About 61% of children ages 3-5 are enrolled in some form of schooling. These children are getting set up for a lifetime of success. Unfortunately, early childhood education is lacking in the United States compared to other countries, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on it for your children.
Enroll your children in early childhood education programs and help them enjoy these crucial benefits.
What Is Early Childhood Education?
Early childhood is the time period between when your children are born and when they start kindergarten. Most children enter kindergarten at the age of five. Some scientists and education professionals define the “early childhood” time period as birth to eight years old.
During this time, children learn how to interact with others, from their peers to the teachers and anyone else.
Why Is Early Childhood Education Important?
Children learn to develop relationships with the people around them. It sets the stage for their future academic performance by helping them develop basic learning skills. This is when they develop the emotional and social skills necessary to approach classroom learning, essentially, learning to learn.
This early childhood classroom experience goes beyond social skills, though. Studies show that it also has a long-lasting positive impact on their academic performance in STEM fields.
Brain Development
Children’s brains develop at this early stage in life more than at any other time. Early childhood education takes advantage of this high rate of development by challenging their brains and encouraging the greatest amount of growth.
This gives them a higher functioning capacity for learning later on in life.
Identifies and Fosters Interests
While there are specific goals the educators need to achieve, it’s also a time for encouraging interests. An example of this is reading ability. Young children may not be ready to read yet, but they could show promising signs of becoming early emergent readers.
You can foster this skill and interest early on. This helps them become emergent readers and eventually fluent readers faster than their peers.
Long Term Benefits
Through long-term studies, educators find that there are several benefits that students enjoy later on in life when they receive early childhood education. This includes higher IQ scores through the age of 15, with notably higher scores in reading and math.
They are more likely to attend a four-year college or university. They are less likely to use drugs, suffer from depression, or become teen parents. When tracked into adulthood, they are less likely to suffer from hypertension and more likely to have a bachelor’s degree and a job at the age of 30.
Plan For Early Childhood Education
When smart parents invest in early childhood education, they raise smart children. If your children are in this early childhood stage, then now is the time to act. You can enroll them in an educational program that encourages growth and exploration.
Check out our other education articles for more helpful guidance on setting your children up for academic success.
