24May
If you’re the parent of a young child or children and you’ve considered daycare or early learning centres, you may have been wondering what the best age is to start in daycare or preschool, and whether there are age limits to consider. We’ll be taking a look at this subject in this article and answer some questions you may have.
Is There An Age That’s Too Young?
What is the best age to put a child in daycare and is there an age bracket that’s simply too young?
While newborn babies ideally will remain under the care of their parents, older babies and toddlers can successfully integrate into the daycare environment if there are not too many babies per carer to take responsibility for.
It’s well known that babies thrive on one-on-one attention, particularly from their parents, and this kind of attention still needs to exist in the daycare environment. If you have a baby under the age of 18 and want to (or need to) enroll them in daycare or an early learning facility, it’s best to make contact with the centre, learn what their age limits are (if any) and discover how many other babies are within their regular care, and how many carers are tasked with caring for them.
Toddlers are in an age bracket that’s often considered the best age to start preschool. Generally, a child is considered a toddler when between the ages of 1 to 3 years. Careers need to have lots of patience and energy when it comes to the toddler age bracket, but toddlers will thrive in a daycare environment; especially when there are loads of fun and interesting activities to get involved in.
Daycare facilities offer a very safe environment for toddlers to play securely, be looked after, as well as develop their young bodies and minds and to learn new and exciting things. Toddlers also learn, at a very early age, social skills by interacting with other young children. This helps to develop self-confidence and independence, which are vital moving forward towards the school years to come.
Toddlers get to participate in a range of activities that they may not get the chance to do in the home environment.
What Is the Maximum Age for Daycare?
Is there a maximum age for child care or a maximum age for daycare?
This really depends on the type of centre you’re considering. Early learning centres, for example, focus on children ranging from toddlers up to the age when children are ready to start school.
Some daycare centres that don’t officially classify themselves as early learning centres, may offer daycare for children who are much older. This is sometimes the case when a child is off from school for some reason, yet the parents have to be at work and there is no one to look after them at home.
Generally speaking though, if you want to enroll your child in an early learning facility, the age range will usually be between 1 to 5 years of age, on average. It’s always best to confirm acceptable ages with the centre in question, just to be certain.
If an early learning centre or daycare facility is not for you and your children for whatever reason, then you’ll need to formulate alternate plans for child care, either by seeking help from relatives or hiring babysitters.
Endeavour – The Place For Early Education and Daycare
If you really want to give your child or kids the very best start in life and prepare them for the school years to come, then consider enrolling in an Endeavour Early Learning Centre. We have centres in locations in Concord, Dural and Kariong.
Our centres focus on preparing children, not only for school, but also for the rest of their lives. Children develop enormously during their preschool years, so we focus on positive development on so many different levels, including teaching kids the basics of core subjects, learning about nutrition and healthy eating, physical fitness, developing social skills and self-confidence and so much more. Most of all, kids have fun while learning and developing.
To discover just what our centres offer, give us a call and have a chat with one of our friendly staff members.
