Early child development is considered by the World Health Organization to be the most important period in a person’s life. It encompasses language/cognitive, physical, and social development of a child from birth to about eight years old. Parents want to start their children off on the right foot, and many look into enrichment programs as the answer.
Affordable child care is a concern for parents; wanting the best for your child is too often associated with a high price tag. Keep in mind, as an investment the estimated return on a high quality enrichment program is 10%. Not even the average investment can beat that, which averages a 7.2% return.
Day Care or Preschool?
When looking into the enrichment programs in your area, you may notice some establishments refer to themselves as a day care, and others identify as a preschool. The common vernacular implies that a preschool program focuses more on education, but that is not necessarily true. It has been found that both teach the pre-skills necessary for writing, reading, and some early math concepts. A child that is happy and safe is more receptive to an early learning program.
The Numbers on a Developing Brain.
From the age of three to five, a child’s vocabulary grows from about 900 words to more than 2,500 words. Sentences grow longer and more complex. This growth is facilitated by the child being spoken to often, with new vocabulary, and prompted to answer. “Use your words,” is a phrase frequently used by the parents of preschool-aged children.
By the age of six, the average healthy child’s brain has already grown to 95% of its final size. The early years have the most rapid development. In one study of 84 preschools, it was discovered that the children in the enrichment programs had up to an addition one third of a year of learning, as compared to children who did not attend.
Do We Need a Pre-Kindergarten Grade Level?
Short answer: it probably would not hurt one bit to get children started early. The progress of the Common Core Standards across the United States has shown that expectations, especially for the smallest school children, has changed dramatically from what it was thirty or even fifteen years ago.
Kindergarten has become more rigorous in terms of writing, reading, and math skills. However, the answer to the question “How can I prepare my child?” is resoundingly not a rigorous prekindergarten program. Enrichment programs are meant to gently ease children into learning in a way that gets them excited about learning. Because learning is exciting, especially when the world is as big and as new as it is to a child.
Childhood education has become a serious business. Affordable care and setting your precious child up for success later in life can be the same thing. The experts recommend starting early; nightly bedtime stories have always been a favorite. Children grow up fast, and the skills they learn early set them on the right path to a lifetime of learning.
