Summer is coming to an end and, almost without realizing it the time has come for your little one to start school. These days, thousands of children have started their school life. Some for the first time, others with some experience coming from a nursery school.
But in any case, the beginnings are not easy. Either because of the change of center, teachers and routine or because they have always been at home with you, it may be that the first days your child does not take it all well and, surely, neither will you. A lot of families They wonder if it is really necessary to go through this drink at such an early age or if, on the contrary, it is possible to go to school later when the children are somewhat more mature and independent to tolerate the separation. Therefore, today we bring you some questions that may help you decide.
Schooling at three years is not compulsory
The first thing you have to know if you have doubts about your children's schooling is that it is not compulsory until the age of six. That is to say, your child can be calmly at home throughout the early childhood education stage without anything happening.
For many families there is no alternative, but if you are one of the privileged ones who can choose, you have it much easier since if you make the decision to go to school, You can always stop going to school if things don't go well. Therefore, if your circumstances allow it, you can take the matter in a much more relaxed way.
Schooling at three years is not essential
Although it is necessary for many families. Sometimes, personal circumstances make it difficult to reconcile work and family life and school can be a small outlet. But if you doubt and you can afford it, it is important that you know that at these ages children learn through play and other forms of free learning. In fact, literacy, numeracy and other skills are not a mandatory goal during childhood. What is usually learned in the early years are numbers, colors, some letters, mathematical logic and an introduction to literacy…. Something that your child can learn quietly at home without the rigidity and routines of going to school.
Educating at home has its advantages
During this stage, children's learning is based, more than on didactics, on the acquisition of competences and skills such as autonomy, affective capacities or communication. Homeschooling enables parents be much more involved in their children's learning. In addition, being at home, the child receives much more personalized attention and according to their rhythms.
As a disadvantage we could point out the fact that in many cases, the need to work makes it impossible for us to stay home with our children. On the other hand, many families feel limited when offering more encouragement to their children and prefer that they are educated by specialized people. In addition, sometimes, the school offers a diversity of relationships and situations that sometimes the family cannot offer.
Socialization
There is a general idea that children should go to school to socialize. And, although it is true that at school they socialize and get to know other realities, they can also do so on the street, in the park, in the toy library, in meetings with friends and endless other situations. Life itself and the day to day, help us to socialize naturally. However, for many families the lack of time, the place where they live or the lack of resources make this socialization difficult and the school meets this need.
Immunization
Another great myth is that school children are immunized earlier. However, the immune system of children does not finish developing until they are 5 or 6 years old, so at these early ages your body is not really prepared to defend itself from microorganisms and they become more ill.
Emotional well-being
For a three-year-old boy, it is very hard to be separated from his mother. Many cry when entering school and are subjected to a unnecessary stress at such a young ages. In many schools, there is a period of adaptation in which children can go for a little while each day, even accompanied by their relatives, but in others there is no such alternative, so the beginning becomes much harder.
School can be a source of creativity but it can also limit it
There are schools in which they work with alternative pedagogies in which the rhythms, creativity and capacities of the children are respected. But in many others, the system is quite squared and he sticks to meeting certain objectives by limiting the imagination and expressiveness of children.
Children need to move
Young children need to move, play, explore, and experiment. While is true that in many schools they work by teams, projects and free play, there are still as many that continue to keep the children sitting for hours making index cards.
Rewards and punishments
A class of 25 children for one person is not easy to handle. For this reason, some teachers resort to methods in which behavior is rewarded or punished with happy or sad faces, silas of thinking and other systems that do not seem adequate to me personally. I prefer that my children learn things because values are instilled in them and not because they expect a reward or are afraid of punishment. Fortunately, more and more teachers and schools are advocating a more respectful type of teaching.
The obligation to remove the diaper
In the vast majority of schools, if not all, children must go without a diaper. The degree of maturity of each child is not taken into account, and some are forced to potty train ahead of time.
If I don't go to school at the age of three, will my child be left without a place?
This is another of the great fears when we think about whether or not to send our children to school. It may be that he will run out of a place in the school you want but, if you can afford it, it is surely worth giving your child some more time with us at home. Also think that the choice of school is not irreversible. The same in the following year they give you a place in the school you wanted or perhaps the new school will surprise you for the better. School life is very long and in the end, the child's adaptation depends more on the people around him than on one school or another.
If you are one of the people who consider whether to take your children to school or not, you will see that the decision is not easy. Our own fears and insecurities and the difficulty to reconcile generate a lot of doubts and uncertainties about whether we are doing good or bad. But sure, that in the end The decision you make, according to your circumstances and meditated with your heart, is surely the right one. All mothers would love to be able to stay with our children at home in their early years, but if that is not possible, think that there are wonderful teachers and great schools where your child can have a great time and have unforgettable experiences. And if not, remember that you can always change and find another alternative more according to your needs.