It's a much-anticipated moment: the day your beloved child dons a smart uniform and heads off into the world without you. And with the school year in the UAE just a few days away, that moment is fast approaching.
Children often start school when they are just three years old and spend two years in the preschool or kindergarten section of the school before they start Year 1 - first grade - at the age of five or six.
"I taught this year level and it is very young for some children," says Carmen Benton, a parenting educator and educational consultant at LifeWorks in Dubai. "Many parents in Dubai struggle with the decision of whether they should keep their child in a small nursery or move them to 'big school' where the day is typically longer and the children are in uniform and in larger class sizes."
While many might prefer to keep their children in a more intimate school environment during those first years, the long waiting lists mean that parents tend to enrol their children at the bigger schools as young as possible for fear of losing out on a place.
If this is the case, however, there is still plenty parents can do to prepare their child. For starters, make sure to visit the school in advance.
"This will relieve some anxiety arising from the unknown," says Dr Raymond Hamden, clinical and forensic psychologist at the Human Relations Institute in Dubai Knowledge Village. "Both child and parent can become familiar with the location, layout and look of the school. Seek out areas such as the classroom, bathroom and cafeteria."
This will act as a visual reassurance for your child and enable you to discuss what will happen in your child's day and where. If possible, try to meet the teacher so that your child will see a familiar face on the first day. Make starting school fun by going shopping together to get supplies; this will give them a chance to choose things such as a pencil case and school bag and get them excited about using them. It's even worth trying to arrange some play dates with children who will be in the same class so your child will already have a friend when they start school.
Ultimately, however, the most important thing is communication. Spend time talking about school before it commences and tell happy stories of your own school days and the friends you made. Make sure your child sees school as an exciting, fun place, even if you didn't feel that way about it yourself.
Teachers will have certain expectations of children in the first grade, and if you know what they are, you can make sure your child doesn't struggle. Ideally, children should know how to dress and undress themselves, change their shoes, use the toilet properly and flush it, use a knife and fork, tidy away their toys and use a handkerchief.
"By all accounts, PE lessons in Year 1 consist of about 45 minutes of dressing and undressing with about 10 minutes haring around in the hall in the middle," says Liz Blease, a primary schoolteacher in the UK. "I reckon the dressing and undressing is physical education at that age."
When it comes to learning, parents can help with number awareness - being able to recite from one to 10 is not the same as understanding the value and place of numbers. Talk to your child about quantities, for example, five is bigger than two. Concentrate on counting; playing dominoes and simple board games, such as Snakes and Ladders, will teach children how to count while making it fun.
You can help your children get ready to read by reading with them often, providing books at home, using letter sounds and letter names and drawing attention to words in the street, on cereal packets and so on. Play simple games such as I Spy to encourage recognition of letter sounds.
Finally, you can help your child get ready to write by letting him see you write everyday things such as shopping lists and telephone messages.
Help your child develop his fine motor skills by modelling with Plasticine, doing dot-to-dot and drawing with crayons. Encourage a good grip on your child's pencil or crayon; don't allow him to use a ball-point pen yet because they aren't good for small, undeveloped hand muscles.
When the big day rolls around, make sure you are well organised. Pack a bag together the night before, lay out the uniform or their outfit and ask your child what they'd like in their lunch box. On the actual morning, you need to give plenty of hugs and reassurance - and let go.
"If you have done a good job beforehand of emphasising all the positives of attending school and you have involved your child in all the preparations, this should be an exciting and fun opportunity for your child and he or she should feel more willing to attend," says Hamden.
The teacher will be well-equipped to deal with tearful little ones and you need to let them do their job.
"As a teacher, there's nothing worse than snivelling parents making fond farewells inside the classroom. Children settle in much better if parents send them in confidently, smiling," says Blease. And don't forget to tell your child that you'll be waiting for him at the day's end. When you greet your new pupil at the school gates, don't expect to hear much about the day; most children just want to have a snack and relax.
Once the momentous first day has been and gone, there are still things you can do to help your child settle in. If they're not too tired, arrange play dates with classmates. "It can be nice for several parents to take their children to the park or pool after school so they can get to know each other in a more familiar setting where there are less children around," says Benton. Let your child talk through any confusing or upsetting "social issues" that arise at school and help them understand why these things may have happened and help them solve any problems. Give your child strategies rather than fighting their battles for them.
After the initial excitement of starting school fades, reality sets in and children realise that this is something they will be doing every day. Most young children find the school days very tiring.
"When your children say they don't want to go to school, validate their feelings and let them know you understand, without trying to fix or rescue them," suggests Benton. "Let them know you have faith in their abilities to work through the issues themselves. This allows them to feel capable and it is empowering. If you listen to your children and let them talk about their school day you may well learn of things happening at school that your child finds confusing and you can help them understand these issues."
If you're still feeling a bit wobbly about the approaching big day, be reassured when Benton says: "Often, the parent's fears and anxieties can be more acute than the child's."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
