resources Preschool Guide
Prepping for Preschool
How to Determine if Your Child Is Ready
The preoccupation with numbers begins even before the umbilical cord is cut, as excited new parents, almost unconsciously, start counting fingers and toes. Before long, we begin noting milestones — recording first steps and first words. By a child’s third birthday, Mom and Dad have usually stopped logging every developmental stride in the baby book, but a new question crops up...
“Is my child ready for preschool?” A couple of generations ago, only a small minority of
kids went to preschool. In 1965, just 5% of 3-year-olds and 16% of 4-year-olds attended, according to U.S. government statistics. Today, more than 40% of 3-year-olds and more than 65% of 4-year-olds are enrolled. The feeling that “everybody’s doing it” can make parents feel pressured to enroll their child. When her son, Nicholas, was about to turn 3, Deena
Nenad assumed he would begin preschool right after his birthday “because all my friends’ kids were starting preschool at 3,” she says. But after Nicholas started school, “He was crying the whole time and fighting with other kids. He’d tell us, ‘I don’t like it. I don’t want to go,’” says Nenad. “The director told me there was no reason kids
have to start at 3, so we took him out.” When Nicholas tried preschool again at age 4, “He
did great, and he really loved it,” says Nenad. “I’m glad we waited.”
KNOWN BENEFITS Educators have long praised preschool as a way
to get kids off to a great start — emotionally, socially and intellectually. University of California, Berkeley, researchers found, in one study, that the benefits of attending preschool prior to kindergarten contribute significantly to a child’s later success in school. The study showed that enrollment in preschool
improved the cognitive development of children to the extent that it could help bridge the achievement gap
BY KATHY SENA 74 November 2010
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