Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Preschool teacher here. My vote is grandparents. The concept of “socialization with peers” is relatively new and has never been proven to benefit a young child. I completely believe in my program and school but wouldn’t put it above grandparents involvement for a three-year-old.

This is interesting. My kid is also three, and is supposed to start public PK in September but we still don't know if it's going to happen. I've been stressed because ever since her daycare closed down in March, she's just been at home with my spouse and I. We have no family nearby. We have done a handful of social distancing gatherings with friends, but we don't let the kids interact much because they don't all reliably wear masks and we want to be cautious.

Anyway, I've been worried that if there isn't in-person school in the fall, she's going to have issues with peer socialization. I feel like she's already forgotten what daycare was like, and even with that, she was definitely still pretty unsure around other kids (she's super verbal and comfortable with adults but has always been very shy with other kids at daycare and on the playground). Do you think we should be trying to form some kind of pod with another parent group to get her peer socialization this year, or will it be okay if she doesn't get much until later next year? In general my kid is totally amazing and delightful, but I can't help but worry that she's not getting what she needs in this weird situation.

I doubt she’ll have any trouble with peer socialization next year at 4. Until just a few decades ago, children didn’t start school until five (and that was optional and half-day generally). Separation anxiety may return in the beginning but that often happens after summer break in normal times.

I simply wouldn’t worry about it. She will quickly learn that other kids are fun and school is exciting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Preschool teacher here. My vote is grandparents. The concept of “socialization with peers” is relatively new and has never been proven to benefit a young child. I completely believe in my program and school but wouldn’t put it above grandparents involvement for a three-year-old.

This is interesting. My kid is also three, and is supposed to start public PK in September but we still don't know if it's going to happen. I've been stressed because ever since her daycare closed down in March, she's just been at home with my spouse and I. We have no family nearby. We have done a handful of social distancing gatherings with friends, but we don't let the kids interact much because they don't all reliably wear masks and we want to be cautious.

Anyway, I've been worried that if there isn't in-person school in the fall, she's going to have issues with peer socialization. I feel like she's already forgotten what daycare was like, and even with that, she was definitely still pretty unsure around other kids (she's super verbal and comfortable with adults but has always been very shy with other kids at daycare and on the playground). Do you think we should be trying to form some kind of pod with another parent group to get her peer socialization this year, or will it be okay if she doesn't get much until later next year? In general my kid is totally amazing and delightful, but I can't help but worry that she's not getting what she needs in this weird situation.

I doubt she’ll have any trouble with peer socialization next year at 4. Until just a few decades ago, children didn’t start school until five (and that was optional and half-day generally). Separation anxiety may return in the beginning but that often happens after summer break in normal times.

I simply wouldn’t worry about it. She will quickly learn that other kids are fun and school is exciting.