I recently had the chance to bring the kids there and needless to say, they had tons of fun. For us, it was tiring but an educational experience. We spent a full day (10am - 6pm) in Kidzania and my kids completed 9 jobs in total. This was on a weekday which was a non-school holiday, so the notorious queuing times were not really as bad. We never queued more than half an hour for any job, and the quickest job the kids got were immediate walk-ins.
I think this concept was what a lot of kiasu SG parents dreamed of. A taste of real working life for their overachieving kids, a chance to one up as many parents as possible, with a little dose of education from the School of Hard Knocks to test each parent's preparedness for the years ahead..
Therefore this is not only an experience for the kids, but also a big learning experience for parents alike.
Are you ready to challenge yourself against all the other kiasu parents out there?
Various Jobs
There are various jobs available in the Kidzania compound, from pilot, doctor, dentist, policeman, fireman, actor, fashion designer, journalist, newscaster, store attendant, cook (chef), flight attendant, cashier, delivery man, museum curator, travel agent, headhunter, nutritionist, scientist, sportsman, candy maker and many more.
Not surprisingly, for the kiasu parents, the most popular choices were those that commanded high pay and most respect in the real world. These were jobs like pilot, dentist, doctor, scientist, nutritionist.
For those who simply let their kids choose, the popular ones were of course limited to those they would have learnt since young. These were jobs like pilot, doctor, fireman, policeman, cook (chef).
So naturally if there was an overlap of the above, a kiasu parent's choice PLUS a popular kids' choice, then the queues for these jobs would surely be the longest. So yes, pilot and doctor were most sought after.
What are you, as a parent, trying to get out of this?
So this means it is very important for you to first decide what you are trying to get out of this whole experience together with your kids.
This is important because it helps you manage you and your kids' expectations so that you don't get disappointed by the shock and pressure all of a sudden in that arena.
Here are the most common reasons:
1) For kids to experience as many jobs as possible
-> go only on a weekday, go with the shortest queue jobs first
2) For kids to earn as much from jobs as possible to buy something they want
-> go only on a weekday, do only jobs that pay your kids money (some your kids need to pay), do multiple high paying, short queue jobs
3) For kids to just have fun with the jobs they like
-> go any time, leave kids on their own, chillax at parents lounge at the mezzanine with free wifi
4) For kids to learn the specifics of jobs YOU like
-> go only on a weekday, make a list of the jobs you want your kids to go for, start early and start with the most popular jobs
For each reason you are there for, there are preparations to be had and expectations to be managed.
Parents' Preparation
Here are some important things to take note for parents heading there.
A) Kiasu parents exist not just in Singapore, but all over the world. There is no need to stereotype or criticize, they exist in many forms. Be prepared because their behaviour brings out the kiasu parent traits in you too.
B) Make sure your kids understand the concept of first in line. Kids have to queue themselves and make many decisions themselves in Kidzania. If they don't know how to fend off a queue-cutter or tell what is worth their valuable time, then it will be their loss.
C) Bring a fully charged phone and power bank, a full copy of the papers including classifieds, and a very thick book. Phone signal there is terrible too. Because you will never have spent a full day rushing to wait and waiting to rush so often in your life. Unless you have been with the Singapore Army then maybe you have.
D) Have a lunch and dinner plan. It is so easy to get so caught up in the jobs that the whole family can forget to eat. That is not healthy.
E) Don't forget the Kidzos Department Store! Your kids didn't earn all that money for nothing. Find the store and let your kids go in and spend the spoils of taxing day by deciding what to buy with his own hard-earned, parents-sponsored money! It would also help if your kid had a preview first to see what he could aim for.
F) Some jobs cost money! Jobs that are food-related tend to cost money. I think it's because the kids leave with souvenir foods. If your aim is to get your kid to earn as much as possible, then you might want to consider giving them a miss (Paddle Pop, KFC, Soup Spoon, Pizza Hut, Cotton Candy), which may or may not please them.
F) Remember to be respectful to one another. This is a highly-charged environment. It is so easy to get caught up in any situation after a tiring day and letting off steam by shouting at your own child, someone else' child, another parent, a Kidzania staff, your own spouse. This is where you learn as a parent. Be respectful and be tolerant.
Strategies For Your Trip To Kidzania
This has been covered many times before in many websites already. The concepts are pretty similar. Here are some key pointers and add-ons.
I) Go on a non-school holiday weekday. I have heard horror stories of job queues having waiting times of 3hrs! In fact my son went on an earlier school trip to Kidzania where he was on his own, and in a full day he only managed to complete 3 jobs. This time, we did 9 jobs, being better prepared.
II) Don't be so eager to go to the bank. The queues are long, and there is no money value in waiting in line at the bank. Go later in the day when the queues are shorter.
III) Do the math. Most jobs pay 8 Kidzos (their currency) and take 20mins to complete. Each entry gives 50 Kidzos credit. On a normal day, Kidzania SG is open from 10am-8pm. Even assuming no meal breaks, no toilet breaks and no queues, the probable maximum each child is able to earn in a day is 50 + 10x3x8 = 290 Kidzos. To put things in context, a small cheapo little football-themed ball-point pen costs 100 Kidzos while a princess crown costs 350 Kidzos at the store. Don't be too hard on your kids just to try and earn as much Kidzos.
IV) Queue for the pilot job early. It is the most popular by far and one of the coolest, according to my kids. It is so popular that you have to queue just to get a queue number. Go figure.
V) People start leaving by 2pm. The crowd thins and that's because kids need to have their naps or kids tire. So wait till after the crowd thins before trying the very popular jobs (those with long queues in the morning). Great time to go to the bank too.
VI) Be civil. I can't emphasize this enough because one full day trip alone allowed me to experience kiasuness from all nationalities. Even with a low turnout day, with short queues, parents were either being overprotective, overenthusiastic or overly demanding with not only their kids, but other people's kids as well! It is never nice and there are times you yourself are in danger of turning ugly. If in doubt take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Keep calm and carry on. Also the Kidzania SG staff are very young, maybe fresh out of Uni or Poly, so they are not trained to adequately handle customer service and complaints.
What Could Be Improved
Overall, I left Kidzania SG with a very positive experience. My kids had a great time and they enjoyed all the jobs they did, even the very menial ones.
Here are a few things Kidzania SG could do to help improve the experience further.
- More parent amenities. More activities to entertain parents.
- Mobile phone charging stations
- Better trained staff at crowd control
- TVs showing sports/entertainment
- Beer :)
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