Nearly sixty percent of children under five in the United States spend some of their time in the care of people who aren’t their parents. It’s necessary, after all, when parents have to head to work and make money.
But there are a couple of different care options available. One of the more popular options is daycare.
Are you wondering whether daycare is the right choice for your children?
Let’s go through the benefits of sending your child to daycare and why it’s a worthwhile investment.
Socialization
It’s important for your children to learn how to communicate and play with other children before they start school. If they don’t have siblings, it can be harder for them to pick up these skills. Daycare is an easy way for children to gain experience with other children.
Another one of the many daycare benefits is that your child will develop a stronger ability to communicate. They’ll be able to tell others when they need something. They’ll be able to share what they’re feeling, and explain when they’re upset about something.
This will help your children remain well-adjusted later in life, and help build their self-confidence. More confident children tend to have better self-esteem, which helps prevent them from developing mental health problems.
It’s important to recommend that different children have different communication styles. Some children may be chattier than others. That’s just a part of their personality.
So, don’t expect daycare to suddenly transform your personality. They’ll simply be building a communication style and skills that work for them.
Ease Into the Routine
Getting adjusted to daycare will also help set your children up for a better transition when they start kindergarten or preschool. They’ll be more used to some parts of the routine.
While they don’t have classes in daycare, they still have a schedule. Snack is given at a particular time, and activities are scheduled. There is a set nap time.
This will help your child learn how to follow a routine once they start school, so they won’t be shocked that they can’t run around on the playground for the entire day.
This also helps your child know what’s expected of them behaviorally when they go to school. This means you’ll be less likely to be called in for behavioral issues and sit-downs with their teachers. They’ll know what the rules are, and what they need to do to be successful.
Striking Out on Their Own
Getting out to daycare also helps your child find their footing away from you. That may seem painful, but it’s an important part of growing up and becoming a successful adult.
Your child needs to learn how to solve some problems for themselves. They also need to learn that sometimes, they may need to ask someone other than a parent for help. While at school, they may need to learn to ask their child to help them with their work.
Or, they may need to ask a friend to help them find something. This will help them figure out appropriate solutions to their problems in the future.
Maybe you’d like to combine your interests and start your own daycare. Find out how to start a daycare today.
Have Fun
Children also get a lot of entertainment from their time in daycare, in an educational manner. That way, they won’t just be sitting there and staring at the television all day.
Better Behavior
Because children who attend daycare learn how they’re expected to behave and how to interact with others, they’ll behave better in their everyday lives at home, too. That way, you won’t be spending all of your time running around trying to get your children under control – getting rid of some of the stress in your busy life.
Healthier Children
It’s a fact of life that kids get sick. But trying to prevent your children from ever getting sick can actually set them up for worse health later in their lives. Getting exposed to viruses and illnesses when they’re young helps children build stronger immune systems as they get older.
Of course, it’s still important to take appropriate COVID-19 precautions, as recommended by the daycare. A minor case of the sniffles is one thing, but nobody wants another outbreak!
Build Skills
Socialization isn’t the only skill that your child can learn when they go to daycare. Creative activities like singing and drawing will help them with their artistic pursuits as they get older. Learning sports and other physical activities will teach them about the importance of staying active, and could even get them involved with an activity they’ll enjoy throughout their school years.
Going to daycare can also help your child learn skills and information they’ll use once they start school (and for the rest of their lives).
While your child probably won’t learn math, they may pick up on numbers. They could learn the alphabet during their time at daycare. It all depends on the daycare program you choose and what they focus on.
Research different daycare programs and look for one that caters to what you’re looking for. You should also visit different daycares and see if you think they’re a good fit for your child.
Sending Your Child to Daycare: Now You Know
There are a lot of benefits to sending your child to daycare. But ultimately, you need to decide whether or not it’s the right decision for your child.
Do you want more tips on parenting, schools, and so much more? We can help. Scroll through a few of our other helpful articles.