when to start playschool?

Hi Babitha,

I too have a daughter who is turning 2 in Feb. I am planning to send her to play school in Qatar by September/October 2012 (During Vijaya Dasami). I converse with her mostly in tamil and now I've
started talking to her in English too, keeping in mind her school environment.

Kids will learn fastly at this age and language will not be a barrier. They could learn many new languages easily.
When you look for a day care, see the surroundings, closeness to your home, the approach of the teachers and the infrastructure. Also, the kid should be toilet trained before sending to school.

Best Regards,
Sharmila

 

It is perfectly fine to send your kid to playschool once he completes 2 years.But please choose a good play school.Choose a playschool which is near your home and where he will get personal attention.The school should be spacious with enough play space as well as a garden.There should not be too many kids too.Never opt for an air conditioned class room as infections spread fast in AC rooms.Your child may start speaking a bit late as she is hearing 2-3 languages.But dont worry about that.She will start speaking though probably a bit late than her peer.Language is not problem for kids.They have their own ways to communicate to others.Regarding toilet training it would be better if he s toilet trained.But it should not be a problem.The ayahs do take care of the kids.

I ran a playschool for more than 10 years and had worked in this field for about 15 years.

 

Yes, I personally feel that it is better to send them to a preschool around 2.5 years, especially if they do not have the opportunity to interact with at least a few kids and adults. Children become a lot more active, physically and mentally after 2, and a good preschool will do a lot to help their development. Please visit a lot of places before you zero in on one, and talk to parents who have kids enrolled in those places.

Look for places that have a decent outdoor play area, good facilities and teachers; also take a look at the daily schedule. It must be a good combination of activities that help develop the child's cognitive, gross and fine motor skills, activities that involve working together with the other children, teaching ABCs and 123s through play and not just flash cards etc. Also check the teacher-student ratio.