STEVESTON KIDS®

OCTOBER 2009:  Is My Child Ready to Start Activities?

As your child grows into a toddler and pre-schooler, their energies become endless.  They need repeated opportunities to explore and satisfy their curiosity.  Doors, light switches, toilet paper rolls are all quickly mastered at home; you have sung every version of the Wheels on the Bus and named every animal – now what?

This is where child care programs come in.  There are a multitude of programs to choose from, but before you begin to search for the right type of program, how do you know your child is ready?

Children are ready when they show interest in other children (including observing others); they’re busy and energetic, enjoying new experiences and places; and/or they show intense interest in an activity or topic (you might consider a dance class for a music lover, or gymnastics or hockey for children who like physical activity).  Many parents enroll children in preschool or classes simply because children will have fun!  It is a safe way to begin new experiences and relationships, independent of Mom and Dad.

If your child is exhibiting social behaviours such as refusing to share or take turns, or if your child is an only child with little experience around other children, child care programs also offer opportunities to teach social graces through social experiences and teacher expertise. 

Great (and free) ways to start include community centre programs, visiting different playgrounds, attending parent-and-child programs at the libraries or trying programs like Mother Goose or Drop-In at Family Place.  Once your child learns to enjoy some of these activities, it might be time to look for a program offering an “independent from parent” experience.

Some benefits (other than the fun and new opportunities for exploration) programs can offer:

Socialization – face it: other children can be scary and unpredictable! They could grab your book, refuse to share, throw it at you, or use it as a hat.  And then you might have to share the book too, even if you don’t want to share! By experiencing peer interactions (with and without mom) and experimenting with different solutions, children start to learn about how relationships work.

Language – Children develop language much faster when given plenty of opportunities to talk, especially with peers.  Conversation between 2 year olds doesn’t always sound like much, but it is incredible how quickly this peer conversation will develop a child’s linguistic ability.  Linguistic “scaffolding” – the process in which children learn from older children or children who already know something – occurs naturally in any children’s group.

Independence – If the goal is to raise a healthy and loving child who is capable and confident in a variety of situations, it is important to allow your child to experience time away from parents from a young age.  It is hard to have your baby start to grow up, but independent experiences will build confidence for the child as they learn that they can do things without Mom or Dad, and they learn Mom and Dad will come back after class is over (and will listen to the stories about what happened today!)

 Taking the time to offer your child these opportunities is well worth it, as they will carry the confidence and social skills with them beyond these formative years.