Childcare Options in Singapore: Infant Care, Childcare Centres, Kindergartens & More (2026 Guide)

Your Childcare Options at a Glance

Every licensed preschool in Singapore falls under the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), which licenses services for children between 2 months and below 7 years. ECDA groups them into three licence classes, and knowing which is which makes every other decision easier:

The age ranges, hours and licence classes above are as stated on ECDA's "Choosing a preschool for your child" page. The informal row is ours — no licence required, but no subsidy either.

Infant Care: 2 to 18 Months

Infant care is the option most parents research first, because it lines up with the end of maternity leave. Per ECDA, infant care centres take babies from 2 months to 18 months, with full-day programmes running 7am to 7pm — long enough to cover almost any work schedule.

Demand is real, especially in newer estates, so start looking while you're still pregnant: visit centres, ask about waitlists, and get your name down early at your top two choices. It's far easier to give up a place than to conjure one in week 14 of maternity leave.

We've written a full guide on what to look for — ratios, feeding routines, how centres communicate with parents — in our infant care guide for Singapore parents.

Childcare Centres: 18 Months to 6 Years

From 18 months, your child can move to a childcare centre (many operators run infant care and childcare under one roof, which makes the transition seamless). ECDA states childcare centres serve children aged 18 months to below 7 years, with the same full-day 7am–7pm structure, five or five-and-a-half days a week.

Childcare centres are the workhorse option for dual-income families: full-day care, meals included, a structured curriculum, and they run through most of the year rather than following school holidays. ECDA also runs the Anchor Operator (AOP) and Partner Operator (POP) schemes — government-supported operators with fee controls — so it's worth checking whether the centres on your shortlist belong to either scheme.

Kindergartens: The Half-Day Route

Kindergartens cover the same age band (18 months to below 7 years) but run half-day programmes that follow the Ministry of Education's academic calendar — meaning they close during school holidays, like primary schools do. That rhythm suits families where someone is home in the afternoons: a parent working part-time or flexibly, a grandparent, or a helper.

One subsidy point worth knowing upfront, from ECDA: kindergarten fee help comes under a separate scheme, the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KiFAS), and it applies only to Anchor Operator and MOE kindergartens. Children enrolled in private kindergartens are not eligible for KiFAS. If fees matter to your maths — and they do for most of us — that single line can change your shortlist.

If your child is approaching primary school age, our P1 registration guide covers what comes next.

Grandparents, Helpers and Nannies

Plenty of Singapore families never use a centre in the first year, and plenty more run a hybrid. The common informal set-ups:

• Grandparents. Free and loving — but be honest about their energy levels with a toddler, and agree the ground rules (screen time, snacks, discipline) before you start, not mid-conflict.
• A migrant domestic helper. Flexible hours and help with the household load, but a helper is not a trained early-childhood educator — many families pair a helper with a half-day kindergarten for the structured learning piece.
• A nanny. One-to-one attention, often with infant experience, at a higher cost. Word of mouth is still how most families find one.

The trade-off in every informal arrangement is the same: flexibility and familiarity, versus curriculum, social exposure and government subsidies — which only apply to licensed centres.

What It Costs — and the Subsidies That Help

Centre fees vary widely by operator, so rather than quote a market average, here's the part that's fixed and verifiable: what the Government pays. According to ECDA's infant and childcare subsidy scheme, every Singapore Citizen child enrolled in an ECDA-licensed infant or childcare centre gets a Basic Subsidy, and lower- and middle-income families get an Additional Subsidy on top. The amounts for full-day programmes:

Some fine print that matters, all from ECDA:

• A "working main applicant" means the mother (or single father) works at least 56 hours a month — and that includes part-time and freelance work, not just full-time employment.
• The Additional Subsidy applies where gross monthly household income is $12,000 or below, or per capita income is $3,000 or below for households of 5 or more.
• Since 9 December 2024, families with household income of $6,000 or below (or per capita income of $1,500 or below) qualify for full childcare subsidies regardless of the main applicant's working status.
• Subsidies are paid directly to the preschool — you pay the fee nett of subsidy, subject to a small minimum co-payment.

For the full breakdown, including how household income is assessed and the other schemes that stack on top, see our complete guide to childcare subsidies in Singapore. And if you're budgeting beyond preschool, our cost of raising a child in Singapore guide takes the longer view.

How to Choose (and Decide as a Team)

ECDA's own advice to parents is a sensible checklist: look at the programme and curriculum, ask about the teachers and the staff-child ratio, understand the centre's safety practices (including whether it has CCTV and its policy on parents reviewing footage), check the meals, and read the enrolment terms and conditions carefully before signing anything.

To build a shortlist, ECDA points parents to the Preschool Search on LifeSG — download the LifeSG app and look for "Search for a preschool" under Services. Logging in with Singpass shows estimated fees after subsidies for each centre, which saves a lot of spreadsheet work.

Then there's the half-half part — the bit no government checklist covers. Childcare is a two-parent decision because it's a two-parent logistics problem:

• Choose the location around the drop-off parent. A centre near Dad's office beats a "better" centre that adds 40 minutes to Mum's commute — or vice versa. Decide who owns drop-off and pick-up before you pick the centre.
• Visit together. One of you clocks the curriculum; the other clocks whether the toddlers actually look happy at 4pm.
• Plan for sick days now. Every centre child gets ill in the first few months. Agree in advance how you'll split the stay-home days, so it never defaults to one parent by inertia.
• Do the money maths together. The subsidy is tied to the main applicant's working status, so if either of you is considering going part-time or freelance, the 56-hours-a-month rule belongs in that conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What childcare options are available in Singapore?

Three types of ECDA-licensed preschool services — infant care centres (2 to 18 months), childcare centres (18 months to below 7 years, full-day) and kindergartens (half-day) — plus informal arrangements such as grandparents, a domestic helper or a nanny. Many families combine options.

At what age can my child start infant care?

From 2 months old. ECDA states that infant care centres cater to children aged 2 to 18 months, with full-day programmes typically running 7am to 7pm, five or five-and-a-half days a week.

What is the difference between a childcare centre and a kindergarten?

Both serve children from 18 months to below 7 years. Childcare centres run full-day programmes year-round; kindergartens run half-day programmes that follow the MOE academic calendar, closing for school holidays. Full-day childcare suits two working parents; kindergarten suits families with a caregiver at home the rest of the day.

How much childcare subsidy can I get?

Per ECDA: a Basic Subsidy of $600 a month for full-day infant care or $300 for full-day childcare if the main applicant works at least 56 hours a month ($150 if not), plus a means-tested Additional Subsidy of up to $710 (infant care) or $467 (childcare) for households earning $12,000 or below. Subsidies are paid directly to the preschool.

How do I find a childcare centre near me?

Use the Preschool Search on the LifeSG app, which ECDA directs parents to — search for "Search for a preschool" under the Services tab. Logging in with Singpass shows estimated fees after subsidies. Shortlist two or three centres, then visit in person before deciding.