Education of Child

Posted on January 22, 2009
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Child Preschool Education

The choice as to whether or not you decide to send your child to preschool will depend largely upon the options available and whether or not they suit her needs. Find out what’s available in your area and spend what time you can visiting nursery schools and talking to teachers and other parents to get a good idea of what is being provided.

There is no single kind of preschool that is best for every child. Each child should be in a school that fits her particular needs. All evaluations of preschool education show mixed results. One long-term assessment showed that boys in Montessori programs sustained gains in reading and math throughout their school careers. Other research shows that children improve intellectually in all but the poorest of programs. But it’s difficult to know how long these benefits last. Evaluations of Head Start, for example, show that apparent IQ differences between children in Head Start and those who don’t attend preschool diminish over time. Whatever the benefits of preschool education, there is no substitute for a loving and caring home environment.

Play groups often take children from as early as two-and­a-half. They provide the opportunity for interaction with other children of the same age and help develop early social skills, but in a less formal atmosphere than nursery school.

Preschool has a number of benefits. Your child can develop greater confidence and therefore more self-control, as well as learning to share, be concerned for the needs of others, and take turns. Her skill in planning ahead and cooperating with others will improve through fantasy and group play. The opportunities for play in preschool enhance the various ways that your child thinks-that is, imaginatively, speculatively, and inventively. Some preschools are designed to help disadvantaged children by boosting their confidence. Children who attend such schools are less likely to repeat a year than their peers who did not attend preschool, less in need of special education, and less likely to show delinquent behavior when they reach adolescence.

I think there are very few risks to your child attending preschool, certainly no more than when she ventures outside the family; she’ll just encounter them sooner. Risks may include minor health problems or exposure to behavior you find objectionable, such as swearing and tasteless stories.

Settling in at Nursery School

You can help your child adjust to nursery school by taking her along for one or two visits well in advance of her start date. Encourage her to play with the other children and to sit at one of the desks or play with some of the equipment. But try not to push her to socialize with other children if she doesn’t seem interested at first. Some children are naturally more gregarious than others and she will adjust in her own good time. The aim is to make her visits as enjoyable as possible. If you stress all the fun things she will do, her eager anticipation for school will be stronger than 1her worry about leaving you. If she is having trouble adjusting, most nursery schools will let you stay with her on the first day, and for steadily decreasing periods of time on the following days. Make sure you pick her up yourself for the first week when she is most insecure. Once she is confident that she’s not being abandoned, you’ll be free to make other arrangements for taking her home.

Your child’s personality, maturity, place in the family, and willingness to leave home will all influence the way she settles down at preschool. In general, boys are more likely than girls of the same age to cry when their mothers first leave them at nursery school and they tend to cry when frustrated or angry with a teacher or helper. On the other hand, your child may enjoy being with other children as much as she enjoys the play and activities at preschool.


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