Is your child ready for preschool?

"Is my child ready for preschool?” Many parents ask themselves this question as the school year looms ahead. Preschool prepares children aged four to six years for primary school. Although there’s no golden rule to tell when a child is ready to start preschool, there are a couple of “milestones” your child should reach before he can head off to little school.

Abigail Kidson, owner and teacher at The Secret Garden Playschool in Bryanston, says that children can generally
start attending a preschool when they’re able to enjoy a structured environment, with a focus on developing their social skills and interaction with their peer group and teachers.

Has he spent time away from you?
Educational psychologist Ilze van der Merwe-Alberts from the Bella Vida Centre in Johannesburg says the first important physical milestone a child should have mastered before going to preschool is the ability to separate from his parents. “Between the ages of three and four, a child must learn to be okay with saying goodbye to Mom and Dad when they drop him off at school.

“Children who spend most of their time with their parents often find it very difficult to separate from them, even for short periods of time.” If your child hasn’t spent much time away from you, you may want to start preparing him if you’re planning on sending him to preschool next year.

Educational psychologist, Dr Arina Lanser, suggests creating opportunities in which you can leave your child with
his grandparents or a nanny while you run some errands, so that he can get used to not being with you all the time. “If you don’t create these opportunities, your little one may experience separation anxiety when he’s left alone with his teacher in a strange environment.”

Can you understand what he’s saying?
“A child must be able to express himself and communicate properly before he can start preschool,” Ilze advises. Although he isn’t expected to speak perfectly, he should be able to use simple sentences of three to five words and be able to describe an event that occurred recently, like a trip to the zoo or a picnic with his family. He must also be able to ask for what he wants and express his needs.

Can he take instructions?
“The ability to understand and follow basic instructions is important, as it makes it easier for the teacher to communicate basic requirements to the child,” says Abigail. If you think this might be a problem for your little one, you can give him easy tasks to do on his own, like setting the plates at the dinner table or handing you the washing so
you can hang it up to dry.

Is he potty trained?
While this “skill” is important at some schools, it isn’t crucial at others. It would make teachers’ lives easier if all their students were potty trained, but there are a number of schools that include potty training in their early curriculum. “If a child has been potty trained, it greatly enhances his confidence when arriving and interacting in a new environment. Little toilet-related ‘accidents’ are embarrassing for children, so parents can do their little ones a great service when encouraging the potty training process at home,” says Abigail. Your little one should also be able to take care of some other basic needs, like washing his hands, pulling up his pants and eating lunch without any help.

Can he put himself to sleep?
If your child has to stay a bit later in the afternoons at preschool, he’ll have to take a nap during the day, which means he has to be able to sleep on his own. If he still needs you to soothe him before he can fall asleep, it‘s a good idea to teach him to self-soothe and fall asleep by himself. He should also be able to go without his dummy or bottle during school hours, so it’s best to start weaning him off them to avoid outbursts when he has to leave them at home.

Ilze explains that although children can take their attachment objects, like their “blankies”, to school with them, these objects shouldn’t be carried around with them all day. “The object should stay in their bag and your child can look at it every now and again, but he does need to be able to manage without it.”

Does he interact well with other children?
Your little one must show an interest in other children before he’s ready for preschool. Although he doesn’t have to play with them, he should be able to interact with them and participate in group activities with other children. “It’s so important for children to be able to interact with other kids at school, because when they interact with their peers, they exchange ideas and play methods and they learn from each other,” says Kim Field, owner of the Kim Field Academy in Fourways, Johannesburg.

If your little one isn’t used to group activities and interacting with other kids, start preparing him. You can take him to the library for story time or sign up for Moms and Tots classes so he can get used to playing with other children, learn to share his toys with friends, and to take turns when playing a game. “A child should also have the ability to reach out to a grown-up for comfort when he needs it, and allow the grown-up to physically comfort him if he’s hurt or sad,” says Ilze. Abigail adds that a child’s social skills will be accelerated once he has started preschool, and these skills should be encouraged, but not forced.

Can he switch from one activity to another?
Most preschools have set schedules which change, for example, from playtime to snack time to drawing time. If your child isn’t good at transitioning, you’ll have to work on this. You can start preparing him with some advance notice. For example, let him know that he’ll be having a bath in a few minutes, and that it will be dinner time before it’s time for his bedtime story – this routine will make transitioning and switching from activity to activity easier when he starts preschool.

“Children like routines and changing from activity to activity, as it prevents them from getting bored and it keeps them busy all the time,” says Kim.

Signs that indicate your child may not be ready to start preschool yet:
If he’s having trouble sleeping or falling asleep.
If you notice any major regressions in any of your child’s milestones, he may not yet be ready
for preschool.