A little birdie told me about his debate, and I thought I’d chime in. I have several responses to comments made here and there…

“developmentally-based curriculum”

“developmentally based cirriculum” implies that someone else knows what my child is ready for and understands based on his age. Not true at all. It’s a rough guess, but highly inferior to an engaged parent providing regular mental, physical and artistic stimulation for their child.

“Full-time preschool is euphemism for daycare”

so true:)

“I can’t think of a single reason pre-school would harm a child.”

Harm MAY be a little too strong of a word, but I do think it can without a doubt teach a kid awful manners if nothing else. It’s pretty easy to pick a preschool kid out. In order to not get completely bullied, even the nicest kid has to learn to grab things they want (if they want to play with anything) and learn to be subtly mean in ways that don’t call attention. They may also learn more overtly aggressive behaviors from other children when they see those behaviors working so well.

“pre-school would be a benefit in order to provide socialization skills for three and four year olds.”

Huh. I just don’t get the need to put a kid around a bunch of other kids with similar problems (not sharing, aggressiveness, stinginess…), with not enough adult supervision and think that’s a great thing (socialization). Kids who stay at home aren’t locked in closets. They see lots of other people every single day. There is no need to create a lord of the flies situation. Even if there is a low adult to kid ration, there is no way to prevent constant misbehaving that is not corrected by an adult. Tons of stuff is going to go unaddressed, so bad behavior flourishes and is by default rewarded.

“What’s the point of keeping a child at home that is bouncing off the walls? Not to mention benefiting from the social aspect of preschool”

Who said keep them at home? We go out nearly every day of the week. Parks, zoo, botanical gardens, park again:) We usually meet a friend as well on these outings. In the morning before we leave, we read and sometimes to art or crafts. In the afternoon after nap, he usually helps me cook. In the evening, play with toys and more reading.

No keeping a kid inside, and the kid gets socialized. But when there is one parent to one or two children, you make sure that the children learn how to behave properly in society (no hitting, shoving, pushing, yelling, grabbing…). That’s what I think of as true socialization.

“He begged to go “full days”. ”

Maybe you actually did lots with your kid, but I’m guessing that for whatever reason you didn’t. Kids do have needs, and it’s no surprise that if they aren’t met, they are going to want a more stimulating environment. Did you take him out everyday (and not in the yard). Did you see a friend almost every day of the week? Did you do art and music at home regularly? Did you read every single day? Did you learn new songs often? Maybe he was just really bored at home, and maybe you weren’t giving him enough friends so he was a little lonely?

“Does the child benefit more from the education or from additional time at home with his or her parent(s)”

I’m not sure why the separation of at home or education? I guarantee there isn’t a preschool out there that would educate my kid (2yo) better right now than I am. My child gets more time with mommy, and a superior education than he would in preschool.

“One of the reasons why it’s good to send kids to daycare/ school is because no one REALLY holds up their end of the bargain as parent”

Not here:) Honestly and seriously. I do hold up the bargain. I really do a lot with my kiddo. I think when we’re planning to have kids, we should ideally expect to do a lot with our kiddos. It’s a big responsibility, and we should live up to it. We don’t watch TV, the internet is used for educational activities, he helps with chores (yes my 2 year old helps and loves it), and we don’t do bills when he’s awake, or at least, not both of us at the same time:) Things like chores for example, I look at as a way to set an example of how to live, and I include him, even though it takes much much longer. I think it’s a great lesson.

Allllll of that said, I do think preschool is much better than daycare for working parents, it can be good if a parent doesn’t speak English as a 2nd language and wants to surround their kid with English, and several other specific situations (maybe mom is caring for an elderly parent?). But in general, if the mom is staying at home, preschool just serves to give mom a break, and nothing else.

Also, didn’t know about the Viagra limit. I was starting to wonder why everything looks blue all the time.

I have always held firm that if people drop the stupid baby books and just went with it, a whole lot of lives would be easier for everyone.
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