While making the decision to put your child(ren) in daycare can be a difficult one, it is not a terrible choice. In fact, it may come as a surprise that there are many advantages in choosing daycare. This is especially so, if your child is attending a daycare such as the Early Years Academy Childcare where there are all the resources needed to make your child’s experience wonderful.
Positive Effects of Daycare on Your Child’s Development
Education:
1. Readiness for school – Structured programs will have portions of the day set aside for learning basic reading, writing, and math skills. These foundational literacy skills will give kids confidence in their abilities when they start school.
2. Better communication skills – Being around other children and adults helps your child become better communicators. From both the interaction with other children to talking to teachers, the child in daycare learns stronger language skills. Daycare provides an abundance of opportunities to learn from both verbal and non-verbal communication. It’s also typical for children in daycare to have a broader vocabulary than the child who is not in daycare.
Social:
3. Learn how to make friends – Being a daycare teaches them to engage with others and learn behaviors that are acceptable in social situations. They will meet other children with similar interest or personalities, learn how to navigate differences, and to respect other’s choices or expectations (this more often from interactions with the teachers/workers).
Physical and Mental:
4. Learn the importance of structure and routines – Children typically thrive on routine because they like to know what to expect and when. Knowing when they will be playing, sleeping, eating, or learning helps them feel more comfortable. These routines also boost mental health as knowing what to expect minimizes stress.
5. Stronger immune system – Being around other children actually helps boost their immune system because the body learns to fight off those common illness like colds. Yes, you may risk exposure to the occasional stomach virus or a cough- especially when your child first begins going to a daycare program. But in time the body’s natural ability to fight germs will become stronger and your child will (usually) be sick less frequently.
6. Promotes prosocial behavior – Prosocial behaviors are those actions such as sharing, lending a hand, cooperating, and showing empathy. Children who attend daycare are around many other children- all from various backgrounds and social situations. But at daycare, they must all learn to work together. They will learn to share toys, take turns, respect someone’s personal space, and many other skills that will benefit them for their school years and beyond.
Placing your child in daycare is a great way to help them prepare for the future. You are not damaging them, but making an investment in their mental, emotional, and physical skills. Should you have questions about daycare and specific activities offered, be sure to reach out to Early years Academy Childcare. We would love to hear from you and answer all your questions.