The benefits of sending your child to nursery can be much further-reaching than you think
When it comes to early childhood education, there are a great many ways in which enrolling your child in a nursery will benefit them in the long run. And not only that, but the family reaps rewards too from meeting other parents and extending their own network of friends, as well as getting a helping - often expert - hand from staff at the nursery with things such as potty training, self-care, feeding and managing their child’s independence. We reveal some of the main benefits of nursery…
Preparing For School… Preparing For Life
Whilst primarily a place for fun and education, nursery also acts as a microcosm of life, helping prepare your child for many aspects of the world, and also for their next step - school. Joining a nursery will expose your child to other children from different cultural backgrounds and help them adapt to a learning environment. They will develop better social skills and learn how to spend - and enjoy! - time away from mummy and daddy, allowing them to relate to adults outside the family circle.
Developing Vital Skills
Not only does a nursery environment help your child to develop valuable life skills, such as self-care (wiping their own nose, washing their hands), tidying away after themselves and feeding themselves, it’s also invaluable in developing their interpersonal skills. Children will learn to relate to and empathise with others, learn the importance of sharing and turn-taking and also realise that certain important behaviours - kindness, manners, helping - are expected of them. And not to mention the fact that they’ll learn vital lessons about friendships and develop important skills which will enable them to form and nurture relationships later on in life.
“In my experience, I see children who have attended nursery as confident and inquisitive learners who are more independent and understanding of others feelings,” says Jan Webber, Director and Founder of Willow Children’s Nursery. “Nursery for children of three years and over gets them well prepared for school, understanding instructions, sharing, showing compassion and developing relationships with adults and peers.”
Helping At Home
Sending your child to nursery can also benefit your life at home with your children, as nursery builds on skills you have already been developing, and also gives parents the chance to recharge. Skills such as potty training, self-feeding and self-care and managing tantrums, will be developed in an environment where your child not only learns from the staff, but also from their peers. It also benefits mum and dad to have a break from child-rearing, if only for a few hours, and parents too can learn tips and techniques from experienced childcare practitioners.