whats the right age and time to start a preschool?

Question

my daughter who is 21/2 yrs is still young as the age to enroll is 2year 9 months which she would be in december so she can only join in jan in that case she'll have to repeat preschool again next year, wanted advice on whether we should wiat till next year when the session begins or enroll her to any school in january, i'm a stay at home mom and i have no problems looking after her unlike some people who keep saying u should send your kid to school to have some"me time" i really don't mind playing tecahing her on my own till she;s 3. any suggetsions

Answer 1

I am also a stay at home mom my son is 4 now and started preschool when he was 3. I like you didn't feel like I needed time off and was teaching him myself. But my concern was his attachment to me. Unless I was going to homeschool he would have to go to school some day, so I figures it is better off to start him out gradually. So if she wants to go and it is not to much or for to long I don't think it will hurt anything. (mabe an extra cold or 2) Remember you always have the option to quit. but give it a couple of weeks. No use ,traumatizing her over something optional. And from my experience from taking him ,and working at a daycare in the past.It is better to drop them off, kiss them ,tell them you will be back soon, and leave right away instead of lingering.If they are crying they cry longer if you are there, and they tend to stop as soon as we leave. I tell his teacher to call if it lasts more that 10-15 minutes. But man is it hard, I use to stand around the corner. But it only happend the first few times. Anyway it seems better than waiting and putting her in somethin every day for several hours when she is used to just being with you. Good luck. By the way it is much harder on us than them.

Answer 2

It depends on your daughter. Do you think she is ready to have a daily routine with 19 other children that are all older than her? Especially if her speech isn't great she will have trouble with these other children. Most kids who are 3 and in preschool just go through the motions and aren't ready to learn anything till their second year.

Can your child sit for 10 to 15 minutes? Can they engage in play with other children? Are they able to express their feelings somehow? Does she bite when frustrated? Is she fully potty trained?

Most preschools won't even consider enrolling children until they are 3 and that is only after all the 4-year-olds are enrolled. I think any money spent on preschool before a child is at least 3 is a waste, especially since you are able to stay at home with her.

Here preschool is 4 days a week with morning programs that run from 8-12 and an added afternoon program that runs from 12-3 (for the same children).

They teach them a lot. ABC's, numbers to 10, colors, writing their names (first and last) and start teaching them how to read two letter words. Socialization and problem-solving skills. Independence and team work are also worked on. Listening and sitting still for stories or quite work. This is in a public preschool.

Answer 3

Well you have to think about it.
Preschool was originally meant to be right before kinter.. to prepare for that.

This is how I see it:
Sending her to preschool will let her interact with other kids and youll have someone teaching her a few things.

Keeping her home will give her more time with you seeing as she'll be in school daily from 5 til 18. You also only have her to pay attention to.. not 10 or 15 other kids, maybe she'd learn the basics like that better?

Both have their pros and cons and if it were me, personally, Id wait until she was 3 and a half or 4 and enroll her in the preschool, giving her the right start for kinter.

Both have good and both have not so good. Its really up to you =)

Answer 4

Its different for each kiddo--- I know that's not very helpful but as a former speech-language preschool teacher I can tell you it depends on how much stimulation and attention a child is realistically getting at home and what the child's "style" is. Some parents enroll early because their kids are highly social and they benefit from being around other children, some parents choose to wait because they may not want their children to model negative "behaviours" they would not encounter at home. Such an individual decision, but you know you can always give it a trial and pull your child out if she does not seem to be benefitting. And you can work out a short schedule with a good pre-school to get her started. Be prepared to miss her---- Good Luck
PS-- Those who believe preschool to be a waste have clearly experienced a very poorly run or structured preschool, be choosy, there are any number of excellent preschools, with motivated and fine teachers that are anything but a waste !!

Answer 5

It really depends, I put my daughter into a Daycare/Preschool just before she turned 2....and she has benefited way more than I ever imagined. And even though she isnt in the Preschool part, they still have classtime for the younger kids that are only utilizing the Daycare portion of the school. If you dont mind teaching her yourself until shes three, then thats fine, but most children learn the best in a group setting or so I've seen and heard.

Answer 6

my daughter didn't start formal preschool until 4. She attended the daycare i worked at at 3, so was use to a school setting and she was an excellent in pre-school the teacher wished she had a whole room full of kids like her.
My son is going to be 2 and I am going back to work in the daycare so he can have time with kids his own age. He is a little stubborn as all 2 year olds are and i think it will be good for him to have the socialization skills.
It's a personal decision, if your daughter has kids to play with and you get down and play with her. She will develop just fine as you as her teacher. Nothing wrong with waiting. Nothing wrong with sending her now.

Answer 7

Teach her at home until next September. Personally, I think 3 is a good age - provided the child is developmentally ready and wants to go. You don't want her to start in the middle of the year, when the other kids have had several months to get used to it and make friends. She'll feel completely lost. My son "could" have started last year, but I waited. He turned three in August, and started preschool in September after visiting it and expressing to us that he wanted to go. He had a very smooth transition, and really loves preschool. There's no need to put her in school now. Just teach her at home and join a play group so she can socialize with other kids and get used to being part of a group.
Sorry, but the person who said boys shouldn't start until 5 doesn't know as much as she thinks she does, and clearly doesn't have any children of her own. Starting at 4 and 5?! That's a complete crock! First of all, that statement is SEXIST! My son is three, one of the youngest and is one of the sharpest ones in his class, and arrived better prepared than most of the kids of BOTH sexes - yes, girls included! He loves it, but according to the know - it - all there, I'm supposed to keep him out for another two years? Yeah, try coming over here on a school morning and telling him he's not going - it will be World War 3!

Answer 8

You should put her in as soon as she is ready, My daughter did 2 years of preschool. They have an "advanced" class for the ones who have done more then one year. All the children in my daughters preschool were their for the 2 years also. I think it is a great way to expose them to all the other things that you dont think of teaching and at this age their brains absorb so much that will more than likley stay with them.
Where as my son was not ready for preschool when he was 3 so I did not put him in it. Here they have to be able to use the restroom alone and he was still in pull ups/diapers so........I think it is really based on how ready your child is.

Answer 9

I started my son in preschool @ three but he was in Daycare since he was 1 and a half and I think they benefit more from an earlier education.In my son's daycare his care provider would teach them how to write and memeorize things through song. She even gave him homework. Now my son's in kindergarten and he is very advance.He can read by himself,needs little help with homework, he can figure out his math problems and he's a very quick learner. So I say enroll her now so she can get a feel for things and get used to the routine of learning and school.

Answer 10

Being a former Daycare provider, and now a substitute teacher in elementary school, I know a little about kids. I do not believe you should place a boy in preschool until at least 5, and a girl until she is at least 4.

They will still be the youngest kids in school. I know so many people when in high school, wished the parents would have held them back one year. In elementary school, they might seem mature enough to handle it, but come middle and high school this will catch up to them. How would you like to be the youngest in your class when bullies tease you?

Not only that, I have a brother, that in high school hung out with kids one year younger then him. When he was in 11th grade, he hung around kids in 10th grade. He never really felt comfortable with kids in his own grade level.

I have heard stories like that from so many people, at least 5 or 6. I had to make that decision with my son. I held him back and am happy about it.

Ask people who were held back that are in high school or college, if they minded it. Then ask people who are in high school or college who were placed in early if they minded it. That would be quite interesting what you get as an answer.

I believe most kids who are placed in early are because the parents want to say my kid is the youngest in the class. Somehow they seem proud of that. I have a neighbor who's son is the youngest in the class, and thinks he is the smartest. I know different.