Within a framework of daily educational activities that’s shaped by the principles of the Montessori method of education, children at the HAPPY KIDS Preschool are encouraged to perform their tasks as independently as possible. An emphasis is placed on a wide range of activities that impact on the development of intelligence, various abilities and social skills
Here CorD Magazine speaks with Tatjana Rackov Sinadinović about her preschool institution’s unique educational programme that recognises the individual differences, potential, affinities and tendencies of each little one, awards of the Association of Business Women of Serbia, the film success of her daughter, the system of values that she passes on to children, but also the love that’s essential to ensure we have happy kids.
You have just received the Association of Business Women of Serbia’s Flower of Success for A Courageous Lady award in the category of Successful business model. Congratulations on yet another accolade!
I’m extremely happy because of the award I received and I thank you sincerely for your congratulations. For me, the Flower of Success for A Courageous Lady award represents a testament to the quality of my work, but is also significant as confirmation of the value of the HAPPY KIDS business system that I’m building. I’m proud of the HAPPY KIDS business model, and this acknowledgement is also important to me as motivation for future business projects and new ideas.
At the time Happy Kids was established, did you have any idea of how many challenges await a woman who opts to venture into the world of entrepreneurship? Is it even more precious to you that you succeeded despite everything and that you are enduring at the top?
I entered the world of entrepreneurship determinedly, with positive thoughts and faith that I’m on the right track in business. I didn’t then know how many challenges awaited me, but nor did I fear them, but rather I faced them courageously and solved them wisely. I became more professional, wiser and more determined to succeed in my work with each new challenge. That’s like when you play a computer game. Once you master one level of the game, you need to advance to a higher one. Entrepreneurship is a business game of limitless possibilities that has no end.
Do you believe our businesses are really a reflection of our personalities? Would Happy Kids be what it is if you hadn’t introduced your personal values and standards to the operational system?
I don’t hide my satisfaction that HAPPY KIDS is characterised by the same qualities that characterise me. HAPPY KIDS is a strict, well-organised system with clear rules and operating standards. For me, in every aspect of my being, only the best is good enough. And HAPPY KIDS is precisely that – good, excellent, unsurpassed.
It’s dear to me that I’ve had an opportunity in my life to transfer the values in which I believe into a business model that is recognised and highly valued. HAPPY KIDS today operates at eight locations, employs about a hundred people and cares for almost seven hundred children, which is yet more confirmation of the quality and value of this business model.
Did you open a preschool because you wanted to provide your own child with an ideal environment for growth, development, socialisation and individual progress? Is it that personal approach that made the HAPPY KIDS programme special?
When my eldest son was ready to start nursery school more than 16 years ago, I was unable to find a nursery that met the needs of my child, but also the requirements of my family, so I decided to open HAPPY KIDS – a modern, innovative and different preschool institution of the 21st century. HAPPY KIDS is today an institution with online video surveillance available all day long, via which parents can monitor their child’s activities at nursery any time and from anywhere on the planet.
Thanks to online video surveillance available all day long, parents can monitor their child’s activities at nursery any time and from anywhere
This transparent model of cooperating with our children’s parents, but also a plan and programme that recognises the individual needs, potential, affinities and tendencies of each child, render our business model exceptional and different from anything else that exists on the private preschool market.
Your daughter, Nina Sinadinović, is a star of the film Wolf Berries [Vučje bobice], which premiered in October 2022. You must be very proud… She actually developed and nurtured her interest and talent for acting at HAPPY KIDS?
The greatest happiness for any parent is the happiness of their own children. A talent lurks in every child, and it is the task of adults to uncover that talent. I am immeasurably satisfied and proud, because the benefits of the operating model of the HAPPY KIDS Preschool are evident in the example of my own child, but also in all the other children going through this educational system. A great film was created, Nina’s talent was discovered and stable foundations for her further maturing were laid. There are many successful older boys and girls among the children who’ve attended HAPPY KIDS.
Does Nina’s success testify to the great importance of the fact that your preschools observe the progress of each child individually and that its verified programme is modified in accordance with both the needs of the children and the wishes of the parents?
Thanks to the individual approach and the right values that HAPPY KIDS strives to inculcate in children, our little ones follow the path of their dreams during their further education, growing up and maturing, and develop to become successful, self-confident and happy people. Within a framework of daily educational activities that’s shaped by the principles of the Montessori method of education, we encourage the children to perform their tasks as independently as possible. An emphasis is placed on numerous activities that impact on the development of intelligence, various abilities and social skills. We believe that every child should be adequately motivated to achieve results, regardless of mistakes. Many years working with children has taught us that a child’s success mustn’t go unnoticed. However, what is most important is that every child at HAPPY KIDS grows up with a lot of love and unconditional acceptance.
Happy Kids endeavours to remain in step with the times, and even ahead of them, which is why you are continuously enriching your range of basic and additional services. It isn’t easy to outdo you when it comes to the number of contents and organisation, but also in terms of price and quality?
Our primary goal is to ensure the progress of every individual child and the trust of parents. We listen to the needs of our clients, whose demands influence the creation of operating models and the inclusion of new activities. We also monitor children’s cognitive and developmental needs, which change from year to year. Specifically, each new generation of children that joins HAPPY KIDS requires new programmes and working methods. We insist on the high quality of the services that we provide, while their quantity is a result of our professional and dedicated work.
HAPPY KIDS is a modern preschool for the 21st century, which nurtures happy children who will one day grow up to be the leaders of this society. Our vision is that the happy children of the present are the successful people of the future, and our mission is to use love, knowledge and commitment to create a better world.