upcoming events

November 11, 2025

6 Ways You Can Support Your Child’s Transition into Preschool Routines

Preschool is a big milestone, and like many other milestones, it may come with both excitement and anxiety. It marks a significant step towards independence and structured learning for your child. 

Because it’s such a big step, it’s completely normal for it to take time for your child to adjust. Not every child settles into preschool instantly, and it may take several small adjustments before that happens.

If your child exhibits tears, clinging, or reluctance to go to preschool, don’t worry. These displays are both common and temporary. They will typically fade as your child feels more familiar with their new preschool environment and peers.

This article will help you support that transition with practical strategies and preschool routines to smooth the process. You can use these ideas to support the change if you have a child not settling at preschool.

Why Preschool Routines Matter for Young Children

Consistency is the first rule when trying to offer comfort to children. It provides safety in something familiar, even when the child has been placed in an unfamiliar setting. Where things were uncertain, it introduces certainty – and this reduces fear.

Structured routines can also support a child’s development by offering chances to develop key skills. For example, activities such as regular naps and group play can help a child develop discipline, time awareness, and self-regulation.

Common Challenges in Preschool Transition

Transition to preschool strategies are generally based on addressing several common hurdles. These include the following: 

• Separation anxiety: This often manifests as crying or clinging to the guardian at drop-off time. This is an emotional response that comes from missing the primary caregiver. The best way to address it is to provide consistent and gentle reassurance.
  
• New sleep and eating schedules: Children need to adjust to new sleep and eating routines while in preschool. This can be quite a change from the previously flexible home timings they may be accustomed to.
  
• Social adjustments: These represent another big challenge for kids as they first begin to learn how to interact more often with people outside of their family. It can be a challenge for children to learn how to share, self-regulate, or wait for turns at first.
  
• Behavioural regression: This can show at home, where a child may suddenly see toilet training setbacks or sudden rebelliousness. Fortunately, this is typically temporary. 

Strategies Parents Can Try to Ease the Transition

The hurdles and symptoms noted earlier can be resolved in as little as 2 to 6 weeks with the right strategies and support. In this section, we’ll provide some of the techniques you can use to address them.

1. Create Familiarity in Advance

Anxiety often comes from having to face the unknown and fearing it. This is why an effective strategy can be to make the preschool environment more familiar and less intimidating.

One thing you can try is to visit the school with your child even before the first day of preschool. Some parents even introduce their children to the teachers in advance. 

Show your child around the preschool and introduce him or her to the important locations early on. These may be the classroom, toilets, and play area, for example. 

You can even start getting your child accustomed to the future preschool experience with some roleplay at home. Let your child play as both student and teacher, by turns. It’s also possible to read picture books about the experience of starting school.

2. Establish Routines at Home

One of the most powerful techniques you can use here is to align your home life with the school routine. Even before the first day of preschool, start shifting your schedule to match the preschool’s.

For example, you can shift mealtimes and naptimes to align with the school’s set times. You can also consistently practise the morning routines early on: getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc. 

This reinforces the future routine as soon as possible and even encourages independence as your child begins to get used to taking on parts of the routine themselves. That’s crucial because they’ll have to do things like that in the classroom, e.g. tidying up their own toys.

3. Practise Short Separations

The best way to deal with separation anxiety is to build your child’s confidence in your return. Your child needs to know that you will always come back for him or her, even after a period of separation.

Leave your child with family or a trusted babysitter for a short period of time. Assure your child you’ll return, then come back after the period is over.

Do this while slowly increasing the duration of the absences. Your child will eventually learn through repeated experience that you will always come back for him or her.

4. Pack Comfort Items for Emotional Support

Emotional anchors are valuable during challenging moments, so it might help to pack one for your child for their day at preschool. A favourite soft toy or a comfort blanket, for example.

These items can be sources of familiarity and emotional support when your child is still transitioning from home to school. Transitional child care actually encourages using these to give your child something to draw strength from during moments of stress. 

