My grandson is cuddled in my bed,
sleeping finally after being fussy. But I don’t dread a restless night. Not
with him, not with any of my grandchildren. It’s odd, because as you become a
grandparent, suddenly you get a different view of things. You don’t mind
getting woke up after only a few hours sleep, that trip to McDonald’s isn’t a
problem, and you will gladly walk the floor with them, even if it means they
throw up on you. Who cares? It’s different.
Which is probably why I have the
outlook that has spawned this blog.
Before I continue …. let’s
establish, this isn’t aimed toward full time, working moms and dads who need
daycare of have no choice. This is my opinion for those who have options and
make the choice.
Preschool at 3. I have a problem
with it.
My daughter Ali, brought up that
she was going to send Violet to preschool at 3. Why?
She retorted, “Mom, that’s what
they do now. So the kids can adjust and be smart.”
Really, because I’m pretty sure,
her pediatrician is smart and I’m willing to bet he didn’t start school at 3.
Hell, Einstein didn’t even go to Kindergarten.
“Mom, if I don’t send her at 3,
she’ll be behind.”
“No, she won’t.”
My grandson won’t go until he’s
four. What will he not know? That the
other kids do. He knows colors, he knows numbers and alphabet on sight. He can
work a kindle, ipad, iphone, xbox, and Atari, probably better than his peers.
I make him work the bluray for
me.
Yep, I’m teaching him words to
read … on his own time. Not mine.
School at 3. It is far too young,
in my opinion for a child, who will go to school for at least 16 more years.
When does it stop? When I was young
there really wasn’t preschool and kindergarten was an option. Yeah, it was.
When my oldest son was 4, preschool was an option and really not a lot of kids
went. All day kindergarten was a rarity.
Why? Society deemed them too
young to be away from home.
What changed? Are 3 year old suddenly
more mature. No. We just want them to
be. Well, guess what, they aren’t. They are babies. Toddlers.
They will have plenty of
structured education. Allow them to be children. To sleep when they want, play
when they want and enjoy not being in school. Learn when they feel like
learning.
3 is too young. My, God, let them
be babies.
I look at my grandson.
He’s 3. And you know what? He’s
really still a baby, a toddler. He hasn’t even surpassed being called a
toddler, yet there are his peers, donning backpacks and going to school.
Think about that for a second,
Sending a toddler to school.
I realize that every parent wants
their child to be educated, but those teachers who teach them … didn’t go to
school at 3. The doctors who care for them, were still drinking sippy cups.
Granted my grandson goes to
therapy for speech, so he has structure and he complains. He actually doesn’t want
to go at times.
In my opinion, if your child is
able to be home and be a child, then let him. Teach him at home. We as a
society are forcing children to be older and more mature. This makes me wonder,
how much creativity will be lost? How much imagination will they not acquire
because they are being structured too early? Told what to draw, what to read,
how to behave.
At 3 a child should be free to
draw where his imagination takes him, play with the toys he chooses and pretend
all he wants. Not be conformed. If we to teach them ABC’s and they walk away.
Ok, that’s cool. They’re 3!
Then there’s the health issue.
How many more germs are they exposed to? Ask any mom who has to put her child
in daycare, how often her child gets sick.
And the biggie …
They send out lice letters in
preschool, yeah, lice letters, I said it. Itching yet? 3 year olds don’t
comprehend not to touch heads or hair. Who the hell wants to deal with a 3 year
old with lice?
Just thought I’d rant a bit about
the subject. I realize many will disagree with me. But those who do? Did you go
to school at 3?
I fully agree with you. Kids need to be allowed to be little kids without an adult forcing them into lines, having to sit on a rug in a circle, etc. Give them free reign to learn on their own.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I paid for two years of preschool for my youngest grandson because he needed to be around other kids and learn that he wasn't the boss. He needed desperately to be civilized. If he hadn't had that, he'd have had a much harder time in kindergarten. And he had a hard time anyway!