Importance of Playschools

Playschool helps in building a strong foundation in social, pre-academics, and general life skills. It helps in the development of a child’s emotional and personal growth and provides opportunities for children to learn in ways that sheerly interests them and develop a strong sense of curiosity. Consequently, it helps in building a positive association with inquisitive learning in the form of fun activities and guided play. 

Why is playschool important? 

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Playschool is important for your child as it helps in making the child habitual of the routine. The child also becomes aware of himself/herself and develops motor and cognitive skills. Playschools further enable the child to receive individual attention as the school has a very low student-to-teacher ratio. According to the report, only 48% of poor children who were born in 2001 "started school ready to learn, compared to 75% of children from middle-income families."

Additionally, the amount of time parents of various socioeconomic statuses spend reading to their children has changed since the 1960s and 1970s. Parents with higher education read to their kids for up to an additional 30 minutes per day between 2010 and 2012, which adds up by the time the kids enter kindergarten.The kids are given the ‘right’ toys to play with according to their age of development which helps them to develop and learn the things that can be implemented or transferred onto them, such as changing the clothes of the doll, feeding the doll, etc. Some more benefits of playschool are mentioned below: 

1.     Reduces separation anxiety: Sending off the child directly to the school can be tough for him/her as the child will be on a rigid schedule all of a sudden from his/her warm home.Preschool programs for small children are becoming very common, with 68 percent of four-year-olds and 40 percent of three-year-olds enrolled in a preschool program in 2017, according to a report by  National Center for Education Statistics. Playschool enables flexibility and makes the kids feel at a second home. Hence, playschools help reduce separation anxiety and prepare the child for the school level.

2.     Increases growth: For the first time, a child witnesses his/her teachers and comes to terms with the flexibly organized routine. The child gets an opportunity to socialize, make friends, follow instructions and know the initial ways of learning.

3.     Social development: Kids having spent initial years with parents make it difficult for them to build trust with the person outside the family. Playschools help in building relationships with the teachers, classmates, and other schoolmates. Children also tend to learn good social skills. 

4.     Independent choices: Playschool helps children in making independent choices as the child has plenty of things to choose from in the classroom. He/she may be asked to choose color, toys, friends, sports, activities such as singing, dancing, and painting according to his/her choice. 

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5.     Building language skills: The age from 3 to 5 is crucial as it’s the age where the language builds. In this span of age, a child starts using more complex and long sentences and also, the child’s vocabulary increases  60% more words  during this age. Teachers in playschool teach the child the right use of language and introduce new vocabularies through fun activities. Some teachers also tend to ask thought-provoking questions so that the child can put forth his/her answers using accurate words.

6.     Building motor skills: A toddler's body develops over time. Playschool helps the child to be physically aware and encourages him/her to discover his/her surroundings. Playschools hold regular hours for creative physical activities such as jumping, running, swimming etc. 

7.     Building cognitive skills: Teachers in playschool encourage activities that help to build communication between students, think critically and provoke brain activities. Teachers usually engage kids in problem-solving activities, group talks, and other creative activities like clay modeling, painting, etc. 

8.     Meeting other parents: Children aren’t the only ones that are benefitted from the preschool, but also the parents. Some preschools provide external links for the parents to connect and keep in touch with the different approaches to parenting. It also helps parents in gauging their child’s behaviour and expands the horizons for the parents. 

Does playschool hold its essence in the current times?

With the growing competitive world, the meaning of playschool has imbibed a different meaning in Ounce of prevention reports the prevalent times. Playschools are originally meant for a child’s development and building his/her skills, but today, the playschools are merely confined to academics, creating competition for the children and making false promises that the child rwould succeed. The current trend of pre-math and pre-literacy skills in playschool is compelling a child to grow up at a quicker pace. It leads to focusing only on academic skills. In addition, the Ounce of Prevention Fund reports that if  kids do not receive a quality preschool education, they have a 25% higher chance of dropping out of high school. They are also 70% more likely to be arrested for committing a violent crime, 40% more likely to be teen parents, 60% more likely to not attend college.

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On the other hand, another reason why the playschools are losing their essence is perhaps their money-oriented strategies. Such playschools might hire a less-paid unskilled individual who may not know the cognitive development stages of a child. He/she may further push the child beyond his/her limits which might harm the development of the child. Also, the student-to-teacher ratio is pretty high which means less attention may be paid to the individual child. 

Playschools play a pivotal part in a child’s life for overall development. It is necessary on the parent’s part to go through proper research before enrolling the child into a playschool. Make sure the playschool you choose is fulfilling the requirement of developing a child by the numerous activities and not specifically with books. Look out for the school’s environment, ask for their brochure, talk to teachers of the school regarding the methods used in class. And remember! Your child is more likely to set his/her foundations and it is rightly said that play is a business of children. Hence, it is the best way to initiate their learning journey through the play.