What is the right age to ...
What is the right age to start preschooling?
Early learning years are also the wonder years. Curiosity about the surroundings is at its highest level in these years. Contrary to popular belief, these are the most important & formative years for who we become and how we go on to live our lives. So, in case you have been striving and making that extra effort to find out the right age for play school in India, I think you are doing just fine. Not only does 95% Brain development happen in the first 5 years, but also the majority of our cognitive development, that is our ability to reason and to make decisions, starts happening from the age of 3 years. The social & emotional development of a child starts taking shape and a child starts to discover their expression right here in these early years. In this blog, I will share what is the right age for preschool and other key factors you should consider while choosing your child’s preschool.
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What is the right age to start preschooling?
Let’s understand the right age for playschool in line with a child’s development. It can vary from 18 months to 24 months. Ideally, you could start your child with a parent-toddler program as early as 16-18 months. These programs are specially designed for the parent & toddler to co-learn. You are joined in small groups of 5-6 Parents with their respective toddler and would be guided by a Facilitator, who shall take you through some activities to do together with your child. With time, you would be encouraged to take these activities forward with your toddler without any assistance. While the Parent-Toddler program is great to begin with, it's very different from a preschool program. Ideal duration for a program like this is 4 to 6 months.
The best age for preschool for a child is between 22-24 months.
Is your child speaking yet?
Each child develops differently and can get to their milestones with variance in age. Sometimes this could be in weeks and sometimes in months. For e.g. some children start walking as early as 10 months and some at 14 months and so on. Similarly, speech is a key milestone for your toddler. While some children can speak in single sentences as early as 16 months, few may take till 24 months to get there. Speech is an important factor to consider before you decide to get your child to a preschool. Once your child is able to ask for help, ask for water, food or to use the washroom, you could look at starting with the preschool. These can be simple small sentences. Don’t have to be too elaborate. Do not get your child to the preschool as yet in case s/he is not yet there on their speech milestone.
It is completely OK to send your child in Diapers?
It does help if the child is toilet trained, but that doesn’t happen for the majority of toddlers about to start preschool. So, it’s alright to send your child with a diaper, till the time your child can ask to be
taken to the washroom or to change their diaper. Go for diaper pants rather than diapers for your preschooler.
There is going to be some Separation Anxiety
It’s just not about your toddler being ready. Ask yourself this, “Would I be able to see your toddler step out of your sight?”. It’s about you being able to manage that initial period of separation anxiety with your toddler being away, all by themselves at the preschool. Be ready to go through it positively and patiently, especially for the first 7-10 days of your child’s preschooling. Your child may cry when you drop them at the preschool. Know this that with time, 7-10 days, and a lot of hugs and kisses, it will change and your child would start looking forward to their preschool time.
Other Factors to consider
While the above 4 key factors are applicable to each child, there could be a few more to consider. For e.g. In case the child has any disability, then you need to take the advice of your Doctor on the right time to get started with your child’s preschool. Similarly, In case there is no preschool in your vicinity, that is within a 15-20 minutes distance, then you would need to first solve for that and then move forward in a way that you or your family can reach your child within 15 minutes in case s/he needs your help.
Keep these factors in perspective and of course, as a parent, you know the best as and when your little one is ready to step out to the preschool and be there by themselves with other children. You and your toddler both will be ready for preschool when it is the right time.
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