Debunking the myths on Playschool

Parents have important choices to make regarding their child’s growth. While some may wonder their child is yet too small for a structured environment like Playschool or Preschool, some may even hurry up in admitting their child in any pre-school, or some may even be skeptical of its benefits. Fairly, in any case it is important to understand the essence of a play school in a child’s life. Children are the leaders of tomorrow. It is the child who makes the man which in turn building a bright future.

Researches have revealed that at nine months, a baby’s brain has 1000 trillion nerve connections. By the age of the ten the numbers reduces to just 500 trillion, or even less. A child’s brain develops rapidly during the first three years. It is a time of rapid cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and motor development. For example, a child learns many words starting at around 15–18 months. Our brain operates on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis. From birth to four years of age, 50% of the ability to learn is developed. So the first 8 years of a child’s life is the crucial milestone to the rest of the life because 80% of the brain development happens during this time. The foundation is created, the roots are built. The wider and deeper the root, the stronger is the tree. For a building to stand tall and high, the foundation has to be very strong. In the same fashion, when it comes to child development and building future, shouldn’t a child deserve strong foundation of holistic growth? Perhaps, shouldn’t it become the primary prerequisite that a child seeks the best environment to grow?

Of course yes, through a pre-school education program a child can learn, grow and evolve. There might be questions why a preschool, when home schooling can do the same thing?

Children don’t need teachers to teach them, they are born with amazing ability to absorb, learn and create. All they need is the right environment. In the words of Dr. Maria Montessori, ‘Education is a natural process carried out. It is not acquired by listening to words but by experience in the environment’. Some of us have different myths of playschool due to increasing academic rigor. Parents in their minds should change the definition of playschool. Play school provides a child with inner peace, love and care for the nature and environment, tolerance, concentration, confidence, self-esteem, ability to rationalize and help them become competitive. A playschool can veraciously help a child develop social, linguistic and emotional skills. Children will start seeking logical questions like ‘when will the rains stop dancing, do birds play, or what happens to the water after rains stop?’ and seek answers in a more fun filled manner.

While learning at home is possible but it fails to teach children the importance of peers and quality to share and contribute which in a play school the learning experience is enhanced. Playschool offers a structured setting for a child. It does not discount the learning at home but only reinforces the experience in a new environment ensuring all the areas of the brain are intentionally activated. These entirely combine together to be reasons that becomes even more important for parents to make sure their children are on a good developmental footing.

Out of the myriad of criteria for selecting an apt play school for a child, distance is one of them. Parents generally prefer to put their child in a school which is near to their home without understanding whether the school they chose for their child is the right one. After considering the magnitude that a good playschool could play in a child’s growth, distance should not be a hindrance. As long as the journey is enjoyable, the destination would ultimately be a sensation.

Remembering the lines of a revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’ and it truly is!

Playschool is a place where the child develops holistically. The future of the world lies in the future of the child and it is crucial that the child is nurtured with the right environment to grow. Though every school tries to give the best, but when the focus shifts from passion to business, you will see a decline in the quality. It is a humble plea that every parent for the benefit of your child invests a good amount of time and resources in selecting the right environment for bequeathing the child’s curiosity in the right direction.