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Home › Articles › Back to Preschool Headquarters › To Send or Not to Send That's the Question

To Send or Not to Send That's the Question

Is Your Child Ready for Preschool?

By Deborah Boehle

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Parents may especially want to hold their child back one year if they have a summer birthday or will be one of the youngest students in the class. "Your child may benefit from being one of the oldest in the class rather than one of the youngest," says Brown-Brumbaugh.

What If They're Not Ready?
"I think parents should not sell themselves short in terms of what the child can learn at home and through the daily living activities of a family," says Brown-Brumbaugh. "I'm assuming that the parent talks to the child a lot about what they're doing and why and what they're going to do next, that the child accompanies the parent to the grocery store, the bank, the post office and to social events that include other parents and children."

Brown-Brumbaugh says it's better to keep a child at home for another year rather than send them to preschool if they would be miserable. It is more important for children to learn social skills than their alphabet when they are 3 or 4. Preschool at 5 may be better for some children than sending them to kindergarten at that age, because kindergarten today is very structured and academic.

"It's got to feel right to that parent, and if you have any doubt, trust your parental instincts about what to do with your child," says Neill.

Home Activities

What can parents do at home if they decide not to send their child to preschool?

  • Read to your child.
  • Attend a library story hour to introduce your child to structured group activities.
  • Let your child help empty the dishwasher by sorting silverware.
  • Provide blank paper and crayons for your child to develop hand-eye coordination.
  • Provide opportunities for your child to meet other children the same age by participating in a playgroup or going to a park frequented by other parents and preschoolers.

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