Children use roleplay to learn about different jobs
New learning centres are using role play to teach kidsabout different occupations, writesVanessa Yung
It's a popular subject for school essays: My Dream Job. More often than not, youngsters' compositions are based on what they might glean from books or television and movies. Now they may be able offer more concrete reasons for why they like a certain kind of work, thanks to a growing number of learning centres that use role play to give children an idea of what different occupations involve.
Among the new operators is former IT executive Dominic Tong Chi-keung. On a visit to Tokyo with his young daughter two years ago, he was impressed by how much fun children were having at KidZania, an educational theme park where they can "perform" adult jobs. Mexican entrepreneur Xavier Lopez Ancona developed the concept about 15 years ago but, while franchised facilities have since appeared from Lisbon to Dubai and Seoul, there was nothing like it in Hong Kong.
So Tong decided to start his own and named his facility Bom City.
The centre occupies a 30,000 sq ft space in Tai Kok Tsui with more than 30 pavilions mimicking workplaces such as a pharmacy, hospital emergency room and recording studio. Little policemen can hop into a child-sized patrol car to cruise the streets, while nurses learn about care and feeding of newborns using baby dolls. At the traditional Chinese herbalist, they not only learn more about the importance of the apothecary's cabinet, they also pack the herbal prescriptions themselves.
Children can try out 25 occupations and, after each one, they are paid toy money which can be used to buy real food, stationery or make an actual donation to charity Playright Children's Play Association.
Tong says children in Hong Kong have such packed schedules that they don't get to explore and find out what they like and are good at.