5. Stay Calm and Positive at Drop-Off

The drop-off moment is important because it’s an opportunity for you to give your child a non-verbal cue. If you seem frantic or worried during this time, your child will be more anxious.

Keep your farewell short, but warm and reassuring. Don’t sneak away from your child when leaving, as it can harm the trust between you. Instead, be clear and confident when bidding your child goodbye, and be sure to promise to return.

Model the calm and optimism you want your child to feel, to put it simply.

6. Manage and Name Emotions

Emotional literacy is one of the most important parts of your child’s development. You can support it at this time by helping your child name the feelings they experience on the first day.

Help your child figure out if they feel sad or scared or excited, for example. After that, reassure him or her that the feelings are normal.

If your child needs preparation for the next day (or the first day, if it hasn’t happened yet), offer to roleplay it with him or her and examine how your child feels about it afterwards. Praise him or her for doing something well, e.g. displays less anxiety or fear.

When to Seek Extra Support

Some degree of difficulty is normal for the transition to preschool. However, there may be some red flags to indicate that your child is struggling with it more than others:

• Your child’s crying or resistance continues for over 6 weeks with no clear improvement.
• Your child refuses to eat or play for sustained periods.
• Your child begins to show extreme behavioural regression even past 6 weeks.

The general advice is always to talk openly and honestly with your child’s teachers to learn more. They can explain what your child’s behaviour is like in the classroom context.

This may help you figure out if your child truly needs more targeted help from child care experts, such as educational psychologists or similar specialists.

Choose a Preschool That Makes the Transition Easier

The preschool transition requires time and patience. It may also require collaboration between your family and the preschool itself, similar to what we provide at My Little Campus for parents.

If you want to find a preschool that supports both parents and children in the transition, contact us. We nurture children through this period and help parents with our focus on holistic development and strong teacher-parent partnerships. 

Connect with us today to learn more or arrange a school tour!

November 11, 2025

6 Practical Ways to Build Your Child’s Social Skills

Social skills are as important as academic learning. Many of us realise this now, especially given the role they play in adulthood or careers. 

This is why building social skills in your child’s early years matters. These skills form a crucial part of your child’s foundation for future success.

It’s possible to start to improve your child’s social skills as early as the preschool period. This is when children begin to communicate, cooperate, and build relationships with others. 

As such, it may even be the perfect time to begin honing those skills for your learner. Fortunately, there are many ways to do this as parents. If your child is a little shy or struggles with self-expression at this stage, our strategies here offer ideas that may help.

Why Social Skills Matter in Early Childhood

It’s important to learn how to develop social skills in a child because it sets the stage for his or her development of essential life competencies. These include the following: 

• Teamwork
• Empathy
• Problem-solving
• Leadership

All of these can build resilience and independence for your little one, particularly as your child transitions into formal schooling or group learning settings. 

The ability to socialise and communicate is also vital in letting children express themselves clearly. By strengthening communication skills early on, you can even help reduce children’s frustration and possibly tantrums.

Singapore’s own Ministry of Education (MOE) emphasises this through its Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) Framework. This sees Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as a core piece of the holistic development puzzle.

With SEL come competencies like self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship management. All of them tie into a child’s personal well-being, happiness, and academic performance.

This is why early childhood centres like My Little Campus integrate social learning into daily routines. From play to group activities, we consider it part of the goal and an educational priority.

Common Challenges Parents Notice

You might worry that some behaviours are getting in the way of your child’s social development. Here are some examples:

• Shyness about joining group activities
• Difficulty sharing toys
• Reluctance to take turns
• Reluctance to introduce themselves
• Hesitation in answering questions from strangers
• Preference for engaging in solo over group play

These are typical developmental hurdles for most children. Fortunately, intentional and consistent support can often address them over time.

Practical Ways to Build Your Child’s Social Skills

Nurturing social skills doesn’t require a special curriculum. It can be woven into daily life through modelling strategies and the creation of opportunities for interaction.

1. Model Positive Social Behaviour

Children learn a lot by watching and imitating adults. This is why modelling the social behaviour you want can be hugely effective in developing your child’s basic social skills.

