Is Preschool Necessary for All Children?

As a father of a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son, I am in a bit of a pickle when it comes to deciding whether our children will thrive in a preschool setting.

I have been a primary elementary school teacher with a Master’s degree as a Reading Specialist for almost 15 years. I have worked with children from the ages of three years old to even college-aged students. My mother operated a preschool/daycare out of our house as well when we were growing up.

I am trying to state that I am very familiar with preschool. And now, I am left to ponder whether preschool is going to be suitable for my kids. Some may say it is being overprotective, but I always adhere to the theory that you can’t be too cautious in this world. Plus, as a father who works primarily from home now, can I hand off specific educational duties for my own kids to other adults I do not know?

So Many Choices
In a perfect world, I would love to send my children to preschool when it is time. But the problem is that there are so many preschools to choose from, and, unfortunately, the ones that I would have high on my list in the area I live in are pretty well booked up six months in advance.

This leads me to scout out other preschools that may not be in my children’s best interests. For instance, a preschool with an abundance of children and very few adult supervisors with good experience in education.

Benefits to Preschool
If you can find the right preschool for your children, it will undoubtedly provide benefits that will hopefully allow them to thrive when they enter kindergarten.

Just a few of the critical advantages for children heading into preschool are:

• A structured schedule.
• Social interaction with other children their age.
• A headstart in learning to read and write.
• Teaches the importance of following directions.
• Learning numeracy skills.
• Develop sharing skills and empathy towards others.
• A needed break from the routine presented to them at home.

Drawbacks to Preschool
Of course, there can be drawbacks to preschool, too, especially if you fail to choose the right one.

• Minimal teaching and more basic babysitting.
• The cost of preschool can be substantial.
• Children could be learning bad habits.
• New experiences are not necessarily good experiences.
• Kids are often becoming sick and catching illnesses from others.
• Preschool schedules can be challenging to adhere to.
• There is research to suggest that the benefits may be overrated.

Reaching a Compromise
While my wife does not have a background in public education, she has her thoughts about our children heading to preschool. She only sees the positives that preschool may offer. This contradicts some of my own beliefs. So, of course, it is all about compromise. Hopefully, this will assist some of you when it is time to make your own decisions about preschool.

We have decided to send the three-year-old to preschool in six months or so if we can find the right opportunity. The preschool has to be highly recommended by others and more than just babysitting. Furthermore, we are only committing to a couple of preschool days, and each would last only about three hours. This should provide us with a good idea of how well the preschool program is working out after a couple of months.

Alternatives
One of the other options we have considered is hiring a professional tutor to work with our young children, if needed, in the areas of literacy and numeracy. While I have the knowledge and training to do so myself, I am sure there are plenty of you parents out there that realize there are many times when kids tend to listen much better to other adults than their parents.

Luckily, iAchieve has tutors that can aid in this area. They have flexible schedules and, in the long run, will be much less expensive than committing to days of preschool.

While this does not help with the social interaction aspect for children, there are usually quite a few extracurriculars available out there that can assist in this area. For instance, there is a library club for young kids, a group of parents that meet once a week for playground time with the children, and various young sports leagues if needed.

RELATED BLOG POSTS

3 Ways to Promote Preschool Literacy at Home

How to Get Ready for Kindergarten

Learning to Read Early Really Is the Number One Indicator of Future Academic Success