As a young (no eye rolling please) mom I am stressing out about what our daughter will do when I go back to work in a few short days. I am very lucky that both my mom and my mother in law will take care of her when I am off to work. However not many parents have that luxury of two dotting grandmothers and thus there is the day care and preschool solutions.

 Lately, I've been reading about the benefits of taking your kid to preschool and kindergarten. In today’s competitive and fast-moving world, students require every possible advantage that we can give them to make sure that they grow into well-developed adults. There are studies that suggest higher test scores for early learners can lead to higher incomes later on. So, let’s take a closer look at how kindergarten programs can help your child succeed.

  

How Kindergarten Programs Help Kids Succeed

According to studies, early learning programs offer a myriad of benefits for children later on life, including:

  • Early learners who achieve high test scores from average up to the 60th percentile may be able to earn around $1,000 more a year by the time they get to the age of 27 than students whose scores remain relatively average.

  • The same children who attend kindergarten tend to learn more, as measured by the above-average score on a Stanford Achievement Test. Also, those are children that are often in smaller classes and who go on to earn around $2,000 more a year in their late twenties.

  • Those children who go to kindergarten and take part in Guardian kindergarten programs or similar high quality programs are reportedly more likely to save for their retirement earlier in life, more likely to own their own home before the age of 30, and less likely to become single parents.

More Advantages for Early Learners

Another big factor for long-term success includes teach experience along with smaller class sizes. In general, early learning experiences such as those had in kindergarten and preschool can have a marked impact on a person’s success in life.

Further studies have also shown that kindergarten programs have the positive effects on both preschool participation and years of education. It has been found that preschool and kindergarten participants:

  • Tend to have higher rates of high school graduation

  • Have higher chances of attending a four-year college program

  • Have higher chances of school completion

If you’re wondering why such early learning experiences have far-reaching effects, there are a number of interesting theories, according to researchers. Under the cognitive advantage hypothesis, it is thought that preschool experiences often lay a developmental and cognitive foundation that leads to improved academic outcomes later on the school career.

According to the family support hypothesis, it is believed that participation in early learning programs promotes better parental involvement and more contact between teachers and parents, which in turn increased the effectiveness of a child’s early learning experiences both at school and at home.

Whichever hypotheses work, the data shows that every parent and educator ought to understand that we just cannot underestimate the importance of positive and effective early learning experiences. Whether we consider the research from a societal or parental perspective, quality education and learning experiences as early on as possible can ensure that your child develops the solid foundations necessary on which to build a successful future. Some are considering starting their kids with an English tutor to get a head start with learning a foreign language.

In my personal opinion, and with the decline of the economy, the long term financial benefits don't really mean a thing to me. I don't really want to send my kid away to preschool earlier than her 4th or 5th birthday and I do believe she can learn many things at home too. That said, day care and preschool have many benefits not the least of which is having the kid in contact with other kids of the same age. I only wish when the time comes to take my daughter into one, that I'll find the right one!


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