Greet neighbours cheerfully, say thank you to cashiers, or apologise when you make a mistake. Each of these can serve as a positive lesson to your child in socialisation.

2. Encourage Playdates and Group Play

Provide opportunities for your child to practise social interaction in supervised settings. For example, invite classmates or cousins over for short and manageable play dates. 

You can offer him or her structured play activities like simple board games or building with blocks. Make sure they’re basic and cooperative tasks, so that your child can grow more confident in dealing with groups. 

3. Roleplay Real-Life Scenarios

Roleplay is a great way to help your child prepare mentally for actual social scenarios. It allows him or her to rehearse the skills they need for those settings. 

Try roleplaying scenarios like ordering food from a hawker centre or introductions to new people. You can even roleplay scenarios like borrowing toys from other children.

This allows your child to build confidence about what he or she can do in such situations and lets him or her test out language in advance.

4. Teach Emotional Vocabulary

Strong social skills are linked to emotional intelligence, which begins with the ability to name one’s feelings. Teach your child to label emotions by naming him or her in your observations. 

For example, say, “You seem to feel sad because your block tower fell.” Or you can observe that your child seems to feel happy because of your impending trip to a toy store. 

This can improve your child’s communication skills while also giving him or her a voice for feelings, allowing your child a measure of control over them and their expression. The best part is that this can even reduce behavioural outbursts!

5. Praise and Reinforce Positive Social Interaction

Acknowledge and celebrate small wins. It’s hugely motivating for little ones and can be a good way to encourage them when they demonstrate positive behaviour.

Just remember to be specific about what you’re praising, e.g. if it’s their patience in waiting to get a turn to use a toy, say that. Be sincere and make your child feel seen.

6. Use Books and Stories for Illustration

Reading stories together can also give you chances to discuss complex social concepts. It even lets your child see fictional examples of empathy, friendship, collaboration and more.

Don’t be afraid to pause the story to ask questions that may help. For example, ask what they think the character feels or if they think the character should work with others.

Strengthening Social Skills Through Everyday Communication

Communication and social skills go hand in hand because communication is how connection is forged with others.

For how to improve communication skills in a child (which supports their social competence in turn), try these techniques: 

• Sing songs and rhymes together to build rhythm, pronunciation, and memory.
• Actively encourage open-ended questions instead of yes-or-no ones.
• Limit screen time, which typically involves passive consumption.

At MLC, our teachers are trained to nurture social and communication skills using these techniques. Our daily circle time discussions, “Show and Tell” sessions, and guided group projects give children multiple opportunities for expression.

Choose a Preschool That Supports Social Development

From playdates to role play, parents have countless ways to improve children’s social skills at home. It just takes patience and practice, but children can easily gain the confidence and communication skills they need to thrive.

MLC nurtures both academic excellence and social confidence in a preschool setting, encouraging children with gentle but consistent support. Contact us today to see how, whether by exploring our programmes or booking a school tour.

September 16, 2025

Things to Focus on in Your Child’s Primary 1 Prep

Starting Primary 1 is a big step for you and your child. It’s when your child’s preschool journey ends and formal schooling begins. 

Given that, it’s no wonder most parents feel a little anxious about it!

The transition to primary school is about more than your child’s knowledge of letters and numbers. It’s also about emotional readiness and independence.

In this guide, we’ll show you what our educators advise when preparing for Primary 1 and what works best for smoothing the preschool to primary school transition.

Academic Readiness

1. Strengthen Your Child’s Listening and Following Skills

One of the main differences between preschool and primary school is that the latter involves more multi-step activities. You can prep your child for this at home. 

Start off simple, with tasks involving only 2 to 3 steps. Try starting with everyday routines he/she can work on, like putting away toys and washing his/her hands as part of getting ready for a meal.

You can add more steps after that. It’s a good idea to provide the steps verbally too. It’ll hone your child’s listening skills at the same time!

2. Build on Literacy and Numeracy

Your child will be expected to read and count at a basic level in Primary 1, so building these skills can help to improve your child’s confidence and readiness for this at school!

