Your baby reaches 18 months and suddenly there is a little shift in the things you think about – suddenly you may start to wonder if leaving her at home with the nanny or being at home with you all day or attending a creche is ticking all the boxes ITO her development. It’s a fact that most parents start to wonder about a play group and specifically what criteria they need to look out for.
Here are five tips you should consider as you are faced with the enormous task of finding a school that meets all your little ones needs:
- If your little one is between 1 and 3 years of age, look for a play group that has no more than 4-6 children to the teacher. This ratio will ensure that your child gets the type of focused and nurturing attention she needs at this critical age.
- Home based solutions until 3 years old are much less stressful than large ‘schools’ or institutions. This is a much smoother transition from home to school.
- Grill the teacher on her ethos about play and how play feeds into skill development. She should have a good sense of the role of play and how little ones develop
- Choose a play group that focusses on imaginary play as the catalyst for emotional development, language and executive function
- Make sure the teacher is first-aid trained and the space is safe and secure
These are the boxes than need to be ticked. Thereafter, do a school visit and get a ‘feel’ for it. If it’s a happy place – where the children are engaging in play and the teacher is caring, you can rest assured your child is in good hands.
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Are u talking about a pre-school or a play group with moms and children? I am having a hard time with finding a good pre-school for my 2.5 year old right now. I think mainly because I’m not ready for her to leave me lol
I can imagine that it is tough to have to leave your baby and send them to school/ play group when you’ve pretty much spent almost every moment together since birth. You want to be sure you’re leaving them in the right environment and you can relax knowing that the school and teacher are taking care of your baba as you would.
Choosing a good play school is very important. My son started going to a play school when he was 19 months old. He used to speak just one-two word sentences and within a week he graduated to multiple word sentences. It was all because of the creative learning environment he got at his school. The pointers you have shared are very apt and must follow by parents!