Is Preschool Right For All Kids?

For some kids, staying home with mom is just as educational and more fun than preschool.

The debate over whether preschool is necessary for children to be successful in school is interesting to me. There are parents who swear it’s a godsend for them and their kids. There are homeschool proponents who say keep ‘em home as long as you can.

I played the middle of the road with my own children. They went to preschool, but only for a year, and only three days a week for what seemed like a few minutes (not enough time to get any grocery shopping done).

I tried to enroll my second son in a trendy, prestigious preschool when he was almost 3 and I was told he was way too old to learn the signature teaching methods. “That ship has sailed,” I was told in so many words.

“Oh, great,” I told my husband. “How’s he ever going to get into Harvard if he can’t even get into the right preschool?”

I turned to my son, who was squishing a glue stick between his fingers. “It’s Burger King trainee for you.”

We continued along the path we had been on, which was me being the teacher and the kids taking nature hikes, rolling down hills, making scented homemade play-dough, putting on plays, and going to library story hours and playgroups.

I still can’t say that what we did was right for everyone. Every family has its own likes and dislikes, preferences and needs. Some children love and want to go to preschool and others prefer Mom’s lap.

So the debate over the necessity of preschool continues and the kids somehow all successfully make it through first grade . . . middle school . . . high school graduation . . .

And some even make it past Burger King trainee all the way to Harvard.