This is something we consider a focus area at My Little Campus. Our curriculum builds strong foundations for both English and Maths in fun ways, such as word and number games.

By adding bilingual foundations, we also prepare children for academic topics like Mother Tongue in Primary 1. You can start working on building bilingualism at home too by speaking to your child in both English and their Mother Tongue!

3. Cultivate a Love for Reading

The sooner your child falls in love with books, the better. Reading will be a big part of his/her life in primary school, after all.

So, try to read with your child daily even if it’s only for half an hour. It’s a great bonding experience and supports your child’s literacy and vocabulary growth.

We also do this at My Little Campus through interactive storytelling and roleplay. These activities make stories come alive and nurture both imagination and comprehension – all while making reading an enjoyable experience!

4. Develop Your Child’s Attention Span

Lessons and planned activities are much longer in primary school than preschool. In Primary 1, your child may struggle if he/she isn’t used to staying focused for extended periods of time.

You can help your child build up his/her attention span at home by offering quiet tasks that require sustained focus for a specified time. Think puzzles, drawing/colouring, crafts, and the like. 

You can slowly increase the duration your child spends on each task over time, eventually building their ability to focus for 40-50 minutes.

Life and Socio-Emotional Skills

1. Encourage Independence

Navigating Primary 1 involves various independent tasks. Children carry their own bags, unpack and pack up their own things, and move between classes on their own with little guidance.

Prepare your child for things like this by offering chances to take charge of daily routines. 

We do this at My Little Campus by encouraging children to put away their own shoes after outdoor play sessions or clearing their trays after meals. These empower children and teach them the basics of responsibility and agency early on.

2. Build Daily Routines

Primary school is more structured and routine-dependent. So, picking up these routines in advance can ease the preschool to primary school transition.

Give your child a clear routine at home. For instance, build a daily morning routine of waking up early, washing up and dressing independently, and getting seated at the dining table for breakfast.

You can also add bedtime routines or after-school routines while your child is still in preschool. It’s early practice for the primary school transition!

3. Nurture Social Confidence

One of the biggest changes for your child will be in the faces around him/her. They’ll meet many new peers and teachers, which may be a cause for anxiety for some children.

To support your child with this, frame the experience as a chance to make new friends. 

Give your child ample opportunity to practise doing that with regular playdates, or sign your child up for enrichment programmes with children of similar ages.

This will give your child opportunities to learn how to get to know new people before Primary 1. It will also show him/her that socialising with new people can be rewarding!

4. Build Resilience

There will be a lot of challenges in Primary 1 – even with the best preparation, you can expect your child to see a few setbacks every now and then. 

This is where resilience comes into play. You want to teach your child that trying again is often part of life and can produce rewards, so that he/she understands that mistakes aren’t the end of the world.

We do this at My Little Campus by using encouraging language and approaches. When children struggle with a task, we reassure them that it’s all right to take their time to try it again, and offer our support if they want it.

Praising efforts over results can also help your little one look at challenges with a more positive mindset.

Advice for Parents on Staying Supportive and Positive

Remember that you play a big part in how your child manages the transition to primary school. Your attitude may well set the tone for your child’s experience!

If you’re positive about the transition, your child is more likely to be positive too. It can also help if you tell your child what to expect in advance. This way, there are fewer surprises to cause anxiety.

Share with your child that it’s fine and completely normal to feel nervous about entering primary school as well. And above all, reassure your child that you’re always there for support if he/she needs it.

Get Help Preparing for The Transition to Primary 1

Preparing a child for Primary 1 takes time, but it can be made easier if you know what to do.

If you want to get expert support with that preparation, seek a preschool that gets them ready for it as soon as possible. For instance, preparation for Primary 1 is a core part of our approach to preschool at My Little Campus.

Reach out to us to see how we do it or book a school tour with us today!

September 1, 2025

How Do Multisensory Activities Boost Your Child’s Cognitive Skills?

