Benefits of sending your child to a playgroup

Written by Julia Gorham

One of the first challenges that parents have to face is whether to send their children to a Playgroup or to leave them at home with Child Carers.

Benefits of sending your child to a Playgroup:

• Becomes more independent, building of confidence and able to deal with separation .
• Learns to stand on his/her own feet.
• Learns to handle conflicts.
• Breaks co-dependency on the care giver.
• Grows in self esteem.
• Learns relationship skills and life skills,
• Interacts with other children. Learns how to share, take turns etc.
• Learns to handle change.
• Exposure to stimulating learning materials.
• School readiness skills.
• Develops learns new skills.
• Discovers own strength and increases confidence.
• Termly assessments on your child’s emotional, intellectual grow and fine motor development.
• Discovers their own interests.
• Daily participation in fine, gross, sensory, art and cognitive activities.
• Participation in the school’s extra murals.
• Learns social graces with others.
• Participation with songs, story time, dancing, music, facts about weekly themes, circle time and developing a good routine.

Drawbacks of not sending your child to a Playgroup:

• Does not learn to interact or make friends.
• Stays protected at home and do not learn about life.
• Slower development of self.
• Future resistance to change.
• Not prepared to handle conflict.
• Does not grow mentally.
• Growth in self-esteem is stunted.
• Does not learn to share, co-operate within a group or follow instructions from other adults
• Not exposed to stimulating planned activities.
• Because the child is in a protected environment, the child has a limited opportunity to grow his/her own independence.
• Limited exposure to learn and accept different cultures.
• Plays less.
• Experiences life mainly inside the safety of the home environment.
• Limits child’s interests.
• Has less role models.
• Minimises child’s own potential.
• Unlimited exposure to negotiate with his/her peers.
• Limited interaction with the opposite sex.
• Do not take part in concerts, extra murals etc.
• Only develops their intelligence in certain areas.
• Remains placed in “cotton wool” and not placed in the real world with exposure to different experiences.