SINGAPORE - Parents are willing to spend up to $700 to enrol their children in etiquette classes, even when their child is only four years old.

This was revealed by Protocol Academy's director, Ms Teo Ser Lee. Besides holding etiquette courses for adults, the centre also has classes for children aged five and up.

But some over-eager parents have asked to sign their four-year-olds up for the class, said Ms Teo.

Each course usually costs $120, but some parents have requested for private one-to-one sessions, held in their homes.

These special classes will cost up to $700, said Ms Teo. And parents who request for such private sessions are not necessarily wealthy either. Some of them are middle-income families living in HDB flats.

Ms Teo says parents these days are generally willing to splurge on their children. "They want their kids to develop self-confidence," says Ms Teo.

Besides teaching kids how to behave at the dinner table and at social events, Ms Teo also teaches them how to dress appropriately for different occasions.

"Some girls like to wear princess costumes, for example, but they need to know that such attire is not appropriate for all occasions," said Ms Teo.

Ms Teo also sees a 10 per cent increase each year in the number of children who register for the course. Thousands of children have 'graduated' from the courses, which started eight years ago.

Etiquette classes for juniors are only for those aged five and up, as they will be better able to grasp the concepts taught.

Each course lasts for four hours. But as children are known to have a short attention span, the course is broken up into three to four sessions, says Ms Teo.