Is pre - school education actually necessary?

I think you gave the answer with your own story. If someone is lucky enough to have a supporting family, a dad or mom that is sitting beside you every evening teaching you something, playing with you and teaching like that...so in this case you do not need any pre-school. But if the school is the first place where you see books, if your parents are too busy with working or too many conflicts and stressful situation at home you will miss the basics and you may have difficulties at school. For many children pre-school is a chance to pick up what they have missed in the family.

Some parents feel the need to send their children to pre-school because they could not do the task of teaching their kids the basic things that are to be learned at this stage of their lives. There are some parents though who have knowledge in how to give their kids the first taste of education at home.

I do not think pre-school education is strictly necessary. But in today's world of nuclear families where both husband and wife go to work, it becomes more of a necessity. Also, the other benefit of pre-school is that it gets the child to get along with other children. For e.g. my son used be afraid of people and hang around me or my wife. But shortly after he joined pre-school, he became very bold. Now that he is in LKG, his teacher was telling us the other day that he bosses over other children and they listen to him :) Cheers! Ram

When I was a kid, I was sent to a kindgarten when I reached three. I did not like it as a kid. I still remember that I was in a small kindergarten back to then. I was shy in the kindergarten, but I was active out of the kindergarten, which could be seen as a pre-school education. We were not taught much then. It was no fun for me at all, but I had to go there because my parents had to go to work leaving no one else to take care of me. The most happy time was when my mother or my sister came to pick me up out of that place. Nowadays as many more parents have to go to work that children at a young age have to go to pre-education. Compared with my time, pre-education now is much better as children can learn more if they are interested.

It really comes down to the child. I had pre-school education, but really when you come to think about it, it really did not matter one way or another at the end. They are really starting children earlier and earlier, and I think that is going to come back to bite people in the end. I think that there is a certain age where it might be considered to be too young. Children that are three and even in a couple of cases two are being admitted to school. I think is insane and I wonder what these schools are doing that the parents cannot do themselves. In the end, its all down to one thing and this is money. Children can get skills that really could be picked up by working with the parents. So yeah, its not necessary in many ways, but I think that it is a tricky situation as society in general is putting pressure to starting children younger and younger and that can lead to pressure that can really do more harm than good in the end.

hi paul, i think it depends to the parents if they have the money and to the little kid if he's ready for schooling. happy mylotting. :-)

Preschooling is all about getting your kids babysat for free. In Canada this is the first year of all-day kindergarten. That too is all about babysitting for free. The parents almost went ballistic to see their little kids go off to kindergarten for the full day. When I started school I was 6 and in Grade one. I walked 1.5 miles to school in all kinds of weather, and it was uphill both ways! Are today's kids spoiled, or is it today's Parents who are spoiled?

Hi Paulbankonline, Back when I was a kid I went to nursery school at age 4 and that was because my mom wanted me to have time with other kids. It was a couple of hours a couple of days per week. It was fun. We painted and danced and it kind of prepared me for kindergarten. I loved it. It was just a fun time. these days they are learning to add and write and read and it is just way too much I think for them. Kids need free time to explore and be themselves. It's the only time in their lives that they will have this time to be a kid . A lot of parents are using Preschool as a baby sitter. None of my kids went to preschool. I created my own preschool on my days off with another child and my daughter. I went around and explored the ciriculum of the preschools in my area and then decided, I could have fun and give my daughter the experience myself. I found another mother who could not afford preschool and I taught these girls how to print their names, do art projects, simple math, bake etc. We went on field trips and frequently visited the library. Above all, they got a real lot of free time to be creative and still be kids. They learned without being tied to a schedule. because there were only the two of them, I could be flexible. There were days when it was clear that neither one of them was into learning and that was ok. ...break time

I do not think preschool education is necessary. Given the climate in this country today and the disaster that our schools are, I recommend homeschooling at all levels. Have you gone to youtube to see the video "Teachers Union Gone Wild"? Frankly, it is pathetic and our schools in general are both intellectual and moral sewers and unsafe at every level for our children. I say this as a parent and a teacher, as this has been my experience.

Pre school education can be a good start to a child's academic life. Some children perform in school better with it. it is not absolutely necessary. A child can be just as productive without it if the essentials are taught in the home instead.

Hi Paul, True. Even I did not go to any pre-school kind of thing and I believe that this is a time when the child needs to be with parents and enjoy the learning. But that said, I realize that many of today's parents are too very occupied with the idea of making money which is so very essential these days. Even a 1,00,000/- INR is not enough to many. And again we think, if we take a leave or go out of the schedule, it would a loss and our children would suffer in the future. I dont understand their logic, but that is what is common in the normal households - Mom and dad both working. The kid s either left to be attended by servant or better left at the Prep. So better choice seems to be the Pre-School. I am positive that my child (when we have it) would not have to go to the pre-school and I would take personal care of the studies and the moments we could build up a bond that would neither bring burdens of competition or studies on the child. Cheers, theSids.

Preschool offer a mean for your child to learn how to socialize and interact with others of his of her own age. The education received serve as a stepping stone for grade school education. The education also stimulates the brain, promoting healthy development of the brain that would shape the intelligence of your child later on. Pressure on the other hand is definitely not good. Activities should be in your child's interest. Something that he or she love to do and enjoy, so it won't feel like a chore. Pressure won't result if it's something enjoyable and fun.