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Home › Articles › Development › Preschool
Pros and Cons

Preschool
Pros and Cons

Does Your Child Need to Go?

By Kelly Burgess

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"In my latter years [of teaching] it got to the point where I could always tell those who hadn't been to preschool," says George. "Academically, they're generally as well prepared as the other children, but they invariably have social issues that disrupt class time. I think that a lot of these issues are a result of a high level of self-centeredness that children develop from constantly being parent-directed. They think everyone should do it their way and they should be able to do what they want when they want. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way."

Some of the problems George found to be common in children who had not attended preschool were an inability to pay attention to the teacher, talking at inappropriate times, inattention to the task at hand, expecting the other children to defer to their wants and opinions, but not being willing to reciprocate, and not just being unwilling to take turns or wait, but not really even understanding why they should have to.

Dr. Heins says that a parent who feels he or she should be the only social force in a young child's life may not realize, or be willing to admit, that this may not be a well-rounded approach. A mom can spend every waking moment entertaining her child, but she can never be a 3-year-old.

The Disadvantages of Preschool
Cathy Myers sent her son, Scott, to preschool when he was 4 and, although he enjoyed it, Myers felt it stifled Scott's unusual ability to concentrate on a task and pulled him out. Scott doesn't seem to have suffered. Now 25, he's a guitarist with the Ringling Brothers Band. Myers, director of the Family and Home Network in Merrifield, Va., says that no one ever asks either him or his sister if they ever went to preschool.

"I don't think children need preschool, and a lot of the research claiming that they do has been debunked by other research," says Myers. "A lot of the push for preschool plays on parents' fears that their child won't be ready for kindergarten. But if you just get out in your community and find other children to play with, that will be sufficient. Kids just need attention from their parents."

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