Should I start kindergarten early? In fact, more important than age is this

Pediatrician Bao Xiulan

2024-05-18 20:00Published in the Chief Physician of Pediatrics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Shaanxi

Although the start of school in September is still a few months away, many parents are already thinking about sending their children to kindergarten.

For example, there is a mother in the group, the child is now two and a half years old, and when she is two years old and nine months old in September, she is very entangled in whether to send the child to kindergarten.

There are a lot of people who have the same distress as this mother, some of the children were born in the first half of the year, and it seems to be a little smaller to be sent to kindergarten this year, but it seems to be a little older next year? There are also those who do not have the elderly to help them at home, and the couple has to go to work again and want to send them to kindergarten or nursery school in advance.

Should I start kindergarten early? In fact, more important than age is this

So, at what age is it better for a child to go to kindergarten?

First, how old is the child to send to kindergarten

The general recommendation is 3 years old, when the child's psychological maturity is relatively high, and he can clearly express his needs such as wanting to go to the toilet, eating, and sleeping.

Of course, this is not an absolute age standard, every child is different, for example, in foreign countries, many children under the age of 3 will also be sent to nursery.

There are also some studies that prove that children younger than 3 years old go to nursery school, which is also beneficial.

For example, it can promote the development of children's social skills.

Early admission allows children to be exposed to their peers earlier, have more opportunities to interact and socialize with others, meet more friends, and improve their social skills.

In group life, they can learn to understand the feelings and needs of others, and improve their communication and collaboration skills, which is of great significance for children's future interpersonal development.

For example, it can cultivate children's independence.

Group life can help children gradually break away from their dependence on their parents and learn to take care of themselves. Because children need to learn to do some daily tasks on their own in group life, it helps to develop their independence and self-care skills.

For example, it can enrich children's cognition and experience.

Nurseries and kindergartens can provide a variety of learning and experiential opportunities, such as painting, crafts, music, games, etc., which can stimulate children's curiosity and desire to learn. This is a great help for children's cognitive improvement.

By participating in a variety of activities, children are also exposed to different knowledge and skills, broaden their horizons, and have a positive impact on their intellectual development.

Of course, there are pros and cons.

For example, the psychological pressure of children will be relatively large.

Some children are psychologically unprepared because they enter the kindergarten early, and it is difficult to adapt to the new environment and new rules, resulting in anxiety, nervousness, fear and other emotional problems.

For example, it is easy to get sick.

Psychological pressure is high, coupled with the fact that children are more fragile and there are many children in nurseries and kindergartens, so viruses and bacteria are easily contagious, so children are more likely to get sick.

For example, it may affect the parent-child relationship.

Sending children to nursery schools or kindergartens too early will reduce the amount of time parents spend with their children, affect the establishment and development of parent-child relationships, and children may also feel "abandoned" by their parents, resulting in a sense of loss and insecurity.

Therefore, to determine when a child can go to nursery school or kindergarten, parents should consider a variety of factors.

2. How to judge whether the child is suitable for early admission

Parents should first understand their child's development.

Specifically, it is necessary to pay attention to whether the child's language expression ability, self-care ability, social ability and other aspects have reached a relatively ideal level.

If your child excels in these areas, then they may be better suited to early admission.

Next, you need to consider your home environment.

For example, parents' work arrangements, ability to take care of children, etc. When families are unable to adequately provide companionship and educational resources, early admission may become a viable option.

Finally, you can judge whether you can enter the kindergarten early by understanding the child's personality characteristics, such as whether the child is cheerful, confident, and adaptable.

For children with more extroverted personalities and more adaptable abilities, it may be easier to adapt to kindergarten early.

3. When children enter the kindergarten, parents should make these preparations

1. Preparation of mental and life skills

Before sending their children to kindergarten, parents can help their children prepare psychologically and competently in various ways, such as taking their children to familiarize themselves with the kindergarten environment, reading relevant picture books, teaching children to go to the toilet, and eating by themselves.

Nowadays, many kindergartens will also set up experience classes in advance, so that children can experience the life of kindergartens, and parents can take their children to experience more after determining the kindergarten.

2. Communicate with the kindergarten

Parents need to communicate with the kindergarten teacher in advance to understand the basic situation of the kindergarten, including the school's facilities, curriculum, diet, etc., especially for children with special circumstances, such as allergies, or special diseases, they need to communicate with the teacher in advance to ensure the safety of the child.

3. Pay attention to your child's emotional and physical changes

Parents need to pay close attention to their children's emotional and physical conditions, do not put too much pressure on their children, and give them enough love and support to help them through the adjustment period.

4. Parents should not create a tense atmosphere

This is easy for many parents to ignore, from whether the child wants to go to kindergarten, to which kindergarten, and then to the whole stage of the child's formal kindergarten, some parents will be more anxious, and this anxiety will also affect the child, so as to give the child a kind of kindergarten is a very bad thing, so as to resist and be nervous.

Therefore, to sum up, there is no unified standard for how old a child is to go to kindergarten, it mainly depends on the child's personal situation and family situation.

And no matter when the child enters the kindergarten, parents should give them enough care and companionship to help them grow up healthy and happy, the better the parent-child relationship, the lower the child's fear of entering the kindergarten.