5 Reasons Your Child Should Attend Preschool

There were a group of grandmothers that were discussing whether it is advisable to send children to pre-school; there were some who felt that it was not advisable to send small children to preschool, while there were some that supported the proposition and felt that preschool set the foundation for a child’s academic, emotional and social success in elementary school.

5 reasons children should be sent to pre-school:

1) Preschool provides the opportunity for growth: A child’s first experience in a structured setting with teachers and group of children is the pre-school; it provides the opportunity to not only share and follow instructions, but also provides the foundation for learning in elementary school.   

2) Preschool prepares children for kindergarten: There is a difference of opinion regarding this statement with some parents believing that pre-school makes a child a success at school, with others believing that the focus on pre-math and pre-literacy skills in preschool makes the child lose on important playtime and forces the child to grow up fast. However the proper selection of a high quality pre-school where the staff understands particular ways in which young children learn and develop would help organize space, time and activities that are in line with the child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical abilities. 

3) Preschools promote social and emotional development: Quite true, young children learn to build trusting relationships with adults outside the family, with the staff of a high quality preschool keeping close personal relationship with each child in their care to nurture warm relationships among children, parents and teachers. Children thrive on consistency of care between home and school, with parents receiving periodic reports and meeting the staff regularly. The staffs of high quality pre-schools understand and respect the parent’s child-rearing goals and values. Young children are taught tactfully about social skills and emotional self-control in real time; most children learn how to notice the impact of their aggressive or hurtful behavior on another child.

4) A pre-school environment is structured though it is invisible to children: True the highly structured yet invisible structure environment of the playschool helps young children to make friends and play well with them. The classroom space is organized to encourage social interaction and minimize congestion and conflicts.

5) Young children learn to take care of themselves and others: Young children’s sense of self-worth and competence grow as they learn to do various things like washing their hands before snack time, keeping personal belongings in their "cubby," and putting away toys before moving to a new activity. This is enhanced when the teacher encourages a competent child to view herself/himself as a resource to other children; he/she is asked to help others by figuring out various things as where the sand toys are kept or how to pour water. They are introduced to various ways of how to function successfully in kindergarten classrooms like focusing attention on teacher, listen to others while they are speaking and to wait for their turn to speak.