Not ready for kindy

Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Preschool on 14 May 2010.

I have always been deeply concerned with the undue haste to enrol young children in daycare and kindergartens. There are many reasons for the rush to put junior in playgroups and preschools, and these days children as young as 3 are being enrolled as if that’s the most natural thing to do.

Many parents do feel they have no choice because of the increasingly competitive society we live in. How else to ensure one’s kids have a better shot at success if not by starting them early in kindergartens and programmes to master skills in numeracy and literacy? Besides, double-income parents also need to park their kids somewhere while they are at work, and where better to do this than in a place where a child learns something ‘useful’?

Academic readiness and preschool academic learning are often points of contention, and even experts are at odds. One longitudinal study concludes that later academic achievement is predicated upon early mastery of math and language, and therefore the earlier the better for formal instruction. Others dispute this as insignificant benefits (or not lasting) and what’s more, these gains were made at the expense of social, emotional and even physical skill development.

Of course there are extenuating circumstances where the need for early learning is greater than the ability of some parents or caregivers to provide. In a broken home or where parents are disadvantaged or inhibited by illness or poverty, it is right to direct the child in need to a place where she finds holistic development and age-appropriate education. But for others, you will want to think again before packing your 3 or 4 year-old off to preschool or an academically oriented kindy. Ask yourself:

• Is it necessary? As parents, we need to consider if we really ‘can’t help it’ and if sending our kid to preschool or kindy is the better deal. We who are parents – moms and dads – are what our children need more than anything in the world. If so, then our children deserve our life’s investment, ie, our time and affection, and all that nurture spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical development. Pity the child who has nothing but her parents’ left-over moments to remember them by.

• Is it time? We know our children better than any other person and we should resist peer pressure and social conventions from dictating how our kids are to be raised. All children are different and not every child is developmentally ready at the same time. Even if research concludes that early learning skills ‘benefit’ young children, ask yourself: how is it better to place your child in the hands of a total stranger when you can home-preschool and teach junior yourself in the home? Besides, the early years of bonding and training will do your child a world of good.

• Is it something you can’t do? It has been said that some parents are simply not good with children and this is why the task of teaching is contracted out to professionals. Yet if parents love their children enough, they will only get better than when they started out as new moms and dads. If parenting is an art, a child is the canvas. What kind of lasting impression do you want to leave with your child then? For your child’s sake, don’t stop learning. Read, expand your horizons, talk to other parents, study, observe, and develop skills. Every small step you take in becoming a better mom or dad is a step ahead in the right direction.

[Saying NO to kindy: click on the PRESCHOOL:A RESPONSE tab to read more dissenting views]

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