Preschool or No preschool?

as long as hes socializing preschool isnt that important, yes they may learn a thing or 2 but its more so following directions, getting use to being away from mommy, making friends ect. as far as the speech thing goes i have a daughter with autism, she is homeschooled, early intervention will only work in a school setting however other people will work at ur house. we found outside services for speech, ot, behavior ect. they come to our home to work with her. insurance has to pay it.

I've debated the pre-school issue myself. My first child went to daycare (I worked then) and they had a pre-school there. I'm a SAHM now and my 2 year old will be 3 in July and after talking to my husband we are sending her next year. Pre-school not only helps in education but it does help with social interaction with children their age. Social skills are just as important and no matter how many playdates you have being away from mommy is just as important. This is why we're sending our daughter. Good luck.

Thank you. Early intervention through our county has been coming to our house to give him speech therapy, only because he doesn't leave our house bc I am a stay at home mom. They can only help until June and then they have to hand it over to the school system. I do not think he will need it anymore after that. He talks a lot now, its just he is working on making it sound more like what he trying to say. I can tell what he is saying but other people have a hard time.

My kid(s) will go to preschool.  Not so much for the learning, although I'm sure they do learn 'something' in preschool.  I think it is VERY important for kids to learn how to socialize with other kids.  The learn how to make friends, they learn how to play with each other, etc.  It also gives them an extra boost of independence.  They are without mom and they learn that they can do things without mom.  It is an important skill to have.

put him in preschool. It will get him ready for kindergarten. Even if he tests above his level now, that doesn't matter. He needs to get prepared for the next year. Listening to teachers, fowlling directions and learning how to interact with other kids. I think Preschool is sooooo much more important that what people play it off to be. Think about it... You can put him in school a year before and get him used to going to school, or just throw him in to school the first day of Kindergarten. I don't think that's far to a child, or teachers.

IDK, I send my kid for fun, and to gain peers. As it is, she's smart, she does her learning HERE. But to get out, and be a big kid, she goes once a week. And it gives ME a break, I'm all for it.

Haha! I homeschool mine, so I don't send them anywhere.

before you have your newborn (congrats btw) i'd go to your chosen preschool and ask for some kind of pamphlet or workbook that shows what they cover that yr(s). then i'd see if your oldest can do that work, without help. if he gets most of it right w/o help, i'd say he didnt need the preschool. he'd just get bored if he already knew it all. if he needs help with it, i'd enroll him. i mean, its better to get it all over again and make sure he's got it down before he goes on.

I just wanted to add something really quickly here. I was never preschooled, not once. I attended kindergarten as my introduction into a school setting. I had an active social life all the way through school and got along great with the majority of my peers.

My oldest brother attended preschool. They actually held him back a year because they did not feel he was 'socially ready to continue'. It turns out that even with an extra year of preschool he was just that way.

I didn't have 'extra' social time, I grew up with three older siblings and a cousing 6 months older then me. So really, your child pics up their social cues from you and your family at home, and as long as you aren't keeping him shut away in a box he should do fine socially, whether you introduce him into a more social atmoshpere sooner, or later.

Really in the end the decision is up to you. I put my only child in school at age 3 1/2. It was hard bc of course she's my only child and being a SAHM it was really hard because for years she had been home with me all day every day.  I did it for a couple reasons 1. I could tell she was getting bored at home with me.. I would try to play with her and she'd loose interest. She wasn't interested in any of her toys or anything. 2. because she needed to learn how to interact with other children. 3. I figured anything extra she learned would be beneficial. The problem these days is that Kindergarten in most states now is 5 full days a week. I think throwing your child into that after being at home with mommy or in daycare can potentially be a bad thing. For some kids they can't properly learn bc they're so reserved and nervous.

When our daughter started preschool she barely talked. We even thought we might have to see a speech therapist bc we wondered if there was an issue. Well within her 1st year she blossomed! She was talking, interacting and more. It was one of the best decisions we ever made. She went a full yr. of pre-school and now she's in her last semester of Pre-K and according to her teachers she's excelled for Kindergarten already. I know a lot of people didn't go and they're ok. I didn't go and ended up being held back a grade and same with my husband. Now who knows if not going to preschool was the cause but I'm sure it could have been prevented had I and my husband gone.

I would say do what you think is best for your son in the long run. I didn't like the idea of my one and only baby going to school at age 3 but I wouldn't change it for a thing!