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What are the benefits of sending children to preschool? Should I send my child to preschool or straight to nursery? How do I know if my child is ready for school? These are just some of the questions arising in a parent’s mind as soon as a child reaches his second birthday.
The first thing to do is to evaluate your reasons for thinking of sending your toddler to preschool. Is it that you need time for yourself? If so, there may be other options especially if it seems that he isn't ready for the rigours of the outside world. If you feel that the main reason for you wanting to send your child to preschool is his eagerness to learn new things and that the stimulus at home or in daycare is not enough, chances are it's the perfect time to start preschool.
A lot of parents think that the earlier they send their children to school, the smarter they will become. They believe that a good preschool ensures that a child will have the best chance in life because he will have the tools to cope with the stresses of adulthood earlier than a child who has not been to a preschool.
Recent research has shown that this is not true. What matters more than the calendar age is the mental and physical readiness of a child. People generally misunderstand the concept of formal education versus learning. Learning starts at birth not at a preschool. The regimentation of formal education may in fact have a negative effect on the process of learning especially if the child is not mentally ready.
Before sending your child to preschool, evaluate him objectively. Ask yourself questions like:
- Is he socially, emotionally and physically ready to participate in a structured program with a group of children?
- Is he independent?
- Does he have a hard time being away from you for a certain period of time?
- Can he follow instructions especially from someone other than you?
- Does he have the language skills to express himself?
- Is he toilet trained?
- Is he curious and receptive to learning new things?
- Can he work with others as a part of a group?
- Is he able to sit still for at least 20 minutes?
If the answers to these questions are mostly yes, then your child is ready to face the world. But if the answers are mostly no, don’t worry there are plenty of other ways for children to develop the skills necessary to be successful in nursery school including attending a good daycare facility or spending quality time at home with you or another loving caregiver.
If you send your child to preschool before he is ready, then he may lose his confidence, withdraw, and become a loner. If this happens, he may be socially ostracized and not included in any group activities or group play, which in turn would affect his confidence further.
Experts feel that children do best if they're cared for by someone who is genuinely concerned about their well-being and development, and who makes sure they're doing a variety of age-appropriate activities. They needn't necessarily be enrolled in an organized pre-school for that.
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