Starting childcare soon? Here are some of our essentials!

Here are some our favourite recommendations of things to get if your child is starting school! Note that the things to bring really vary from school to school, so do get the checklist from your school so you can prepare for it and check what is not allowed. 

Labelling

We have a few tools to label different items:

Clothing: We sew on this name label on all the uniforms, towels and other fabric items. The print is lasting and is still visible after regular washing for over a year. 

Pros: Cheap and lasting even after many washes

Cons: A bit of a hassle to sew it on for the first time.

Diapers and bottles: Our school required us to label all diapers. Note that many cheaper stamps don't work on diapers due to the material, we were glad to find this stamp that work pretty well on diapers, fabric and even round surfaces.

Pros: Works on diapers and round surfaces, versatile

Cons: Slightly more expensive than other stamps, require refilling every few weeks if used regularly, will come off after many washes

For everything else we use this Sticker label printer: The great thing is that this label printer connects to your phone's mobile app, so you can print whatever label that you designed. E.g. we label the milk dispenser with the volume of water and number of scoops so teachers know the right amount of water to use.

Pros: Highly customizable and versatile, can resist months of daily washing, doesn't require ink refill as it uses thermal technology to print on the sticker.

Cons: Print looks faded after months but still visible

Read the full review of this label printer here.

Mosquito Patches / Spray

Our LO get bitten by insects easily if she goes out without protection so a mosquito patch is something we pack in her bag all the time. Kids go outdoors almost daily, some to the parks so I would say this is quite essential.

Check out Mylo's mosquito patch, it doesn't leave stains on the shirt and can still smell the patch after a few days.

Disinfectant

Ever since we were introduced to Airtumtec's self-disinfecting antimicrobial spray, we never looked back and we spray our LO's hands and belongings regularly. Childcare is known for being a nesting ground for viruses and germs, with HFMD and flu being something almost unavoidable when your child starts pre-school.

The spray claims to last up to 120 days with just one application, so we spray it on LO's clothing, bag, pillow every few weeks and hands on a daily basis. While illnesses can't be prevented 100% (say someone sneezes in LO's face 😓) we felt that the frequency of LO falling sick has been acceptably low since using Airtumtec on a regular basis.

The fact that many companies and public places in Singapore use Airtumtec gave us the assurance of its credibility. Best part is that one big bottle can last for many months.

School Bag

We alternate between Smiggle Junior Backpack (less than $30 during sales at physical stores or online) and also Skiphop. They are lightweight, making it easy enough for LO to carry the bag and durable.

Good deal if it's below $30!

We also got the Jujube Minibe which is very small and lightweight. It is machine washable making it a breeze to clean. This smaller bag is more suitable if your school allows you to keep bedding in a separate bag in school throughout the week or if your LO doesn't need to bring any pillows/blanket to school at all for naps.

Supplements: Boost your LO's immunity with Bicold / Immunped (can take from 1 year old and above) and probiotics. We give this daily as recommended by PD and we find it effective in helping LO's speedy recovery.

Always stocked up in our pantry

Wetbags: Great for putting in diapers, spare clothes, soiled clothes etc

Reuseable ziplock bags: to store milk powder, bottle etc and protect from leaks

Hope you have found this list useful and drop a comment below if you have any favourites to recommend!