If you’ve been looking for ways to support your child’s cognitive growth, you’ve probably run into the proposition to use multisensory activities. The question is, do they actually work?

Generally, early childhood educators agree that multisensory learning for preschoolers is helpful. The benefits of sensory activities range from enhancing focus to supporting problem-solving abilities.

If that’s piqued your attention, read on. We’ll share more about how to improve cognitive skills in a child with various types of multisensory activities.

What Is Multisensory Learning?

Multisensory learning is when a child’s learning experience involves engaging multiple senses at the same time. 

For example, an activity may require your child to both listen and touch. Or your child may need to move and see. That means more than one sense is engaged during the experience. 

There are a variety of multisensory learning activities, including fine motor sensory activities. Different children may have different preferences for them, depending on which senses those children favour.

Why Is Multisensory Learning Important?

A good bit of research suggests that multisensory learning benefits children’s education. For instance, the ADHD Foundation asserts that multisensory activities encourage children to form stronger connections or links for ideas and memories.

This is critical when a child is at preschool age (0 to 6 years). At this age, children’s brains develop rapidly. They can create millions of neural connections per day!

By reinforcing those connections, multisensory learning also aligns with modern early childhood education approaches. Consider play-based learning, for example. 

Play-based learning emphasises hands-on exploration, which employs several senses at once. Multisensory learning ties into this naturally, as a result.

Key Benefits of Sensory Activities for Cognitive Development

1. Enhances Focus and Memory

By engaging multiple senses at once, multisensory activities can help children keep their attention on an idea or goal. It feeds more than one stream of stimulation to them, after all.

Think of activities where children are encouraged to sort items by category. Do they feel rough or smooth? Look blue or red? Sound hollow or solid? These become crucial points of interest and stimulation that help sustain children’s focus.

At the same time, children can retain the information they glean longer. As mentioned earlier, multisensory activities tend to lead to stronger connections for ideas. 

For example, teaching a child the shape of the letter J can be paired with the experience of writing it. Some teachers will even add the act of pretending to shape it with a wave of their hands in the air. 

That allows a child so many “hooks” to use to remember the shape of the letter. From the visuals of it to the tactile feel of writing or shaping it in the air, all of those are scaffolds for memory!

2. Strengthens Problem-Solving and Planning Skills

Activities such as simple puzzles or matching games can be multisensory too. For example, think of one where they need to dig into a box of pasta to find the hidden puzzles within. 

The children need to use their sense of touch to find the differently shaped pieces amidst the macaroni in the box. And then, after retrieving them, they can use their sight to fit the puzzle pieces to each other and form the picture!

This is actually a form of problem-solving. It teaches children how to employ various tools at their disposal (like touch and sight) to solve a riddle. 

Such activities can also become stagegrounds for developing planning abilities. The children might learn to delay putting together the puzzle until they’ve retrieved edge pieces, for example, that could serve as “foundations”.

3. Supports Language Development and Communication

Multisensory activities can sometimes include tasks to talk, listen, or follow instructions. All of those naturally support language development.

A great example that we often use at My Little Campus is interactive storytelling. In it, we combine a variety of sensory inputs to provide an experience as fun as it is illuminating for little ones. 

They get visuals with props and roleplay, sounds through dialogue, movements through gestures, and more. In the process, they also learn to grow their vocabularies and verbal expression.

4. Boosts Socio-Emotional Development

Group multisensory activities are especially good for this. Collaborative sand play and group music-making are examples. 

Such activities promote emotional awareness as the children work together to realise their goals. At the same time, they discover how to cooperate and share with others.

These are experiences that build emotional intelligence as well as social skills – both of which will be critical for the children’s future relationships and emotional resilience.

5. Supports Different Learning Styles 

As mentioned earlier, different children will favour different senses. The beauty of having multisensory activities is that you offer more options for each learner!

Multisensory activities accommodate the differences among children’s preferences by offering several pathways for learning. This is especially important for preschoolers because in these early years, children’s dominant learning styles may not be clear yet.

