If you’re a parent raising young children, you may need to choose whether to send your children to preschool or teach and care for them at home. Overall, kids have better vocabulary and social skills when they attend center-based preschool than when they spend their developing years at home. Read on to see why our team at Crème de la Crème feels that having your child attend preschool can help enhance their future development. Sending your child to preschool can help with:
Enhancing Their Social Skills
Image via Flickr by GoonSquadSarah Licensed CC BY-ND 2.0
When young kids spend time with other kids, it’s easier for them to meet new friends and develop essential social skills, like interacting with others. Children in preschool learn how to share, take turns using playground elements, and work together to create art and education projects. In addition, your kids learn polite manners like saying “thank you” and “please” to their preschool peers and teachers.
Often, kids that stay at home become the center of attention and may find it difficult to play as a group. Having your young one attend preschool can help them bond with other kids their age, learn to share, and develop vocabulary skills.
Having Better Eating Habits
Kids that stay home often have to deal with erratic patterns from their parents and siblings, including mealtimes. Preschoolers have a tendency to choose only foods they want to eat and may throw a tantrum if they can’t get what they want. At preschool, your child has set meal times with balanced meals that all the kids in the preschool get. The youngsters will less likely throw a fit around their peers, and mealtime is a good time for them to bond, share stories, and develop even more vocabulary skills.
Giving Them Less Screen Time and Allowing For More Sleep
Children who attend preschool have more one-on-one interaction, helping to wean them from an overload of screen time and technology. Too much technology for kids can affect their sleep patterns. Lack or insufficient sleep can make children unfocused, lower their ability to learn, and disrupt their eating patterns.
Trying More Organized Activities
As a parent, it’s challenging to find the time to juggle work, chores, errands, and trying to homeschool your child. On top of everything you have to do daily, trying to get the kids into organized play or activities throws another challenge your way. Preschools build organized activities into the daily routine. Children have the chance to play games with each other, try their hand at sports, and learn arts and crafts. Activities help with your child’s development in several ways, including:
- Building self-confidence. As your little one accomplishes small steps in playing sports or learning how to paint, they build more confidence in themselves. With this self-confidence, your youngster will try more steps to achieve a goal.
- Learning how to listen and take direction. Often, kids won’t listen to their parents when they’re trying to teach them something. Yet, children will listen to their preschool teachers.
- Learning abstract and problem-solving skills. Teachers who instruct an arts and crafts program or sports can teach your child abstract skills and how to problem-solve. With the right direction, the instructor can show your preschooler different ways to look at a problem or situation and solve it.
Kids at home may spend more time on their mobile devices or watching television and less time outside playing. When your child goes to preschool, they have regular breaks where they can play in the school’s playground, chase each other around, and toss a ball back and forth. All this activity helps your child get regular exercise.
Increasing Academic Performance
According to a study by Oxford University, children who attend preschool, as opposed to homeschooling, have better grades. In addition, kids who go to preschool tend to move on to higher levels of education, eventually going to a college or university. Sending your child to preschool helps establish routines for their learning, resulting in better grades and success at taking tests. When kids have organized learning from a qualified preschool teacher, they learn at an early age to listen, learn, and retain knowledge.
Developing Respect for Teachers and Aides
Preschool teachers and aides are often the first away-from-home adults and authority figures young kids have exposure to. Teachers who work with kids five and under have special training for child behavior, development, education, and program implementation.
When a teacher interacts playfully with their students, the kids develop trust and respect for them. Some kids may even see teachers as a confidant. The more respect children have for their preschool teachers and aides, the more they’ll carry that respect with them as they go through higher education institutions.
Learning About Diversity
Most preschools have children from different demographics attending. Kids who go to preschool get to interact with children from different backgrounds. Your preschooler may have other kids in class who speak a different language with customs unfamiliar to your child. Some of these school peers may live in a multigenerational household, and they can share insights on what it’s like to have grandparents or aunts and uncles living with them. Some children may come from another country and your little ones can learn about cultural diversity at a young age.
Teaching kids about diversity at a young age will help them recognize and respect others and learn more about the world around them. Kids who go to preschool with diverse peers may even become interested in learning another language or cooking ethnic foods. Your child may also develop an interest in travel and learning more about customs, traditions, music, and holidays of other people by going to school with diverse peers.
Attending preschool is a wonderful way for your young child to learn about the world, develop essential life skills, and make new friends. Crème de la Crème offers parents and caregivers a place for their children to receive high-quality early education. Our team members work with parents to provide educational opportunities to enhance children’s growth, development, and social skills. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help empower your child’s education and future.