nursery hunt

Dubai is teeming with nursery schools offering various curriculums: montessori, international, English or American. With more than 80% of the population are composed of expats from over 200 countries, Dubai schools caters to different student’s needs. Or so I thought.

It’s been almost two months since I started looking for a nursery school to enrol my daughter into. Some are good but too far, some offer transport services but only if I could get my child to wake up at 5:30 a.m.! some are highly acclaimed but with sky rocketing fees (most expats have school fees included to their package, I don’t), and then there are really trustworthy nurseries with loong waiting lists! Imagine, I met a  pregnant mum registering her unborn child just ensure a place to the nursery!

Yesterday, we went to see two schools, around 30 minutes away from where we live. I fell in love with the first one. The children are happy — a really good sign. Pristine instantly loved the place and started to mingle with the kids and sang songs. The school is located in a residential area where most of the people living are British. What a lovely neighbourhood. The fees are steep but sacrifice-able, they have buses with child seats — only that, the transport service don’t go beyond that residential compound! I was so devastated.

The principal says we can send our daughter to that school if we have a car and would list her name to secure a place but! how can that be possible? I mean, getting a car is simple but picking her up at the nursery at 1 p.m. is impossible if both me and hubby are working. And what will Pristine do after that?

Majority of the nurseries here in Dubai are only until noon or around 2pm (with extra fee of course). I visited two nurseries who accept children and care for them until 7pm but in return, you have to tip most of the contents of your wallet to their counters. Plus, these nurseries are too far away from where we live or where I work.

I really find it very silly for nurseries here to be operating only half day. Most moms here are trailing spouses and just stay at home so maybe they could  not be blogging about this dilemma I have. Dubai nurseries don’t cater to working moms. Or maybe if working moms hire house helps/maids (which is very common here), the nursery setup would work out.

Pristine had atttended a nursery for two weeks and stopped going there since falling very ill. I was sick last February 13 and stayed at home and waited for her school van to come. When it did, I met my daughter feeling so weak and looking so unhappy(!) and burning with fever!! Pristine would have febrile convulsion even at the onset of a mild 37.5C fever. She has her medication for that and it should be administered at once when she is warmer than usual. If she is lying in bed and having convulsion at home with me, I can manage that. But my daughter is always oblivious of her high fever and would normally do her running and playing even with a 39C…so what if she suddenly have the seizure and collapses to the hard floor!? That thought really freaked me out big time!

The former nursery did not even inform me Pristine had fever or whatsoever. They did not give her medication when I left meds there and instructed them to. So disappointing. I am glad nothing worse happened and so that nothing will, I called them up telling them I will not send my daughter there anymore. The decision was very costly as they did not refund anything I paid but I could not work properly thinking I am risking my daughter’s life to some incompetent people.