Incorporating Multisensory Activities at Home

Want to try bringing multisensory learning into your home? Fortunately, it doesn’t require elaborate planning or costly materials. Here are some recommendations you can try:

Activity 1: Sensory Bins

Get a plastic bin and fill it with something safe for children to put their hands in. Uncooked rice, lentils, and pasta are favourites. 

Next, bury some safe household objects in the bin, right at the bottom. Try spoons, small balls, children’s toys, and more. You can even add a scoop!

After that, just let the kids play with the bin. It’s great as a play activity and stimulates touch, sight, and sound all at once.

Activity 2: Outdoor Water Play

This one might be especially fun on a hot day, out on the balcony. Get a plastic or inflatable tub, fill it with water, then fill it with safe things for children to play with. 

Children will love splashing about with the water and items, and will also begin developing scientific skills like observation. They might identify which items sink, for instance, or which ones float. They can even start observing which items absorb water and which don’t!

Offer Your Child a Multisensory Education 

Multisensory activities are more than enjoyable moments for children. They’re also opportunities for foundational learning and experiences.

If you want to ensure your child reaps the full benefit of multisensory approaches in education, consider My Little Campus. We actively build it into our everyday activities, with classrooms dedicated to sensory corners and interactive storytelling sessions.

We also do outdoor exploration and have educators who guide children gently through various sensory adventures that they tie back to cognitive development. Book a tour or visit us today to see how we do this firsthand!

July 15, 2025

How to manage temper tantrums: Strategies for preschool parents

Dealing with your child screaming or throwing things around the house? Or maybe it’s an overturned bowl of noodles and a refusal to eat? Either way, take heart from this fact: you’re not alone.

Temper tantrums are a natural phenomenon for preschoolers. Whether at home or out in public, most children will have one of these meltdowns sooner or later.

And before you start beating yourself up over it, remember: tantrums are actually signs that your little one is just starting to learn self-control. So don’t take them as indicators that you’re doing things wrong!

That being said, there are some strategies for managing tantrums that can make situations easier to handle for both you and your little one.

What are temper tantrums?

Before we start talking about how to manage a child during a tantrum, we should address this first.

A temper tantrum is just a behavioural outburst expressing a negative emotion. Most children express tantrums through screaming, kicking, or crying. Some just lie on the floor and refuse to respond to conversation.

The most common time for tantrums is when a child is one to four years of age. During this time, your child is learning to become more independent, but still has limited communication skills

Tantrums can be of varying durations. Most last a few minutes, while some stretch for as long as 15 to 20 minutes.

Anything violent that goes past that duration could be cause to see a doctor. This is just to ensure that your child is not facing any unusual sensory or communication challenges.

Why do tantrums happen?

There are several reasons tantrums happen in little ones. Let’s break them down into separate sections for clarity:

1. Developmental causes 

At the age when tantrums happen, the pre-frontal cortex is still developing. Because this part of our brains is responsible for both impulse control and emotional regulation, it can’t kick in the way it would for an adult.

The result is that every big emotion can overwhelm these little people in our care at first. Eruptions are normal, as such, until a child turns six or so.

2. Communication challenges 

The key to understanding tantrums is to remember that they’re often due to an unfulfilled need or want. They’re generally tied to some kind of dissatisfaction.

Children can feel that dissatisfaction in full. Unfortunately, they usually lack a similarly developed ability to express that feeling in words. 

As a result, your child can easily resort to a tantrum in an effort to communicate that. When words fail, your child can turn to screams or actions. 

3. External triggers 

Because dissatisfaction or discontent of some kind can lead to a tantrum, it only makes sense that certain things can trigger it. 

A missed nap is a great example. Because children feel tired when they miss a regular nap, they may express that in a tantrum instead of verbally stating that they’re tired.

The same is true for issues like delayed meals, overstimulation, or denied access to their favourite toys or activities. Overwhelmed by negative stimuli or sensations, children may respond by having meltdowns to indicate their discontent. 

4. Emotional needs 

This ties back to communication challenges. Sometimes, children may feel like they’re not getting enough attention or not being acknowledged. 

