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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The data just doesn’t support group learning before age 3 or so.  If your goal is to ‘school’ a two year old you would hire a nanny because they are learning from a single caregiver and not from peers.  The peers are only competitors for the caregivers attention.  Any center that is trying to sell you on STEM classes for 2 year olds is ripping you off. They are usually just trying to distract you from the caregiver ratio.

Look for a high caregiver ratio not a curriculum or ‘school’ before age 3/4.  Often an in-home daycare is better in this regard, frankly.

After age 3/4 they do learn from peers so there is definite benefit to a school environment.

Let’s just be honest about the tough choices all parents make and not let an industry try to sell us on non-evidence based nonsense.

https://criticalscience.medium.com/on-the-science-of-daycare-4d1ab4c2efb4#:~:text=Children%20spending%20long%20hours%20in,negative%20effect%20on%20later%20behavior.
[/quote]

If you actually read the studies cited on this blog post you'll see "the data" is not nearly as definitive as the author makes it sound. Talk to any speech therapist that works with young toddlers and they will tell you many 1 year olds with expressive language delays magically start talking when they are in a group setting. Just because they aren't playing cooperatively yet doesn't mean they aren't learning from each other.[/quote]

In my sample size one family, where my daughter had 1:1 and sometimes 2:1 (two teachers to her alone) care (COVID wasn’t bad for everything) I found she made huge strides when she spent time with her cousins compared to with adults alone. Babies are absolutely fascinated by other children. And everyone I know with two kids praises to the skies the benefits of the first child “teaching” the second potty training.

But also? It doesn’t matter. This isn’t about whether daycare and preschool are good options or whether we all should eat rice and beans and never travel to stay home with our kids.

This is about people who actually care what other parents call their childcare. And that’s nothing but sad. I can’t be angry at someone who has that little validating their parenting that this is what they’re fixed on.[/quote]

I think it’s degrading to NOT use the appropriate language when talking about early childhood development, especially saying ‘it’s all interchangeable.’  It’s a very nuanced field and every stage has different developmental needs and milestones that must be met.  insisting that your 2 yo is in in ‘school’ instead of childcare is irrational, because that’s not even an ideal environment for a 2yo.  It just shows ignorance and probably guilt.  Daycare and/or childcare should not be ‘dirty words.’  They are developmentally appropriate descriptions of care settings.  [/quote]

Once again child care professionals do not use the term "daycare" - it is not anymore appropriate than "school". Btw there are absolutely preschools near me that have half-day 2/3 days per week programs for 2 year olds. Even if daycare were an appropriate term in general it certainly would not apply to that.[/quote]

There is literally a thread right below this one in which a mom at first thinks she either needs a nanny OR a preschool for her 2 yo and everyone explains that the pre-school does not equal daycare/childcare for working parents.  So yes words DO matter and saying ‘it’s all interchangeable’ is confusing at best and even deliberately deceptive (by people trying to upsell group childcare) at worst.

I have always been a working mom.  I have used various combos of daycares, Nannie’s, and preschools For my three kids under 7.  All have pluses and minuses, and are family and kid-specific choices.  But we need to be honest and realistic about distinguishing the needs of a 2 yo vs a 5 yo.  [/quote]

OMG, I did not say the words are interchangeable, I said daycare is not the term used in the child care sector, which you clearly have zero respect for since you continue to insist that "daycare" is the correct term. It is emphatically NOT the correct term, no matter how many times you hilariously screech about words not being interchangeable.[/quote]

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