Does My Child Really Need To Go To Pre-school?

We all know that children need to go to school at some point of time, but when they are in their precious young and cuddly ages, sending them away for a few hours a day isn’t easy. But is this a necessary step to growing up, or is preschool nothing more than just big corporations charging big bucks to do your diaper duty for you?

Could homeschooling produce better or similar results, without the hefty price tag?

There’s never one right answer when it comes to parenting, so we’re not going to give you a simple yes/no answer to that. Instead, we try to answer some commonly asked questions about this million-dollar issue.

1. What does preschool even do for kids?

Preschool and daycare aren’t really the same thing, and good preschool teachers do a lot more than keep their young charges fed, changed, and happy. Here are 2 broad goals of preschool:

School Readiness

Preschool serves as the in-between for your baby, to get him ready for the rigours of primary school.

While it is absolutely possible that children who don’t attend preschool before starting Primary One can cope with the workload just fine, a large body of existing research has shown that children who underwent high-quality pre-formal education schooling achieved better cognitive and social outcomes through their early elementary school years (read it here).

Not only did these children start formal education with a solid foundation in reading, writing and basic math, they were also better adapted to the school environment – this included being used to working and playing on a schedule, interacting with a large group of other children, taking instructions from a teacher, cleaning up after themselves, sharing their books and stationary with their peers and other activities.

There’s a slight caveat to this, though; while preschooled children definitely adjust to primary school life better and also do better academically in the first few years, whether they maintain this academic headstart as they continue growing is still up for debate. One study by researchers in Princeton University stated that:

The attention of researchers and the public focused particularly on the ability of the (preschool) programs to boost IQ test scores by about five points. However, these IQ gains faded two or three years after the children entered public school.

Read it here

Another study by the University of Pennsylvania seemed to support this point:

‘While kids exposed to preschool got an initial bump in general intelligence, this dissipated by second grade. Instead, preschool seemed to improve performance on a variety of “non-cognitive” abilities, such as self-control, persistence and grit.’

Read it here.

Which brings us to our next point:

Brain and Character Development

We’ve all seen (and been jealous of) the amazing power of a young brain at work – how it absorbs everything the child sees, hears, touches, tastes, and smells at an incredible rate, allowing these young ‘uns to do incredible things like pick up a language or dialect just by listening to it.

To tap into this incredible growth of a young child’s mind, numerous early education teaching philosophies have sprung up – these include the Montessori Method, the Reggio Emilio Approach, the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the Waldorf Approach amongst many others – all of which aim to confer cognitive benefits (that extend beyond the mere acquisition of knowledge) by immersing the absorbent child in a carefully modulated environment.

These learning environments are usually created with rather complex intricacies to ensure that the child receives the right sensory stimulations, a balanced amount of autonomy and structure, the right physical environment, the right amount of bodily movement and more.

The Montessori Method, for one, is centred on freedom and individuality – each child’s uniqueness is respected and students are given the autonomy to self-direct their learning process. Based on the theory that all children have a natural desire to acquire knowledge, Montessori classrooms often have mixed-aged children learning together, moving about freely and choosing the activities they are interested in.

But do these fancy teaching methods really work?

5-year-olds educated under the Montessori Method were proven to be better at solving basic math problems, ordering and categorizing, on top of being more likely to deploy reasoning, justice and fairness in social settings than their peers. (Read it here).

However, the gap in academic performance between children who had or hadn’t underwent Montessori training became less pronounced when the children turned 12, again suggesting that cognitive headstarts conferred by preschool are rather short-lived.

On the flip side, though, the benefits of character development that preschool confers seem to stick with children all the way till adulthood.

‘“The greatest effect of early childhood programs is on non-cognitive skills, motivation and achievement, not on IQ.”.’

Read it here.

‘Although preschool does not teach market economics or neuroscience, it provides necessary skills that are essential to getting—and keeping—a job later in life. Most important, children learn how to socialize with peers, manage stress and solve problems. At age 28, the adults who received preschool educations years before had significantly higher job prestige, earnings and socioeconomic status.’

Read it here.

As such, parents opting for preschool may find it in their interests to pick a preschool program with a stronger emphasis on character development rather than academic achievement.

2. Will homeschooling put my child at a disadvantage?

As with almost every decision of parenting, both options will have its fair share of pros and cons. Though homeschooling your child may mean missing out on some of the abovementioned benefits of preschool, you definitely get some perks as well: these include being able to customise your child’s learning curriculum, and allowing him the undivided attention of one extremely devoted adult.

Furthermore, researchers from Stanford University postulate that the the benefit each child takes away from preschool differs depending on their background.

‘Many studies have postulated that the effects of center programs will differ across diverse groups of families. For example, children in households with many resources for advancing early language, pre- reading, and math skills may not benefit as much from center care as those in families without such resources.’

Read it here.

If you’re leaning towards this path, though, be prepared for a lot of work! Gathering the right teaching materials, coming up with a strict schedule (that includes sleep/wake times, play time and meal times) and making sure your child follows through is a full-time job of its own.

But if you’ve help at home and want to give it a try, full steam ahead! Do schedule some time for playgroup, playdates or other social activities for your child on top of his homeschooling, though, to ensure that he’s given the opportunity to experience being with other children so his social and emotional development isn’t stunted. A child who’s always under Mommy’s protective wing won’t know what to do when he goes to school and sees another kid take his pencil case, or snatch the seat on the swing when he wants it.

Conclusion

When all is said and done, there’s no one right way for anyone to parent. To quote Anne Frank, ‘Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands’. So do your best, don’t second guess, and your child will do the rest!