Coleen Garcia’s School Plans For Amari: ‘More On Life Skills’

When to send children to formal school has always been a widely debated topic. Some parents prefer to enroll their kids as young as 2 or 3 to foster independence, while others delay it as long as possible, believing that play is more beneficial during early childhood.

In an interview with Smart Parenting at the Preview Ball, actress and mother Coleen Garcia-Crawford shared her insights and plans for her son Amari’s education.

Maximizing time with Amari

With Amari turning 4 this September, Coleen emphasized that she intends to spend quality time with him as much as possible and play an active role in his development. Instead of rushing to send him to school early, Coleen expressed her desire to make the most of their time together at home.

“I’m making the most of it,” she said. “Tinututukan ko talaga siya. I try to teach him myself.”

Coleen revealed that while Amari isn’t enrolled yet in formal school, he remains highly engaged in various activities. “He does Kumon. He has a lot of other things on the side, such as swimming lessons and taekwondo. So, he’s still very well socialized,” she explained.

Managing screen time and encouraging independence

Just like many modern parents whose main concern is managing screen time, Coleen shared how she’s found a healthy balance for Amari. She proudly mentioned that Amari has developed generally good habits when it comes to using screens, largely due to the limits they set early on.

“I think the habits that we got him used to at such an early age with the screen time really paid off. Because now, even if you give him an iPad, he’ll probably just play with a few games, and then, siya na mismo yung kusang aayaw.”

Coleen also noted that while Amari doesn’t spend much time watching videos, he enjoys taking photos. “He loves taking pictures of us, of the things around him. I find it hard to take it away from him kasi he’s doing something that he enjoys,” she explained. However, she admitted that she still remains mindful of the potential harm to his eyes from screen exposure and makes sure to set consistent limits on his usage.

“As long as you’re consistent… if you say three minutes, three minutes talaga. No more extending,” Coleen advised.

Plans for schooling

When asked about when she plans to send Amari to school, Coleen revealed that she is in no rush to do so. Though she admitted that she started school at a very young age, she wants to take a different approach with her son.

“For me, I think since we have the privilege of being at home a lot, I really want to use that to my advantage and really teach him hands-on,” she shared. Coleen mentioned that she had initially considered enrolling Amari this year, but explained, “We do a lot of traveling also, which was my issue this year because I thought I was going to send him to school this year. But we had trips planned… So, that would definitely affect his schedule if ever.”

In the meantime, Amari benefits from having a teacher and therapist, “Right now, we have a teacher, a therapist who comes to the house. And she teaches him fine motor skills, behavioral. They tackle a lot of things together. So, it’s all about still making sure he gets the proper education. And he still gets to learn everything that he needs to learn,” Coleen said.

Focus on life skills

Moreover, Coleen emphasized that her primary focus right now is teaching Amari life skills that will help him become more independent. “More on life skills… Our focus is on how to change on your own, how to eat on your own, how to do everything on your own,” she explained.

For Coleen, the decision to send Amari to school depends on his emotional and practical readiness. “If I can strengthen that in him first, and I can see that he’s ready, he can handle himself, then that’s the time I’ll send him to school.”

Read here for an educator’s reminder to parents on academic pressure.