This is a big decision for your child’s life. Is your child ready to go to playschool? Most of the pre-schools in India accept kids from the age of 2. However, as each child is different, it is not that your child will magically on his/her 2nd birthday be ready to go to playschool. There are a lot of factors involved. Listing down a few I kept in mind when we decided to send our girl to the playgroup.
Ready to go to playschool?
Has your child spent time away from you?
Kids who are used to being apart from their parents often do not take much time to get settled in the preschool.
That definitely happened in our case as I have a regular 9 hours job which I joined after my 6 months maternity leave. That means my girls have been spending time away from me for some time now.
Is your child is used to a regular schedule
Preschools usually follow a routine, there is usually some circle time, some playtime, snacks time, some activities and other things. Do you know, children feel more comfortable and in control when the same things happen at the same time each day. That is they have a certain routine.
Sending your child to the preschool can help you standardize that if your child is not into a routine yet. You can also prepare your child before starting the preschool by offering meals on a regular timetable.
Does the child have enough physical energy for preschool
Preschool keeps kids busy. There are a lot of things kids do there which at least I cannot think of. There are art and craft activity, field trips to take, and playgrounds to explore. Does your child like doing activities? or do these activities make him/her cranky?
Also, make sure your child has rested enough.
For us, our daughter’s naptime after the bath was exactly during preschool hours. We worked out the routine to change the naptime and she used to be full of energy in school.
Check here for some tips on how to make your child sleep early
Why do you want to send your child to preschool?
Think carefully on why are you planning to send your child to the preschool?
If you find that the main reasons you want to send your child to preschool are one of the following
- Seems pretty eager to learn new things and explore
- The child not getting enough stimulation at home or daycare
- Seems ready to broaden his social horizons and interact with other children
If answers to these questions are yes, chances are it’s the perfect time to start school.
