Panic in the Pandemic
When Grace Chong first enrolled her child in preschool, she did not expect COVID-19 to throw a spanner into the whole experience. From postponing the first day of school to switching school, she share with Mumma Mumtra just some of the things parents can expect about this new normal.
MM: You’re a first-time parent to a preschooler when COVID struck! How did the pandemic affect your first day of school experience?
GC: Way back in 2019, we had shortlisted the perfect preschool for Hailey to start when she turned 24 months in July 2020. However, in April that year, we entered Circuit Breaker and the new guidelines meant that parents could only drop off the child at the gate. We felt that it would be cruel to do that for her at such a young age, so decided to defer her enrolment, hoping that better times would come and distancing rules would be eased. We were also worried that she might catch covid from her classmates. But after a while, it seemed like there was no certainty when the guidelines will be changed! We ended up deferring her entry to this school all the way to January 2021.
MM: That’s quite a long postponement from your first plan to have her start at age 2 years!
GC: It was! In fact, we ended up with a temporary school arrangement because of the deferment. Hailey was getting restless, being stuck at home and just wanted to watch cartoons the whole day. My husband and I also needed her out of the house as we were both working from home. In August 2020, my friend who owns a pre-school offered to take Hailey in until she could start in the actual school we had chosen. The temporary school was further away but we had to pivot and just go for it.
MM: So all plans fell apart due to COVID. But at least she ended up in school that year after all! How did you prepare her for that sudden decision to start school.
GC: In the weeks leading up to that first day, I started telling her about going to school and what it would be like. She has read books and watched a couple of cartoons like Cocomelon about on getting ready for school so thankfully she was already pretty familiar with the concept!
MM: So you had two “ first days” of school! Did these meet your “first day of school” expectations?
When Hailey finally started school at the beginning of the year, the rules were more relaxed. I took two days off work to be present in the school with her but it turned out, she didn’t need me at all and happily ran off to join her new friends, even on the first day! But when she saw that I was still around, she came back to where I was. I realised that it was probably easier for her to adjust without me being there, so I left the school. I was pretty disappointed that she didn’t need me and that I didn’t get to see what a day in school was like for her. But that first day was a breeze; no tears, made friends and had loads of fun. I’m glad that the teachers sent loads of updates and photos because I was not there to witness it for myself.
MM: What other ways has Hailey or her school-going been affected by COVID?
GC: It doesn’t seem to have affected Hailey at all; perhaps because she doesn’t know what she is missing in this new normal. But I feel sad that the school has cancelled events like excursions and sports days. The children have to be in separate bubbles and the different levels cannot play together. I feel these affects the social development of a child.
I feel a lot of times, as an adult, a Mum might feel bad not to be there on her first day, or for her lack of excursions. But like my daughter, some kids can still be happy with what they have now. So I’m learning to let go of my expectations and just do the best I can for her, given these pandemic circumstances.