Preschool opinions

driftingangel26 · July 2011

I was watching TV and a commercial came on saying that it is proven that if you go to preschool you are likely to be better at school/smarter. I disagree, and a great example would be myself and H. He went to preschool. I did not, and I was much better at school then he was. I am all for preschool, I just don't believe the being smarter. Your thoughts?

hz80408 · July 2011

For me, there isn't a clean-cut answer. I think it really depends on the child, the parents and the possible preschools. If the parents can engage the child in enough diverse activties and experiences, it may be just as good as sending them to a preschool. I also think it depends on the preschool. The kids I nannied for starting go to a preschool at what became their k-12 school at age 3. They're so smart! I'm always surprised by their choice of vocab and even little things, like knowing their numbers and colors in spanish at age 4. It really just depends on what's available, I think.

christieep · July 2011

I think preschool can make the difference if the parents aren't doing anything at home. I think if parents (or other care takers) are doing things like practicing colors, letters, numbers, etc that can be just as effective as preschool. (Pretty much what Hannah said).

Tisharp · July 2011

I went to preschool starting at age 3, for a few hours per day. And it was only because I was an only child on both sides of the family at that point, and I ONLY knew adults, so my dad wanted me to socialize with kids some. And so on that front, I think it did help me. But, I was a great student until like 7th grade. Then everything went to sh!t. But I don't think it had anything do do with me going to preschool.

lavieboheme73 · July 2011

christieep:
I think preschool can make the difference if the parents aren't doing anything at home. I think if parents (or other care takers) are doing things like practicing colors, letters, numbers, etc that can be just as effective as preschool. (Pretty much what Hannah said).

This. My Grandma took care of me during the day when I was little, while my dad was working, and she set aside a few hours a day to go through the fundamentals with me every day. By the time I started Kindergarten, I was reading at a 4th grade level, could identify all my colors and count to 500, and pretty much knew everything I needed to know to pass Kindergarten, except how to tie my shoes...we rarely wore them on my Grandma's farm, so I guess that step just got skipped!

I plan to do the same thing with my grandkid when he/she gets here. We may even home school, but my daughter hasn't decided for sure on that yet, and has a few years before it's a pressing issue.

Patineuse1124 · July 2011

I agree with PPs that what you do at home with a child really matters, as does the school (a kid would probably be better with a well involved parent than a terrible pre-school). Keep in mind that what they do in pre-schools now is more advanced than what they were like when we were kids. I also didn't go to pre-school, but maybe if I (or you) had gone we would have done even better at school (and if your H hadn't gone he could have done worse). Also a lot of what students learn in pre-school is social skills, which is very important to learn so that they can do well in a classroom environment.

Boynton1286 · July 2011

Like Erin, I stayed with my great grandma while my parents were at work and she taught me to read, write, count, etc. I did go to preschool and I believe that I went for at least 2 years (I remember being in 3 different rooms which leads me to believe that maybe I actually went for 3 years). I could also read at a very high level by the time I entered kindergarten. I think that it all depends on the childs skill level going into preschool and the preschool itself.

For example, my nephew is 3 and he started his first year of preschool last fall, I have seen a huge improvement in his counting and his ABC's since attending preschool, but honestly I think that he should have known those things going into preschool. He is much more social since going to preschool and not nearly as shy as he was before. I haven't been in the family for very long but it makes me wonder if his sister attended preschool. She is very smart but she is super shy, I think that kids need preschool/daycare to learn socialization skills.

rccola1981 · July 2011

I think a lot depends on the child...I probably would have been better if I hadn't gone because I was too smart and got in trouble in school as a resultl...my goddaughter needed it for discipline-though I'm not sure it worked...my godson needs it for social skills he's usually the oldest and only around his sister and occasionally cousins. I do think the social skills are vital.

hz80408 · July 2011

Thinking more about this, I wanted to add; that I also think that sometimes staying at home with a parent isn't an option. Kind of like what PPs, especially Erin and Ashlee hit on....if both parents are working, and need to work, then sometimes the only option is a preschool (unless you have another caregiver like grandparents around).

Xan921 · July 2011

My siblings and I all went to preschool and although I do not think it made me any smarter than someone who didn't go, I do think it's a great experience for kids. It gives kids a chance to interact with other kids on a regular basis and also to learn to respect and trust an authority figure like their teacher. I still get a huge smile on my face every time I pass my old preschool because I have nothing but fun wonderful memories of being there, so I think if we have kids, we'll certainly enroll them into preschool just because I think it's fun for them, not because I think it makes them smarter.

Preschool opinions

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