Start preschool at age 3 or 4?

[Anonymous]

This fall, DD will have recently turned 3 and DS will be 10 months. My plan had been for our nanny to care for both kids all day until DD is 4, at which point I’d send DD to preschool. There are 2 main reasons for delaying preschool to age 4:
1) I’d like to avoid preschool germs for another year. But a poster in another thread said that kids in part time preschool don’t have as much germ exposure because sick kids stay home with a SAHM or nanny.
2) We’ll be traveling for the first 2 months of the fall semester. Would that cause problems with getting adjusted to school? Do any preschools in this area allow kids to enroll beginning in the spring semester? We live in Montgomery County.

Are we better off starting DD in part time preschool at age 3 or 4? She’s very well behaved so I don’t think she’ll struggle with sitting still in a classroom, etc. She gets a good amount of socialization at the library and park, although she’s already one of the older kids there.

[Anonymous]

We did a true part time preschool where all the kids were part-time. There were still plenty of germs going around. So idk, maybe it was less germy than a daycare because the kids were together fewer hours per day, and it was only 3 mornings per week, but we were still sick a lot. You're gonna get sick the second you put your kid in school, no matter what that looks like.

Anecdotally, I did notice the parents doing their very best to keep sick kids home, maybe because it wasn't as much of a hardship to keep kids home from part-time preschool. But I also think post-Covid, with WFH, parents are better able to keep kids home from full-time childcare too.

[Anonymous]

Why do I feel like I already answered this?

[Anonymous]

My child went to a traditional preschool with shorter hours and long summer/winter/spring breaks so many of the parents have nannies or a SAHP. They still sent their kids in sick. I know because the kids get dismissed at the same time and you can tell who is sick. I’ve even overheard one person telling another parent that she sent her child in sick because she didn’t want to keep the child at home after 2 days. The kid was coughing the entire time he was in dismissal line, and looked completely miserable. Just because the parents have options doesn’t mean they want to keep the kid at home. They may want more free time, or don’t want to deal with a sick kid themselves. My child ended up getting all the common group care illnesses. And this is in a class with very few kids.

If you are afraid of illnesses, it’s not worth it for to do “part-time.” Don’t count on other people to be responsible, regardless of their wealth or family situations. People will do whatever they want and what’s most convenient for themselves. If you are prepared to deal with that, then I suggest sending at 3. My kid loves preschool. It is a wonderful experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do I feel like I already answered this?

I’m positive I answered it yesterday, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child went to a traditional preschool with shorter hours and long summer/winter/spring breaks so many of the parents have nannies or a SAHP. They still sent their kids in sick. I know because the kids get dismissed at the same time and you can tell who is sick. I’ve even overheard one person telling another parent that she sent her child in sick because she didn’t want to keep the child at home after 2 days. The kid was coughing the entire time he was in dismissal line, and looked completely miserable. Just because the parents have options doesn’t mean they want to keep the kid at home. They may want more free time, or don’t want to deal with a sick kid themselves. My child ended up getting all the common group care illnesses. And this is in a class with very few kids.

If you are afraid of illnesses, it’s not worth it for to do “part-time.” Don’t count on other people to be responsible, regardless of their wealth or family situations. People will do whatever they want and what’s most convenient for themselves. If you are prepared to deal with that, then I suggest sending at 3. My kid loves preschool. It is a wonderful experience.

This is part of building an immune system. It is not a moral failing on the parents' part but a fact of life. The kids who don't go to preschool are sick all of the time on Kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do I feel like I already answered this?

I’m positive I answered it yesterday, too.

OP here. I posted in the infant forum and someone suggested that I’d get better responses if I post here.

[Anonymous]

We put our kids in preschool for the spring semester right before kindergarten, just to give them "practice" with the school experience. They all sailed through kindergarten just fine. and prior to (and during) that, they did all sorts of little kiddie classes - swim, dance, t-ball, tumbling, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child went to a traditional preschool with shorter hours and long summer/winter/spring breaks so many of the parents have nannies or a SAHP. They still sent their kids in sick. I know because the kids get dismissed at the same time and you can tell who is sick. I’ve even overheard one person telling another parent that she sent her child in sick because she didn’t want to keep the child at home after 2 days. The kid was coughing the entire time he was in dismissal line, and looked completely miserable. Just because the parents have options doesn’t mean they want to keep the kid at home. They may want more free time, or don’t want to deal with a sick kid themselves. My child ended up getting all the common group care illnesses. And this is in a class with very few kids.

If you are afraid of illnesses, it’s not worth it for to do “part-time.” Don’t count on other people to be responsible, regardless of their wealth or family situations. People will do whatever they want and what’s most convenient for themselves. If you are prepared to deal with that, then I suggest sending at 3. My kid loves preschool. It is a wonderful experience.

This is part of building an immune system. It is not a moral failing on the parents' part but a fact of life. The kids who don't go to preschool are sick all of the time on Kindergarten.

People will do whatever they want, I’m not concerned about it. I don’t have control over what others choose to do. The point I was trying to make was that the OP counting on the SAHP and people with nannies to be more willing to keep their sick kids home is completely misguided. They do not keep their sick kids home. She wants to avoid germs for another year, that’s not going to happen in preschool.

[Anonymous]

Prek is fine at 3 or 4 years old. Mine went when he was 3.5 years, his brother at 4years old. They are both fine and smart boys. They're nice kids, good helpers and thriving in public school

[Anonymous]

We are at a part time preschool in Silver Spring. Although parents have more flexibility because few families depend on the childcare, I have absolutely NOT found germ exposure to be (much) less.

Personality dependent but I can’t imagine having kept my kids home until 4…. but they’re pretty social, get a lot out of group activity. So I wouldn’t have considered delaying starting, but do what works for your family!

Preschools aren’t going to hold a spot for you if you aren’t willing to start in September, BUT the reality is that many will have a spot later in the fall or in the winter. These schools aren’t booked as solid as true childcare centers.

[Anonymous]

If you are hoping for private for K, I would start at 3, just so you have more records for them when you're doing the application. If you're going public, then just do whatever you think your child will prefer. I think in preschool, there isn't as much sitting still, so that shouldn't be a huge concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at a part time preschool in Silver Spring. Although parents have more flexibility because few families depend on the childcare, I have absolutely NOT found germ exposure to be (much) less.

Personality dependent but I can’t imagine having kept my kids home until 4…. but they’re pretty social, get a lot out of group activity. So I wouldn’t have considered delaying starting, but do what works for your family!

Preschools aren’t going to hold a spot for you if you aren’t willing to start in September, BUT the reality is that many will have a spot later in the fall or in the winter. These schools aren’t booked as solid as true childcare centers.

+1

We were going to wait til 4, but my kid was really ready and wanting that new environment that we changed our mind and sent her at 3. She loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at a part time preschool in Silver Spring. Although parents have more flexibility because few families depend on the childcare, I have absolutely NOT found germ exposure to be (much) less.

Personality dependent but I can’t imagine having kept my kids home until 4…. but they’re pretty social, get a lot out of group activity. So I wouldn’t have considered delaying starting, but do what works for your family!

Preschools aren’t going to hold a spot for you if you aren’t willing to start in September, BUT the reality is that many will have a spot later in the fall or in the winter. These schools aren’t booked as solid as true childcare centers.

Thank you, this is really helpful. I’m in SS too. My child likes being around other kids and looks forward to seeing friends, but isn’t especially gregarious. I’m glad to hear that the PT preschools are likely to have an opening later in the school year.