But, being children, they may not know how to say that. As a result, a child can easily decide that shouting is a quicker way to get results than a polite request. 

Outbursts like this are generally ones relating to your child’s communication skills. Most children don’t set out to be wilfully difficult – they’re only trying to make themselves heard.

How to manage tantrums 

So, what can you do when your child gets the inevitable tantrums? Here are some techniques for tantrum management that we’ve proven time and again at My Little Campus:

1. Stay calm and ensure safety

You can set the tone for your child to eventually follow. And that means calming things down instead of escalating. 

Try taking a few deep breaths before you respond to the tantrum. This may help you centre yourself. After that, assess the situation to ensure no safety hazards are near your child.

If your child is prone to physical tantrums where he or she throws items, for example, you want to move fragile or dangerous objects like glasses or ceramic plates far from reach. 

2. Speak softly and validate your child’s feelings 

Show empathy and understanding. Remember that a lot of tantrums are just about children trying to express themselves in non-verbal ways. Acknowledging their feelings tells them you’ve received the message and there are actual words for what they feel.

State what they’re feeling as simply as possible. Say something like, “You’re angry because you can’t find your favourite toy.” Or, if you’re not sure of the cause yet, “I see you’re upset.”

Use the simplest language you can and without making sentences too long. Children already having a tantrum can’t deal with too much information at once. 

Speaking softly and maintaining a neutral facial expression can help too. It provides less stimulus that could be used to unintentionally reinforce the tantrum behaviour.

3. Don’t try to actually teach or reason mid-tantrum

It can be tempting to try and turn the tantrum into a lesson. Don’t do it! Children having a tantrum are unlikely to process any logical reasoning during it, so you’ll just get frustrated.

Instead, be as calm and patient as possible until your child calms down enough to end the tantrum. Only after the episode is over can you think of reasoning with your child.

4. Offer simple choices when your child is ready

Once your child has calmed down enough to process ideas, offer your help in regaining control. For example, give him or her a choice between two things.

For instance, you could ask your child if he or she wants a snack or a drink at this point. It’s a great way to support the idea that your child has agency over something.

Long-term strategies for tantrum reduction

Another way to better deal with tantrums is to outright avoid them. That is, you can do certain things to try and reduce the number of tantrums your child has. These are some options:

• Stick to predictable routines
  Children tend to thrive when they know what’s supposed to happen next. Predictable routines create a sense of safety, helping toddlers feel more in control of their day, in turn reducing the frequency and intensity of tantrums.

  At My Little Campus, for instance, we’ve found that using consistent schedules for meals and naps help children settle into the flow of the day more smoothly. When expectations are clear, children are less likely to feel overwhelmed or resist transitions – two common triggers for toddler temper tantrums.

• Give your child positive attention regularly
  Since many children have tantrums when feeling neglected, you can prevent that from happening by paying attention to your child at set times each day.
  
• Name and model emotions
  This lets your child learn what he or she is feeling, what it’s called, and how to express it. We do this in various ways at My Little Campus, including through role-play and storytelling!
  
• Find patterns
  Some tantrums may be triggered by the same thing each time. Keeping an eye open for patterns of stimulus-effect can help you identify those and avoid them.

Helping children and parents navigate big emotions

Tantrums can be difficult and tiring to manage. But they’re absolutely normal, as well as possible to deal with if you have enough consistency and patience. 

Of course, more violent or self-harming tantrums could need special help. The same is true for more prolonged or more regular ones, which may require consultation with a specialist.

But other than those, most parents can deal with tantrums themselves, though not necessarily alone. If your child goes to a childcare or preschool where the educators know how to deal with tantrums, for instance, you can get extensive support. 

If you’re interested in that, reach out to us. My Little Campus’s trained teachers pay attention to each child’s needs and regularly communicate with parents over management strategies for challenges. Talk to us today to learn more or arrange a school tour.

June 3, 2025

Parent-tested ways to reduce your child’s screen time

Digital screens are inescapable now. Though some parents may lament it, smartphones and tablets are just part of daily life for everyone now – including little ones. 

