Regardless of your love of your career or your current daycare, saying goodbye to your child every morning is never easy. While we know this is difficult, understanding the benefits of daycare may ease your pain. Studies have shown that high quality preschool positively effects your child’s success well into adulthood. So, breathe easier and don’t feel guilty about being a hard-working mother. Here are a few surprising ways preschools are benefiting your child.
Preschool makes your child better behaved.
A new study confirms that children who attended a high-quality center-based preschool exhibit better behavior then those who don’t. Researchers at Sorbonne University in Paris surveyed around 1500 parents. The parents were asked to record their children’s behavior for the first 8 years of their lives. From the surveys a distinct pattern emerged: Children who attended daycare for more then one year demonstrated better social skills and fewer peer-related issues. The study also stated that access to high quality preschool may improve children’s emotional and cognitive development, prevent emotional difficulties and promote prosocial behaviors.
Preschool may lower the risk of cancer.
Strangely enough, all those daycare germs may be a good thing. Researchers from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale studied 280 cases of childhood cancer. They found that children who had been in daycare or preschool were less likely to have acute leukemia then those who have only been at home. The researchers hypothesized that children who aren’t exposed to infections end up overacting to germs later on, leading to immune system malfunctions like leukemia. Other similar studies have shown that kids who frequent daycares, preschools and playgrounds have about a 30 percent lower risk of developing the most common type of childhood leukemia.
Daycare makes kids smarter.
In the mid-2000s, over 3000 children were studied by the National Institute of Childhood Health and Human Development. They conducted a seminal study which concluded that: children cared for exclusively by mothers didn’t develop any differently then children who were cared for by others. Even better, children who participated in high-quality preschools had better cognitive development and language skills during the first four and a half years of life. The study found that these benefits lasted till the age of 15.
Preschool makes kids more likely to get college degrees.
It’s important to keep in mind that results can only be attained with high-quality preschool or daycare. A multi-decade study conducted by the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina found that Children enrolled in a high-quality childcare program were several times more likely to have earned a college degree. Consequently, the study found that they had significantly more years of education then home-base care children
Preschool makes kids more likely to stay employed.
You can think of daycare as almost like an investment. The University of North Carolina found that children are more likely to hold down jobs as adults. At age 30, kids from high quality preschools we more likely to be consistently employed.
Preschool makes kids less likely to inherit their mom’s depression.
Going to daycare can help shield children from a parent’s mental issues. While this may sound surprising, its easy to connect the dots. If a mother is unwell from a mental issue, her children are more likely to pick it up if they’re at home than at daycare. This conclusion was made in 2013 from a study conducted by the University of Quebec. The study examined 1700 children whose mothers suffered from depression. Research has shown that depressed care givers are more likely to have children who develop the same issues. But children who attended daycare had 79 percent reduced risk of developing depression and anxiety disorders, compared to children who stayed home.
Preschool makes kids less likely to get sick in grade school.
Early child sicknesses and sniffles can pay off down the road by strengthening a child’s immune systems. An Australian study of 10,0000 children found that kids under 4 years old were more likely to have ear infections than those exclusively at home. But the research also showed that infants who had ear infections were less likely to get them when they were toddlers. The researchers concluded that the earlier the children had the year infections they earlier their immunes systems could combat them.
Preschool prepares kids for primary school.
A 2016 study found that by age 5, children who participated in formal preschool or childcare programs gain substantial skills. They had stronger reading and math skills, relative to children who attended informal or home-based settings. The greater the child’s results the greater the skills of the daycare teachers. Teachers with lots of education and training in early childhood development did great a developing the minds of their students.
Preschool makes children better communicators.
A key aspect of speech is being able to adjust your dialogue based on who you’re talking to. The research shows that children in daycare may be more competent at adjusting their speech. Dutch researches watched 5-year olds play a 2-person game to study the neural mechanisms that support verbal and nonverbal speech. The researchers discovered that the more days children spent in preschool, the better able they were to adjust their communication style to the other player. This is likely due to the fact that children in daycare are exposed to a greater variety of social situations and speech.
Preschool moms are more likely to participate in their kids’ schools.
The stereotype that busy working moms are not involved in the children’s school can be put to rest. At the University of Texas at Austin, researchers studied 1300 families. They found that mothers whose kids were cared for in daycare we more likely to be involved in their children’s schooling. The participation involved going to PTA, regular communication with teachers, attending open houses and creating relationships with other parents.