Early childhood education is crucial for children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. During these formative years, children develop foundational skills that shape their future learning experiences.
According to a 2023 report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, children who engage in educational play show a 20% improvement in cognitive and social skills compared to those who do not. The study also revealed that these children learn better and faster.
As parents, we strive to provide the best for our children, especially when it comes to starting their academic journey. Singaporean parents spent more than twice the global average for their child’s education. However, traditional methods often emphasise rote memorisation and structured activities, which can restrict a child’s creativity and critical thinking.
Kidztropic is changing this narrative by introducing innovative educational play that nurtures a child’s (up to 6 years old) innate curiosity and fosters a lifelong love for learning by introducing indoor play space. The name “Kidztropic” signifies a vibrant and dynamic environment tailored to children’s needs, where they can explore, learn, and grow through play.
Besides that, “Kidztropic” also stands for Kids in Tropical Singapore- central to their theme in both locations where they bring the outdoors indoors with plenty of sunlight (from full-length glass panels, windows), nature theme (jungle murals, jungle theme playground).
Kidztropic: Bringing Families Together
Founded in 2023, Kidztropic encourages young children to interact and form social connections through activities that promote teamwork and communication.
Unlike most indoor playgrounds that cater to a larger age range, stimulating spaces for kids of all ages, we chose to focus on a smaller age segment (0-6 years old) creating safe, educational play spaces specifically designed for younger children. This encourages creative learning through play, allowing kids to develop their curiosity, problem-solving, and creativity independently or with others.
Additionally, the company partners with preschools to curate and plan school learning journeys, further integrating educational experiences into their play spaces. One of the learning journeys it offers for preschoolers is a workshop, “Little Ones, Big Feelings,” which addresses emotional wellness.
Meet Sophia Ng: Founder of Kidztropic
At the heart of Kidztropic’s philosophy is play-based learning. Sophia Ng; the founder of Kidztropic got her during the COVID-19 pandemic while living in Hong Kong.
Her daughter, who loves playgrounds and play spaces, faced challenges due to school closures. This led to informal homeschooling and learning through playgroups.
When it was time for her daughter to join preschool in Singapore at K1(5 years old), she noticed that the informal, play-based learning had built resilience and a curiosity for learning in her daughter’s learning ability. Although she struggled to adjust to the formal school environment initially, the skills she developed through play helped her, particularly in socialisation.
These experiences highlighted the immense value of educational play. What we as adults often see as “just play” can significantly contribute to a child’s development. This realisation became the “why” for starting Kidztropic, which aims to create a safe, indoor space for children(from 0 to 6 years old) to engage in both structured and unstructured activities that foster creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving skills.
Why Educational Play Is Gaining Popularity
Since the pandemic lockdown, parents have increasingly recognized the importance of supporting their child’s interactive learning. They are investing in various online toys, such as Legos, toy cars, and Barbie dolls, to enhance their child’s learning capacity.
While academic learning is crucial for early childhood education, the long-term benefits of interactive learning are equally, if not more, significant. Interactive learning fosters active participation and collaboration, enabling children to learn through experience and social interaction. This hands-on approach not only reinforces academic concepts but also helps children develop essential life skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.
To further support children’s interactive learning, Kidztropic is taking a step beyond traditional toys. They are creating a safe environment for younger children, aged 0 to 6 years, to engage in interactive learning experiences.
Preferred Partner for Preschool Learning Journeys
Kidztropic focuses on providing children with enriching experiences through structured and unstructured play, fostering creativity, empathy, and emotional well-being.
Structure Activities: Little Ones, Big Feelings
Kidtropic’s latest outlet, Kidztropic Cove, located at Furama Riverfront offers a range of structured activities designed to engage children in creative problem-solving.
Inspired by the Montessori method, Sophia and her team set up various scenarios where kids must solve challenges to advance in the games. For instance, children collect fruits by using polite phrases like “Thank you” or “Hi, I would need…” in exchange for objects.
In their LOBF workshop, children start by listening to a story about our mascot, KT, and its experiences with big emotions. They learn to recognize situations where these feelings might arise. The workshop concludes with a guided clay craft activity, where children are encouraged to express their emotions—whether current, past, or simply through colours—by creating clay models.
Unstructured Activities: Interactive Games That Improve Child Confidence
At Kidztropic’s first outlet, Kidztropic Poiz, children can enjoy slides, ball pit, trampolines, climbing walls, and pretend play that is made for younger kids. Parents get to be up on the structures too! While it is a cosy space, parents do appreciate it as it allows them to keep an eye on their young ones easily.
Supporting Families & Community
In support of the “Made for Families” initiative, Kidztropic aims to build a community where parents can bond and support one another. This includes partnering with various organizations, from charities like the Singapore Kindness Movement and the Centre for Fathering to parenting platforms and communities such as Bubstreet, NMSG, and ByKIDO.
In today’s busy world, finding quality time to spend with their children can be a challenge for parents. This is where Sophia finds her entrepreneurial journey incredibly rewarding, as she helps bring families closer together.
She witnessed many children enjoy events like those hosted by the Centre for Fathering where Kidztropic supports, where kids and their often-busy fathers can connect through structured activities designed to learn, play and connect to strengthen their bond.
What’s It Like to Be a Millennial Entrepreneur
“Wow, is this a mid-career crisis or a passion project on sabbatical?” These were some of the common remarks Sophia received when she first started her business. One of the major difficulties she faced was transitioning from a stable corporate career to entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship meant giving up a stable, attractive monthly paycheck in the early stages of the business. Much budgeting on the personal end and lifestyle adjustments had to be made when she chose to embark on this journey.
Challenges Faced as an Early Startup
Starting Kidztropic presented several challenges, particularly in managing brick-and-mortar operations. The first outlet at Poiz faced a one-month delay in opening, while the second outlet at Furama encountered a two-month delay, impacting its initial revenue projections and operational timelines.
The company also faced working capital constraints, having to commence rental payments with zero revenue for two months given the delay at the second outlet. To sustain operations, Sophia had to sparingly rely on personal funding through bootstrapping efforts. Negotiating with landlords proved crucial; the first provided rent-free periods and the second agreed to deferred payments, alleviating immediate financial pressures.
A couple of learning takeaways for those contemplating entrepreneurship:
Delays are definite: expect and plan for delays. Operational delays can significantly impact revenue projections, so it’s essential to account for potential setbacks in the initial planning stages.
Being creative- adaptability: One will need to break out of the employee mindset and get creative with solutions, and sources to tap from.
Network relentlessly: Never underestimate the power of social connections.
The other phase was building a brand and consumer base.
Branding and consumer experience were very close to Sophia’s heart as a fellow marketer working at Philip Morris International and Rémy Cointreau. While in a corporate setting, she was blessed with a strong brand reputation and base for the brands, but for the journey as a start-up, meant starting from nothing, building brand awareness, understanding what the brand stands for, designing the consumer experience, and the list goes on.
The company’s immediate goal is to continue creating brand awareness and ensure both outlets are operationally stable. Looking ahead, they envision expanding with one or two more outlets, continually evolving and refining our concept of educational play.
Remain Adaptive and Open
Amazingly, the company aims to differentiate itself by integrating software and developing more program-based offerings beyond traditional play spaces. This approach provides better comprehensive educational experiences that resonate with both children and parents, enhancing our impact on early childhood development and community engagement.
Looking ahead, Sophia plans to continue fostering a strong community by hosting more events and activities that bring families together. She remains open to exploring new ideas and collaborating with strategic partners, educational institutions, child development experts, and other organizations that share her mission.