Besides, it’s not all bad. Screens can now be tools for both entertainment and learning. That being said, excessive use of them can still have negative effects on your child’s development.

The trick is to ensure balanced usage. If you’re struggling specifically with that, this guide can help. 

Our expert educators have put together a list of the tips that have yielded the best results for both them and parents. Try these to reduce screen time to healthy levels in your child.

Understand current screen habits

Before you make any change to your child’s screen time, take stock of the current situation. How much screen time does your child have each day now? What triggers it?

For example, is your child most likely to indulge in screen time during meal times? When you’re busy doing chores? Or when bored?

Your goal is to try and identify patterns in your child’s screen usage. This can help you find and address the root causes of screen indulgence.

Set clear and consistent limits

Once you’ve identified how much screen time your child is getting, you can set a limit for how much he or she should actually get. 

You can base this on your own preferences, but you can also use expert guidelines. For example, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has screen use guidelines you can try. 

To simplify the guidelines in that advisory, you can follow these notes:

• For children under 18 months old – No screen use unless it’s for interactive video chatting. The MOH does not even advise turning on the TV in the background.
• For children 18 months to 6 years old – Use less than 1 hour of screen use per day outside of school. Do not use screens to distract your child or as background noise. Do not use screens during meals or 1 hour before bedtime.

These screen time limits can be paired with other rules. For example, you can require the content they consume to be educational or age-appropriate. Or you can make screen time a social activity they perform with you.

Remember to be consistent in applying the rules too. Children are more likely to resist a rule when they see it being broken repeatedly without consequence. 

Offer engaging screen time alternatives

One of the main reasons children resist screen time limits is that they use screens to amuse themselves. Without them, their minds lack stimulation unless given opportunity.

So, give them opportunities! Offer your child engaging screen time alternatives, from the chance to play a board game with you to a trip outdoors. 

It doesn’t always need to be something involving you either. You can set up a highly accessible arts nook stuffed with materials, for instance, that your child can use anytime. Or you can stock books about things your child finds interesting. 

All of these can serve as learning opportunities too. At My Little Campus, we believe in using screen time purposefully to support learning, not replace it. Educational screen content is thoughtfully incorporated alongside hands-on activities like sensory play and structured group learning.

By balancing digital and real-world experiences, we help children stay curious and engaged while developing a healthy relationship with technology from a young age.

Model less screen time

Modelling behaviour is always one of the best ways to teach it to children. Your child will imitate you if you look like you’re always glued to your screen – so unglue yourself.

Dedicate more time to off-screen activities, especially ones with or around your child. Think about reading, baking together, going on nature walks, and more. 

This will show your child that fun and connection are possible with digital screens… and the two of you will likely grow closer in the process if you do a lot of activities together.

Create predictable routines

When your child’s routine is highly predictable, he or she is less likely to go looking for a screen as filler. That’s why it may help to structure your child’s day in a way that ensures it’s full of off-screen activities and options.

Don’t forget to account for rest times too, though. Little ones need it to grow!

Use technology with a purpose

As mentioned earlier, you should consider limiting screen time to high-quality and age-appropriate material. This makes screen time purposeful and invests it with value.

This turns technology into a helpful tool instead of a medium for filler activities. You can make screens work for your child’s development – as long as they’re used in moderation. 

A good idea here is to look for videos or apps that focus on your child’s interests. You can even look for ones that will boost their knowledge of topics from school.

Let us help you give your child a richer early education experience

The first time you try the screen-reduction tips above, you’ll very likely struggle. Your child may push back and rules will be broken.

But that’s normal, so don’t worry too much. Reducing screen time doesn’t just happen overnight. 

The key is to start small and stay consistent – until you eventually build lasting habits that will support your child’s development.

My Little Campus can help you here. Our balanced curriculum combines purposeful screen time, hands-on experiences and structured play to support well-rounded learning.

If you want your child to grow up in a preschool where he or she can be nurtured in a way that sustains lifelong growth, consider our approach. Enquire about our programmes today!