Benefits to Starting Preschool
Preparing children for primary school often seems unsettling for parents. Yet, when you take the right approach, they’ll walk through those classroom doors with confidence. One way to enhance said confidence is through introducing them to pre-school.
Unlike day centres, childminders, or nurseries, preschools take an educational stance. Your children will still have lots of fun there. But, the way those overseeing their care structure the day will allow them to adapt to a classroom environment.
Understanding the benefits of preschool will help you determine whether it’s the right environment for your child.
Social interaction with peers of their age
When your child starts preschool, they benefit from social interaction with peers of their age. While you can attain this from other settings too, allowing them to attend preschool introduces them to the world of appropriate socialisation in a classroom.
Some of the other social benefits of preschool include:
- They interact with teachers, who act as stronger authority figures than other pre-primary education care providers.
- They learn to solve problems with their peers through fun educational activities. The skills they build from this will carry through to their primary education.
- Your children will grow to understand different demographics and personalities, which forms a substantial part of their formative development.
Personal development
Social interaction aside, there are other benefits to your child’s personal development. As a preschool attendee, they learn to develop concepts such as independence and respecting another’s personal space. Other ways they may improve on a personal level include:
- Their confidence begins to build, as they learn how to make decisions alone.
- They learn how to assert their independence as a learner, before reaching primary school.
- Unlike when they attend a nursery, they’ll learn how to enjoy the benefits of a day with structure.
As a result of the last point, entering a classroom environment won’t come as a shock to your child. In contrast, they’ll know what to expect and will have fewer qualms with attending school as a result.
Social and emotional development
How your child’s social and emotional development takes place in their earlier years has a significant impact on how they behave like an adult. At preschool age, children can talk about their emotions confidently and openly. As such, when your child enters a preschool as their first classroom environment, they have a chance to discuss the way it challenges them with you.
Being able to address such challenges gives you an advantage before they begin their full-time education. If your child does have difficulties settling down, you can discuss matters with them and smooth them over before the more intense aspects of learning begin.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that your child will begin preschool around the age of three. Depending on their birthday, they may be close to turning four. As such, they’re benefiting from emotional milestones such as:
- They can separate easily from family members
- They’re starting to enjoy playing with other children more
- They enjoy doing new things
Bring these three factors together, and you have the perfect recipe for helping them develop socially and emotionally. Achieving this before their formal education begins means they’ll start primary school as confident learners.
A greater sense of independence
Most importantly of all, your child will develop a greater understanding of autonomy. Harnessing the milestones above and placing them in an environment that features routine, lots of other children, and teachers make independence attainable.
As a result, when they move onto primary education they’ll engage more in their learning. While at preschool, your child will enhance their early years’ education through activities such as:
- Directing their mealtimes, to a degree
- Tidying away toys and sharing them with others
- Helping to care for others and understanding their emotions
- Encouraging them to ask questions and nurture their sense of curiosity
Again, when these benefits flow into primary years education, they’ll give your child a step up on the learning front. As such, when it comes to their first day at school, neither you or they will feel quite as nervous as you would if they miss preschool.
Overall, the benefits of starting preschool will vary according to each child. Ultimately, supporting them through the process will help you both gain more from their learning experiences.