Is your child ready for playschool?

“Being mom is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had and dealing with fears that you didn’t know existed”

The above lines precisely summarise my current feelings while doing my research on choosing the right playschool for my dear little one.

I started working from home when my daughter was around 10 months old, however in a month’s time I realised that the whole system of working from home was not working out since the project I was dealing needed me to spend some productive time out of my house, and understandably away from my child.

My biggest worry in that situation was who will look after my daughter when I am not at home? As usual like any other worrying mom whose brain works even sharper than the CBI, one question led to another. Should she stay at home with adult supervision? Or should she be sent to a playschool? And if playschool which one? And so on.

To answer these extremely crucial questions I started doing my research on playschools. Throughout this process I was quite clear that my first priority is my child and there will be absolutely no compromise on her health, wellbeing and needs. At the same time, I also realised I luckily live in a society that provided me with a plethora of choices for my child depending upon my physical, financial and emotional factors.

Through the process of deciding whether to send my daughter to a playschool or not, I came to a structure (of thoughts) that helped me clear my doubts and answer my questions. I am sharing the same here. Hope this helps:

Before you take a call

Step 1 -Discuss and brainstorm with your family and support group:  The decision of introducing your child to a playschool can be made easier if you discuss this at length with your husband/wife, close family, friends and other members of your core support group. They can give you brilliant insights from their past experience and also, possibly, having a better understanding of you and your child’s environment, they can guide you towards making the right decision. Your support group may also include your child’s doctor, grandparents or other fellow moms and dads around you.

Step 2 – Is your baby ready? : The first thing that came into my mind was the fact that is my daughter ready to go to a playschool? Honestly, nowadays, there are quite good daycares/ playschools that you can which start as early as 6 months, but at the same time in my opinion the child should be introduced at a stage when he/she is at least able to walk and can start to express himself/herself a little. My daughter has not started to walk yet, so for me this certainly is a restraining factor.

Step 3- what is your objective?:-  The key objective of introducing a new environment to your child should be to provide a clean, healthy learning opportunity which will lead to an overall development and growth even when your baby is away from the safe haven of your home

Once the decision is made

Step 1:- Search:  Once you have taken the decision to put your baby in a playschool, the first step is to start searching for a suitable playschool. One critical point that will help you shortlist a play school can be its’ location. The thumb rule in this case is that the playschool should be just a couple of minutes away from your home/workplace etc. so that in case you need to reach out to your child, you can do so without any hassles and of course without the traffic jams !

Step 2:- Research- Once you have a list of shortlisted playschools , start researching on the various factors which will help you take your decision . 

• Safety
• Hygiene
• Teacher-student ratio
• Existing parents feedback
• Medical facilities
• Activities done

are some of the areas that should be thoroughly looked upon before taking any decision

Step 3:-  Ask questions :- During this whole process do not at any point hesitate to ask questions –be it your family, playschool owner or even your partner, ask as many questions  as you have and absolutely clear all the doubts in your head. I have seen parents visit the play schools multiple times to make sure they are making the right choice.  In this digital age, we are well-connected to various mom groups on social media sites and mobile groups. Ask for recommendations and feedback because a fellow parent who has been there can give you the best insight.

Read more on how to choose a school for your child at http://www.parentune.com/parent-blog/7-questions-to-ask-when-choosing-a-school/407

All in all I would say be positive and confident of your choice. Parents know what’s best for their child.

All the Best!

Note :- My daughter who is 1 year plus still lacks independent walking skills which is why I have delayed my decision to put her in a playschool. In the meanwhile I am teaching her to communicate herself and would review my options once she starts walking independently.