Daycare is a big topic in many households because many parents have big opinions about it. Some parents think their kids should go to daycare, while others feel that it’s better to keep them home until kindergarten. There are pros and cons to both sides, but daycare can significantly impact a child when finally introducing them to grade school. Here are a few reasons to consider daycare for your child.
Prepares Them For Learning
Many people think daycare is just a glorified place for their children to play all day, take naps and eat snacks. That might have been the case a decade ago, but early learning is now a hot commodity, and many high-quality child care centers have started to provide it.
Children who attended daycare are linked to doing much better in school because they were exposed to a learning environment at such a young age. This has been an incentive for many daycares to start providing an educational structure and schedule throughout the week to stimulate the children’s learning capabilities. This, in turn, makes parents much more willing to send their child to their facility, which is a win-win for all parties.
Research your area and scope out prospective daycares to see if they provide appropriate educational activities for your child’s age.
Improves Their Social Skills
Socialization is crucial for early childhood development, but it can often be difficult for parents to organize social activities for their children. With daycare, the organization is done for you. Because your child is getting six to eight hours a day exposed to other kids their age, they are able to learn to socialize by themselves.
The caregivers at daycares are able to monitor these interactions between the children to ensure that everything is going okay. In addition, they are also able to create interactive educational activities that positively reinforce communication and social skills, and better prepare them for grade school.
Not only is it important for kids to socialize with other children, but it is equally as important for children to get to know other adults. Especially to realize that other adults hold roles, not just as caregivers, but as authority figures, teachers and guidance counselors, and are important for a child to become comfortable around early on as they navigate through school.
Gets Them Used To A Schedule
If you choose to be a stay-at-home parent, it can be easy to go with the flow every day or plan out elaborate activities and places to go to keep your child busy. This is great, but it can also cause a big adjustment period once they do start school because they aren’t used to a schedule.
Going to daycare provides a set schedule for children – between naps, learning, lunch, playtime and snacks, this becomes a routine for them, which transitions well to when they start school. Of course, naps and snack time are slowly transitioned out and replaced with rotating class schedules, but it still prepares them for what’s to come when they start school.
Choosing The Right Option
Choosing to send your child to daycare or stay at home with them is ultimately up to you, and both choices have pros and cons. If you are leaning towards finding a daycare suitable for your child, Daycare Spots makes it easy to find daycares in the Katy, Texas region. Discover dozens of high-quality facilities that provide education as well as childcare at a budget that is right for you. Choosing to send your child to daycare may very well lead to an easier transition over to kindergarten when the time comes.