القرار مهم جدًا؟
أعتقد أنه مهم للغاية لأنه يشكل الأساس لتهيئة الطفل للمدرسة. وأيضًا يؤثر بشكل كبير على الصحة العاطفية والاجتماعية العامة للطفل. فهو يضع بعض الركائز الأساسية لمستقبلهم التعليمي.

00:58
وهو أول تجربة لهم مع التعليم، أليس كذلك؟
نعم، بالتأكيد. وبما أنها أول تجربة، فمن المهم أن تكون إيجابية حتى يبدأوا بحب الذهاب إلى المدرسة.
نعم، ونريد أن يستمر هذا الحب عندما يكبرون ويدخلون المدرسة. لذلك من المهم قضاء الوقت في البحث وزيارة الأماكن المتاحة لاتخاذ قرار مستنير.
نعم، لأننا لا نريد أن يُسجَّل الأطفال في حضانة ثم يضطر الأهل إلى نقلهم لأنهم غير راضين عن التجربة أو لأن الطفل لا يزدهر هناك.
لذا، ميل، بصفتك خبيرة في الطفولة المبكرة... لا ضغوط!
ما هي الفروق الأساسية بين الحضانة، ومركز الرعاية النهارية، ورياض الأطفال؟

01:28
الحضانة عادةً تستقبل الأطفال من عمر 0 إلى 3 سنوات.
رياض الأطفال تستقبل الأطفال من 3 إلى 5 سنوات.
أما مراكز الرعاية النهارية، فهي في الشرق الأوسط تُعرف على أنها أماكن للرعاية المؤقتة أو مراكز ضيافة، وغالبًا ما يكون لديها ساعات عمل مرنة، وتركز بشكل أساسي على اللعب وليس على البرامج التعليمية.

01:56
نعم، أعتقد أن هذا هو العنصر الأساسي؛ هل البرنامج تعليمي أم لا؟
وبمجرد أن يصبح البرنامج تعليميًا، فهذا يعني أن هناك مؤهلات معينة يجب أن يمتلكها العاملون فيه.
نعم، وهذا أمر مهم للغاية. هناك اهتمام متزايد بتطوير برامج تعليمية للأطفال من 3 إلى 5 سنوات، ولكن الأبحاث الحديثة تؤكد أن التعليم المبكر يجب أن يبدأ من عمر 0 إلى 5 سنوات. وهذا أمر مثير للحماس.

02:49
إذن، ما العوامل التي يجب أن ينظر إليها الآباء عند اختيار الحضانة أو مركز التعلم المبكر لطفلهم؟
غالبًا ما ينظر الآباء إلى ما هو عملي لعائلتهم. هل الحضانة قريبة من المنزل؟ هل تكلفتها مناسبة؟ هل ساعات العمل تناسب جدول الأسرة؟
كما ينظرون إلى عمر الطفل واحتياجاته التنموية واهتماماته. فالكثير من الأولاد، على سبيل المثال، يحبون اللعب في الهواء الطلق، لذا يجب أن يتأكد الأهل من توفر تلك البيئة.

03:39
يجب النظر أيضًا إلى العنصر التعليمي:
ما المنهاج المستخدم؟
ما مؤهلات المعلمين؟
كيف يتم هيكلة البرنامج اليومي؟
هل يتضمن البرنامج وقتًا لتنمية المهارات الأكاديمية، إضافة إلى الكثير من اللعب؟
هل يتم تطوير مهارات الاستقلالية مثل تناول الطعام بشكل ذاتي؟

04:08
يجب النظر أيضًا إلى عدد الأطفال لكل معلم، لأن هذا يؤثر على جودة الإشراف والتعليم.
بالإضافة إلى ذلك، جودة المرافق والمعدات: هل هي في حالة جيدة أم متهالكة؟ هل هناك وفرة في الموارد التي تحفز الأطفال؟
الأهم من ذلك، ما هو شعورك عندما تدخل إلى الحضانة؟

04:57
كثير من الآباء يبحثون عن تجربة تشبه ما عاشوه في طفولتهم، لكن التعليم تطور منذ ذلك الوقت. لذا من المهم أن تكون لديك عقلية منفتحة تجاه ما هو متاح اليوم.
وإذا كان طفلك نشيطًا للغاية، وكان المركز الذي تفكر فيه لا يوفر مساحة لعب جيدة، فقد لا يكون هذا الخيار المناسب له.

05:51
يجب أن يكون لدى المركز مساحة كافية لتطوير المهارات الحركية مثل القفز والتوازن والتنسيق بين اليد والعين، حيث تؤثر هذه المهارات لاحقًا على الكتابة والأنشطة الأخرى.
عند القيام بجولة في الحضانة، من المهم مراقبة كيفية تفاعل المعلمين مع الأطفال وكيفية تعاملهم مع الانضباط.

07:05
يجب السؤال عن نسبة المعلمين إلى الأطفال، حيث تختلف هذه النسبة وفقًا للفئة العمرية.
يجب أيضًا الاستفسار عن كيفية تواصل المركز مع الأهالي بشأن تقدم أطفالهم، سواء رسميًا أو غير رسمي.
وجود نظام تواصل واضح يجعل الحياة أسهل على الأهل.

08:21
يجب التأكد من أن المركز ينظر إلى نمو الطفل بشكل شامل وليس فقط من الناحية الأكاديمية. هل يوفرون فرصًا لتعزيز النمو الاجتماعي والعاطفي؟
كيف يتم تقييم ذلك؟
كيف يتم توثيق التقدم وإبلاغ الأهل به؟

09:36
يجب الانتباه إلى كيفية تفاعل الموظفين مع الأطفال. فهم يمثلون نموذجًا يحتذي به الأطفال، لذا يجب أن يكونوا داعمين ومرشدين جيدين.
كما أن الاستقلالية جزء مهم من التطور، لذا يجب أن يكون هناك دعم لتدريب الطفل على استخدام الحمام وغيرها من المهارات الحياتية.

11:21
ما هي العلامات التحذيرية التي قد تشير إلى أن الحضانة غير مناسبة؟
• السلامة: يجب أن يشعر الأهل بالثقة بأن أطفالهم بأمان.
• التواصل: يجب أن يكون هناك نظام واضح وسلس للتواصل مع الأهل.
• معدل دوران الموظفين: إذا كان هناك تبديل مستمر للمعلمين، فقد يكون هذا مؤشرًا على بيئة عمل غير مستقرة تؤثر على الأطفال.

13:01
بعد القيام بكل هذا البحث، عليك أن تثق بحدسك.
اتخذ قرارًا مستنيرًا لضمان استقرار طفلك في الحضانة وعدم الحاجة إلى تغييره باستمرار، لأن الروتين مهم جدًا للأطفال في هذه المرحلة.
سوف نشارك قائمة مرجعية في ملاحظات الحلقة لمساعدتك عند زيارة الحضانات المحتملة.

14:30
وهنا تأتي الجوانب القانونية!
هذا البودكاست مقدم فقط للأغراض التعليمية والترفيهية.
نحن مجرد أمهات مشغولات ولسنا معالجات مرخصات. هذا البودكاست لا يُعتبر بديلاً عن استشارة المختصين. إذا كنت بحاجة إلى مساعدة، يرجى التوجه إلى مختص مؤهل.