Can I enroll my child in a local Thai kindergarten as a foreigner?

Peekaboo nursery is good look on FB

In the Thai public schools, there are usually 2 levels. 1. Basic level. And a Second level for families who can afford to pay more. Not nearly as much as international schools. When we moved to Sattahip, we enrolled our daughter in the second level. There is a significant improvement over her former school.

There are some Mum and Baby type classes that you can go to, usually take children to 3yrs old and pay by the session. Search for the BAMBI group and ask there 😊

My parents dropped me into an Egyptian kindergarten. We had only recently arrived in Egypt and the culture and expected behavior was vastly different from the USA. Nobody spoke one word of English, and I spoke no Arabic. I was punished for my western attitudes and behaviors with absolutely no idea what I might have done to deserve a teacher screaming at me and cuffing me around the head and ears.

It was an extremely traumatizing experience I still remember vividly, decades later.

What you are proposing is potentially cruel and harmful.

Nothing wrong with Thais or their schools, but leaving your home and family for school can be traumatic enough, without adding cultural and language barriers.

I find it amazing that you are framing this as an economic problem without thinking first about what’s best for your child’s well-being.

Forigners cannot go to public schools. You'd have to find a cheap, local preK school.

Thai schools are very easy to get along with.

You have to ask yourself, if your child doesn't understand Thai how traumatized are they going to be, as they do not teach language at that level of schooling. You can get your child into the regular level ones, just make sure your child won't be traumatized by the experience, as there will be no English being spoken.

There is no visa requirement for studying in Thailand. A toddler does not need a Ed visa for a kindergarten.