Do you think that kids who go to daycare - have an advantage come kindergarten?

mckayleesmom wrote: I'm just curious. I notice that almost all the kids that do well in Mckaylee's class went to daycare and some still go afterschool.

I'm thinking that they learned alot there and learned more structure before kindy. I also think that most of them are just repeating what they already learned there. Mckaylee just knew the basics , abc's, 123's and craft type stuff. I think they also learn alot from each other.


I wish now that I would have put her in, but I was a stay at home mom, so I didn't think it was neccessary. She didn't go to a preschool because they didn't have a spot available in Jackson, but we did put her in a moms day out program that did the same thing basically. I just wish we would have gotten to do it longer then we did before we got new orders to move.

CantWait replied: I think it depends on the daycare. Anthony went to a glorified babysitter, which called itself a daycare centre and they learned NOTHING there.

MommyToAshley replied: I tend to lean more towards preschool than daycare. Preschools and pre-k's have more of a structured program specifically designed to prepare kids for kindergarten.

mckayleesmom replied:
See..where we have lived the daycares and preschools seem integrated into one.

jcc64 replied: Ita with Dee Dee. Kids in pre-K learn how to deal with routines, structure, turn-taking, circle time, etc...That's not to say those things don't also occur in daycare, or even at home, but the preschool setting more closely approximates the routines typically found in kindergarten.

Boo&BugsMom replied: IMO, it really depends on the kid. Some kids need an extra push, others do not. Tanner never went to preschool or daycare (he did until he was 2 when I started staying home, but that's pretty much babysitting), but I did run the preschool (NOT JUST DAYCARE...I did a whole structured program for preschool but also provided full time care ) out of the home which gave him an advantage that way. We did everything, if not MORE, than what the preschools do around here. All the kids I had are now top honor roll students and doing extremely well. They all went to K knowing how to read, etc.

As far as academics go, no I do not think they have an advantage because anything they learn academically at a school they can learn in the home from their parents, as long as their parents take the time. Of course if the parents do not teach them, that puts them at a disadvantage.

Where the advantage comes in is on a more social and structural level, IMO. Had I not ran the preschool at home he might not have gotten the chance to learn how to participate in a group, sit for periods of time, socialize with others at that level, etc.

The only thing extra I did for Tanner was send him to Kindergarten Kamp. The school offers it for 2 weeks during the summer, where the kids go to "school" for 2 weeks, half-days, to learn what to expect before school starts. They learn the routine, meet some new friends, sample what they will learn. etc. Even for a kid who DOES go to daycare or preschool...the routine will still be much different at Kindergarten. For a kid who was home with his mommy for so long, I think it helped him to not have any anxiety over starting school without mom. Other than that though, I think the fact that I taught him everything at home put him at more of an advantage than sending him off somewhere...I could do SO much more having the flexibility I had at home than a teacher would have with 20 kids in her class.

And it also does depend on where you send your child too. If it's just glorified babysitting, then there isn't an advantage. If you find a place that has a kindergarten readiness program, it will make a world of difference. So, not only does it depend on the kid, but it depends on the type of environment the "school, daycare, preschool" has to offer. I've ran into preschools that barely teach anything, but I've also toured daycares that teach everything under the sun. Just because it says "preschool", doesn't mean they "teach".

msoulz replied: ITA with Jennie - depends on the kid.

jacobsmama replied: I also agree that I would say preschool but not day care.

I interviewed 3 diff places for jacob to go to preschool as he started at age 3 since I was a SAHM and he is only child I worried about him not doing well with kindy.

Some preschools are more like daycare. I made sure I found somewhere that was teaching him, as I didnt need a babysitter, I wanted someone to teach him things I wasnt ya know?


With that said about me personally. I do think that if a child has not ever went to prek or daycare, it will be a big seperation issue at Kindergarten, or at least for my kid it would be..

Boo&BugsMom replied:
See, with Tanner this wasn't an issue at all. I thought it would be, but it wasn't. He couldn't wait to get rid of me.

A&A'smommy replied: I think it depends around here a LOT of they daycares do some sort of pre-K stuff in fact one of the daycares is a pre-school. Alyssa has done both and we do a LOT here which has helped her since she started going to WEE-school (which is a pre-school). The only reason i put her into WEE-school was to get her use to the social part of it and being away from home.

lovemy2 replied: Olivia was in "daycare" until she was three - then she was in daycare/preschool - the morning was a structured preschool routine - learning, sitting at a table listening, etc. etc. etc. same as a preschool curriculum - I picked it for that reason - I couldn't get her in the middle of the day and take her to daycare from preschool - the afternoon where she went was naptime, playtime, freetime......I TOTALLY think she benefited from it - Dylan now goes to "daycare" and will go to daycare/preschool just like Olivia did when he is three.....

