How Early is Too Early to Stress About Schooling?

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Is there any parent who doesn’t want the best for their children?

Even though we typically answer, “Yes, absolutely!” sometimes we face challenges without easy solutions.

Case in point: My daughter is not yet in kindergarten and I’m finding myself stressing about her education.

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Stress About SchoolingShe started private school when she was 2 because it was less expensive than keeping her in daycare.  Ultimately she loved it and was learning so much!  It seemed like we were doing the very best for her. She still was getting recess and center time, but her brain is absorbing all the more advanced academic aspects and we couldn’t be happier.

Sounds great….right?

I often wonder if I’m taking part of her childhood away by making her go to school at such a young age, instead of letting her play at daycare for 8 or 9 hours.

Don’t get me wrong, my younger babe attends daycare where she is learning her ABCs in English and Spanish and has a rapidly growing vocabulary, but her regime is not nearly as structured {i.e. uniforms, stricter curriculum, schedules and a classroom setting}. 

So here we are.

My oldest is a few months away from completing K3 and I feel like she’s not being challenged.

We are now in the process of looking for a new school next year and I find myself stressing over making the right choice for her and finding the best fit. Then, in the next thought, I stress about my little one and finding her a school, not a daycare, for next year, in hopes the two will end up at the same school. Adding to our  challenge is their ages: 2 and almost 4. There aren’t many school programs that will take them that young.

So now, I’m back at my original question:

Am I doing the right thing by putting them in school, or should I let my kids be kids and enjoy their childhood play time before they have to endure multiple years of classroom education?

For me, my answer is simple: Yes. 

If it were up to my kids, they would play dress up, sing songs, run around on the playground and play all day, every day! And they do get to do some of that every day in school.

As a mom, I am always a little stressed over every choice, so I’m always going to worry about them and wonder if I’m making the best decision as a parent.

Putting them in school, at this time, is the best decision for them and for us as a family. 

They are learning cognitive and emotional development, motor skills, social skills, speech, and language development. My kids have two full-time working parents. It is so important for us to find the best schools for them that will foster those learning skills.

So, while I may occasionally stress over it, it’s only for a moment. And then I realize we are doing the best we can as parents and the best can for our kids.

So, my husband & I will continue to do everything we can to foster their education by finding them the very best schools for them.

And, at the end of the day, when we pick them up, we will all get to share how our day was at the dinner table. And that is, by far, my favorite part of the day. 

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Michelle Villarreal Leschper
Michelle is a South Texas native, wife, mom, beer & wine lover, nerd, career-focused and podcaster. She has two toddler girls and a fur baby who keep her active and enjoys taking her family to the beach and traveling. She has nearly a decade working in the communications industry and started her career as a multimedia journalist for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, most recently spent five years as a public information officer for the City of Corpus Christi and currently works for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in the Marketing and Communication Department. She received her B.A. from the University of Houston in 2010 and M.A. from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 2012. Michelle also owns and co-hosts the motherhood-focused Life’s a Mother podcast with her two sisters and is a board member with the Corpus Christi Maternal Mental Health Coalition.