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http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/03/28/compa...s-singaporeans/ Company apologises on Expats

Within weeks, smart scholars and CEOs make some of the most intolerable remarks as follows; 1) We cannot prevent floods 2) Crowded MRT during peak hours, sinkies ask for it 3) Obese people should not hold important appointments What the pea size country coming to? Pushing all faults back to sinkies?

http://www.divaasia.com/article/9247 Baby steps to learning by Liew Hanqing BEFORE they have learnt to walk, they might have learnt to swim. Play drums. Attempt a forward roll. Strike a tree pose. OK, maybe not the tree pose. But in many other areas, parents eager for physical and mental stimulation for their infants have never had it so good. Whether they are looking for swim, gym, music, or even yoga classes for their young ones, there is someone out there with an age-appropriate programme. Two months old is how young some pupils are at Kindermusik Asia, which runs music-and-movement programmes for children up to the age of seven. More than 1,000 infants up to 18 months old attend its courses each year - and the number is growing, said Ms Goh Chiat Jin, the school's director. It helps when research suggests that listening to classical music like Mozart is good for the growing baby's brain. In each 45-minute lesson, babies with their parents or caregivers explore instruments such drums and bells, listen to songs and take part in musical activities that tickle their senses. Parents are also given materials like books and CDs to play at home. Ms Goh said classes are now evenly split between local and expatriate babies - a far cry from a decade ago when almost all of Kindermusik Asia's customers were foreign. Music lessons help babies in their cognitive development, she said. They learn to anticipate certain musical patterns, and this helps 'fire up' certain parts of their brain. Another activity that infants take to like, er, fish to water, is swimming. Parents are signing up their infants as young as six months old, said Mr Jay Tan, director of Happy Fish Swim School. There are 60 babies enrolled in its Infant Aquatics programme, and numbers have increased by nearly 50 per cent since it was started last February. 'We teach babies how to hold their breath in water and how to float without any assistance. Some may also learn to propel themselves a short distance through the water,' Mr Tan said. The benefits? Clients have reported improvements in their babies' appetites and sleep patterns after swimming lessons, Mr Tan said. Then there are classes that combine all the sensory stimulation of music, exercise and 'yoga play'. Call it Positive Focus. That is the company that offers an array of enrichment programmes for children. Enrolment has nearly doubled since last year, said founder and master trainer Hasnah A. R., who said that 80 infants - all under six months - have been through the Positive Infants course this year. 'Yoga play' exercises help parents bond with their babies and become more skilful at parenting, she said. 'The babies become calmer; the exercises help them stretch and be more comfortable, because they are usually lying down all the time.' It is not known how many parents are stumping up for the enrichment but it does not come cheap - an eight-session programme at Kindermusik Asia costs $307, group lessons at Happy Fish cost $320 for 16 sessions, while Positive Focus' eight-session infant programme costs $240. But parents say they are well worth the money. Mrs Carolyn Yong, a mother of two, started both her children on music lessons at just three months. 'My older child is now confident and loves performing,' said the homemaker, whose two-year-old daughter attended infant music classes for six months in the US. Mrs Yong added that she believed the classes have helped her children develop better focus, and that the $200 a month she spends on these enrichment programmes is money well-spent. Mr Wang Han Guang spends up to $200 every month on baby gym sessions for his two-year-old daughter, who started lessons when she was just 10 months old. 'We believe we should allow our kids to enjoy different experiences,' he said. Mr Nah Yong Hwee, a senior psychologist from the University Children's Medical Institute at the National University Hospital, said educational programmes are beneficial to the development of infants, though progress may not easily be observed if they are under a year old. He said such early stimulation programmes could be more beneficial to young children with slow development than those who are developing normally. 'We may not see marked progress because some infants may just not be developmentally ready yet,' he said. He stressed that regardless of what programmes infants are put through, care must to be taken not to overwhelm them. 'It is imperative that the child enjoys the process, and that there are ample opportunities to bond with the caregivers,' Mr Nah said. Just like children who are pushed too hard in school, babies can be overwhelmed, too. Some parents of babies between 7 and 15 months old sign their children up for different trial lessons every week, said Ms Hasnah. 'There's always the danger of over- stimulation, which could result in a baby becoming confused and unhappy.' But lest parents feel their babies may be losing out if they do not attend such classes, one expert says not to worry. Consultant psychiatrist Brian Yeo said enrichment courses are not a must. '(These courses) can be beneficial if they encourage mother-child bonding, but such interaction can be achieved during playgroups as well,' he said. He said it was not known if such programmes would give an infant any headstart in learning. One thing, however, is clear, Dr Yeo said. 'Parents who sign their infants up for these courses are good parents who are willing to spend time and money on their children - so these infants already have an advantage.' This article was first published in The Straits Times. So good parents is deemed as willing to spend time and money on their children. How abt those parents who have to work so hard just to have 3 proper meals for the family, or due to tight budget or cannot afford, so do these parent is consider bad??? Dr Yeo, pls use your brain to think 3x b4 u comment, if u cannot think after so many yrs of studies, perhaps due to brain damage, then use your arse to think