Preschoolers And Child Development

Parenting preschoolers is a lot of fun but also a big challenge. At this stage of child development, it's a little too early to focus on high school classroom-style academic achievement, but the very early building blocks for a successful school and university career can certainly be laid.

Traditional Preschooling

If you prefer to entrust your child's preschool education to the professionals, then what you need is a traditional preschool staffed by qualified teachers. They'll show your child how to begin using his or her problem solving abilities through all sorts of preschool activities related to math, literacy and social skills. When choosing a preschool for your child, you should consider distance from your home, the curriculum and whether or not the school shares your cultural or religious views (if this is important to you). Talk to other parents of preschoolers and visit schools in your local area. If possible, sit in on classes in which staff are teaching preschoolers and get an overall feel of the atmosphere and ethos of the school.

Homeschooling Preschoolers

Some parents prefer to make preschoolers' activities and games part of their routine at home, as opposed to sending their kids to preschool outside. This is also a valid parenting choice, and providing that Moms and Dads and have the time and the energy to dedicate to giving their kids a preschool education, this can be a very successful way of preparing children for formal schooling later on. When considering whether or not to homeschool your preschooler, remember that there's a social element to traditional preschooling (i.e. the constant interaction with other children for several hours a day) which is of great educational benefit to kids and which is difficult to recreate in the home. If you do decide to teach your preschool child at home, you will need to find other ways of exposing him or her to socializing with other children (through play dates or sports clubs, for example).

Preschoolers' Websites

There are so many websites that provide tips for preschoolers' games and learning activities that it can be hard for a parent to know where to start. Try to use a site on which qualified and experienced teachers have contributed their ideas and preschool lesson plans. Although many of the preschool teaching resources on such sites may seem of little educational value to the untrained eye, even activities such as coloring in a picture and then counting the objects in it allows children of this age to learn new things. Try not to be too skeptical, and remember that education is improving and developing all the time - teaching techniques move on and change in the same as way technology and science do.

Disciplining Preschoolers

Preschoolers' behavior is a hot topic among preschool teachers and parents of preschoolers alike. Is it ever ok to spank a child of that age? What if a child just won't cooperate during an educational activity? Whether or not you're homeschooling your preschooler, your concerns about behavior won't just be limited to what happens while your child is supposed to be learning, but will extend to behavior inside and outside the home. Recent trends in child behavior management veer towards using a "time out" method for penalizing bad behavior rather than spanking.

Opinions about physical punishments for kids of this age differ across cultures, generations and from family to family. What's important, most experts agree, is that children do not live in constant fear of punishment, and for there to be a consistent approach from each caregiver, whether that's Mommy and Daddy, Mommy and Grandma, or two different teachers in a preschool. Corporal punishment in schools is currently banned in 29 states in the U.S. but is permitted in the other 21. So your approach to this matter will depend on where you live. No matter where you are, it should be possible to find a school that does not allow the spanking of children.