Every parent’s dream is to give the best to their child. To provide them with the best, parents often find themselves making choices like which age-appropriate program shall be the best for their kids’ overall development. One such choice is to choose if they want to send their children to a child care program or preschool. A lot depends on the first aspects like the licensing of the place, the education programs that they offer, and the curriculum they follow.
This is a tough decision for any parent as they want to ensure that their kids are getting the right care and are grasping more positive things from their environment. For that, it is essential to go for the choice that compliments the requirements of both the child and the parents.
Different Child Different Needs
Child development centers, early learning centers, and after-school programs – there’s a variety of options that society has for kids. But what really matters here is understanding that all the kids are unique, and so are the parents and their needs. In the initial five years of age, that is 1-5 years, the brain of a child develops at the fastest rate. This is why everything they see around them and whatever they experience becomes a base for them to build their experiences on. This is one of the reasons why parents want only positive and good experiences for their toddlers. Keeping this in mind, it’s really essential to understand that every child’s requirements are different. One recipe does not work for all here.
Child Care – A Brief Introduction
Child Care programs, or as some people refer to as – Daycares, are those programs where people put their children while they go to work. Here the motive of their parents is to ensure that their child is safe, in good company, and in a happy place where they can socialize with other kids. Daycares are not like preschools (the differences shall be discussed towards the end). Here the parents want their kids to learn social skills. Some parents spend a lot of time with their kids teaching them playfully about little things. They want their toddlers to learn the art of making friends, sharing, and playing.
Play Schools – A Brief Introduction
The playschools are the place where kids become familiar with the concept of schooling. The parents here put them in preschools to ensure that their kids learn basic education concepts like the letters and numbers, and maybe the days of the week before they go to kindergarten. All this, along with the social skills. They are more aware of the kids’ activity status. More active kids can actually benefit from preschools. Also, preschools help a kid to develop a strong base for numbers, and thus it helps them when they start learning mathematics. The Child Cares or child cares are where a child’s basic needs are taken care of. Parents can ensure that their child is secure while they are at work. It reduces the burden on the parents to be stressed about managing a child’s needs while they are at work. But preschooling and child care are two different concepts that people assume to be similar. Understanding that is important before one signs up for them.
Day Care or Child Care and the Preschool – The Differences
Age: Childcare and Preschools are thought to be similar concepts. But the biggest difference is in the ages of the children that attend these programs. The children that get accepted usually in Child Cares are 6 weeks or older. In contrast, the kids who go to preschool are 2 to 5 years of age. So, it is understood that age determines the needs of a child. Pre-school and child care are different facilities, basing the age group they support.
Services: The Child Cares or childcare offer services of feeding the child, playing games with them, napping, and other activities. Their aim is to take care of the kids whose parents need someone to help them with taking care of their child. The kids here learn to mingle with other kids and also grasp the minute things from their environment, which is why it is important to ensure that it is a safe place for the parents to leave their kids in.
On the other hand, in a preschool, the kids are 2 to 5 years of age, which makes them a little aware of their surroundings. Here, they are more cognitive and conscious of their environment and pick things more quickly than before. Preschooling offers a better basic foundation for learning and growing. They introduce the kids to basic ideas like learning about the months, days, and numbers. They also help a child become familiar with the concept of schooling, helping them grow to a schedule helping them learn, practice, and prepare for starting with kindergarten.
In Conclusion
The differences between preschool and child care are very minute yet crucial. It is important to consider these differences and only then make an informed decision. The good part is every Child Care or childcare is licensed. The preschools are licensed too. This helps to ensure that the basic amenities of care shall be up to a mark. This helps parents that their child is in safe hands. So, it’s only a matter of understanding what are the requirements of the child and the parents and then making a decision. And the informed decision is always the way to go because as kids grow, they learn. And childcare or a playschool offer different facilities which support a child’s growth. A toddler in their early years shall not be fit for a playschool, and a child aged two years and above shall learn better at a playschool. This is why it is important to understand the difference between the two facilities.
