Government vs Private childcare – Pros and cons

After the joy of holding your infant in your arms upon birth, time really flies and soon, it is time for you to make arrangements for your child to enter a childcare centre. Then, the common dilemma would be: should I send my child to a government or private childcare? Apart from the apparent disparity in costs, is private childcare really worth the additional cost, and what is best suited for my child? Well, put your worries aside, because in this article, we will be weighing the pros and cons of government vs private childcare for you.

First of all, the obvious differences between a government and private childcare would be the differences in costs. To give you a rough idea of the price of government childcare as of 2019, refer to the table below.

On the other hand, the table below shows a rough estimate of the cost of private childcare in Singapore.

With the difference in cost in mind, it is obvious that private centres require a higher cost per month as compared to government centres, but are there any tangible benefits to sending your child to private centres that are more expensive?

One of the clearer benefits of sending your child to private centres is that private centres have a lower student-teacher ratio. Hence, it is likely that your child will receive more specific attention at private centres. Private centres also tend to have better facilities such as an indoor playground as well as individual rooms at each level.

Ultimately, your choice of which childcare centre to send your child depends on a myriad of factors, such as proximity to your house, your budget, the kind of education system you are looking for, and more. You have to keep in mind that the quality of the centre may vary even within the same brand of childcare centre, depending on the branch. So, make sure you do your research and weigh the pros and cons thoroughly to find the childcare centre that suits your child best.

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