"daycare" for me was in home with a very close friend for both kids (different friends)

It does depend on the kid but I know alot of SAHM who socialize their kids very well - in activities that are free and some that cost money - my GF was a SAHM at the expense of having NO money and she never took advantage of free library programs, etc. and her daughter had a VERY hard time going to school - she still is a bit of a social misfit but that isn't to say that happens to all kids...

Cece00 replied: I think it depends on the kid and the daycare.

Nina J replied: I don't really think so. I think it would give an advantage in terms of being used to structure, etc. But each individual child will progress at his or her own level. I would wait until they're in high school, and see who does better.

I don't get the huge emphasis that seems to be put on Kindergarten and Pre-School. I know some parents who're obsessed with it. Not literally, but it seems like they treat Kindergarten like their child is sitting University examinations, lol.

School is there so children will learn. It would be beneficial if they knew things before hand (e.g. structure), but I do not think it is of vital importance. In the end, Kindergarten and the first year of school is vitally important in terms of learning how to write, etc. It is some of the most valuable material a child will learn. But you could get a child who went to the most prestigious pre-school in the world, and they could lack the motivation to even finish high school. Whereas you could have a child whose never went to Pre-School and they could graduate University with top marks.

I just don't get the big emphasis. Everyone wants there child to succeed, but the way some of my friends talk about it, it's like their child is getting a doctorite.

Some kids do have problems with structure, which I understand. But I hear people say that there child got in trouble at pre-school and why are they misbehaving. They're children, a child is not going to behave every day.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
See though, that's what I always thought daycare was supposed to be. It seems like in the past few years daycares have been morphing into pre-schools. I used to want to run a daycare, but then they started changing and I realized I wouldn't be able to compete, because I'm not good at teaching. I just like taking care of kids.

I was a nanny for a short time (just a couple months) and AFTER they hired me the parents told me they'd ordered a preschool program for me to use with their 2 year old. It was the program his old daycare had used, and they wanted him to keep doing it. To me it just wasn't part of the job description. That's not why it didn't work out though... the kid was a monster and the parents were really demanding.

My2Beauties replied: OK I hope I don't get any flack for this but kids go to school enough, I think the idea of pre-school honestly is overkill. The daycare Hanna goes to does teach circle time, sing songs, sing ABC's, counting etc...but it's more of a social thing to be honest for them to just learn to socialize. School is school to me and they'll be in school the next 12 years....I think while they're little they should worry about socializing and having fun. I don' want her burnt out on learning before she even starts KWIM! JMHO! Please dont throw tomatoes.

MommyToAshley replied:
No tomato throwing here. I actually agree with you on most points. I think they will have enough school, but preschool is important to teach those very things you mentioned, routine and socializatin skills. But, I also think they can teach a pre-k curriculum in a fun way -- through games and songs. Preschool should not be about sitting down at a desk doing worksheet after worksheet. I've seen a few of those and would not send Ashley there either. Preschool should foster a love of learning.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
No flack here!

ETA: I do think it's important for kids to start school prepared. Meaning, knowing their ABC's, and whatever else is expected. Otherwise, they eventually will fall behind and be "labeled". It's for their own good that they are prepared. That is just reality though, but I wish it wasn't that way because they are young for such a short time. However, I do not think going to an actual "preschool" will prepare them for anything more than what they can learn at home. You can do other things to socialize your children and teach them their academics at home. Like I said, Tanner didn't go anywhere outside of the home, and he is in the top 3 in his class...AND the youngest.

So, I pretty much agree with you LeaAnn. No tomatoes here either.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: No I don't! Claudia has been in Daycare since she was 13 mths old. It's been the same Daycare the whole time and she still goes there now, after school. Next year she will be picked up from school by her brother or sister, so she won't be going anymore. In the 5 years that she has been there, I feel that she hasn't excelled like I assumed she would. Now she is in grade 1 and her fine motor skills are behind the other kids. She has a hard time printing, especially numbers. She goes to the learning centre everyday. We have bought the books from the dollar store that have the letters and numbers. She is very bright, knows the answers to the questions being asked, but can't print them. I find that daycare concentrated more on playing and singing than they did on teaching. I guess this was a big misconception on my part. We had never experienced daycare before. Spencer is having simmilar problems and has been assessed, but they are attributing that to all the time he spent in Toronto and the loss of muscle tone. He may be assigned a computer to use to do his work. We are slowly working with Claudia to help her get those skills, but it's hard.

holley79 replied: Annika is in a private day home till next school year. She has lesson plans she follows and stuff like that. There is another child there about 2 weeks younger than Annika that doesn't get it. I think a lot of it has to do with home and "school".

My2Beauties replied:
I agree with you and Dee Dee for the social thing, if I SAH I'd join play groups and such to socialize the kids..so I agree. Glad everyone sees where I am coming from!