Key To Tomorrow’s Home

With the rise of exclusive residential developments in the last few years, inclusion of more appealing features that satisfy the needs of potential and actual buyers continues to become the norm today. These features range from piped gas, Jacuzzis to escalators and high-speed lifts.

Recent research has indicated that Kenya’s upper middle class is now driving the economy. In general, this Western influenced class drives the sleekest cars, sports the latest designer apparel. Not to be left behind are the new weds, who are now relying heavily on domestic workers to take care of their young ones, as they pursue evening classes or work overtime to improve and maintain their lifestyles. Newly constructed houses, especially apartments should incorporate the idea of a day care centre. These centres will meet the needs of the upper middle class. Sophisticated as they may seem, their growing children need an environment that is conducive and secure. Following the thoughts of Jean Piaget on child development, ‘children construct an understanding of the world around them, and then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment.’ Largely speaking, the underlying principle here is that the environment in which the child is growing in, will definitely determine his future personality. These day care centres should employ the services of professional matrons who are able to attend to children’s needs in the absence of their parents.

This in turn assists their busy parents get more productive in their work, as their minds are focused on the immediate task without the burden of full time care of their children. A major advantage of these centres is children learn in as homely an environment as possible. They are near their places of residences, which also make it easy for the child to access school without having to rise too early. It is also easier to offer security as the learning environment falls within the confines of the child’s residential space. In gated communities, access is limited to known residents, or strangers, who only gain admission after producing proper identification, a basic of security checks.

This creates peace of mind for parents, as cases of kidnapping are among the dangers that are instantly minimized. Teachers can also offer personalized attention to their wards, as enrollment numbers are small. An example of this is New South Wales, Australia, where the law does not permit student numbers exceeding 40.

Other factors as learning in a tranquil environment devoid of external noise are easy to offer in this setup. Setting up of children gardens, from where the concept of kindergarten hails, is easier, providing the optimal environment for the young ones to thrive. More playtime is also possible, as the school environment is merely a continuation of the child’s play time at home.

Statistics from America show that approximately 3 percent of the school-age population was homeschooled in the 2011–12 school years. Among homeschooled children, a higher percentage was White (68 percent) then Black (8 percent), Hispanic (15 percent), and Asian or Pacific Islander (4 percent).