By Shelby Feinberg
StarChild Academy, Director
There comes a moment in most parents’ lives when they make the choice to send their young son or daughter to preschool.
Some parents, due to work requirements, are faced with this decision soon after their child’s birth, while others wait to enroll their children in a social or academic setting just prior to starting kindergarten.
Regardless of the motivation for this decision, the choices parents make at home are the most important indicators of a child’s success in preschool.
Appropriate Sleep and Diet
Young children need predictable bedtimes that guarantee 10-12 hours of sleep each night. Bedtimes should not be negotiable or vary during the week. A well-rested child who sleeps on a predictable schedule will cooperate more readily throughout the day.
Similarly, meal planning and etiquette requirements should be in place at home. It is critical that young children learn to eat a variety of foods at a set table with others. Many parents fall into the trap of appeasing young, strong-willed children at mealtimes to avoid battles. Most times, these episodes are power struggles that result in poor eating habits and manipulative behavior by their children both at home and school.
Structured Routines
Most preschools are structured environments. While there is a wide range of programs that vary in their philosophies regarding early childhood education, they are all similar in that most regulatory agencies require centers to develop and adhere to daily classroom schedules.
Children who live in organized, structured homes and attend school consistently often find it easier to transition into a school setting.
For example, a child should arrive to school near the same time each day. A child who is dropped off at 7:30 a.m. each morning develops an expectation and comfort in knowing that his teacher will take him from his parent and then sit with him at a table with his favorite activity. The child who arrives at 10:00 a.m. walks into a class that is already in session – imagine walking into a business meeting that has already started at work – and misses the opportunity for relaxed, special time with his teacher.
Parents can help to prepare their children for school by creating an environment at home in which their children can anticipate what comes next. Establishing evening routines around dinner, bath times, and bed time prepare a child to understand the common thread in schools, where one activity follows another and once one thing is finished the next begins.
Behavioral Expectations and Consequences
Children need behavioral boundaries. Children of permissive parents often challenge authority and resist instruction and discipline by teachers in a group setting. Children who are not made to follow rules, respect property, and share or take turns can struggle in an environment where these behaviors are required. Parents who work with their children and insist that they follow instructions are not only building lifelong positive character traits, they are giving their children tools to be successful in their first learning experiences away from home.
Most parents decide within the first few weeks of enrollment in a new center if their child will continue in that particular program. Parents can improve their child’s chance for success by creating a consistent environment at home.
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