Long hrs in preschool/daycare harmful

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Long hrs in preschool/daycare harmful
2470
Sun, 03-19-2006 - 3:09pm

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051101/news_1n1earlyed.html

Very interesting. Particularly the difference in the middle to upper income kids vs low income.

"I personally feel children need the nurture of their parents and the home," she said. "Those early years, that's when they are bonding to their family. That nurturing, only the family can give that."

I tend to agree.

MM, WOHM to B&E, 7.24.03

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-2006
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 6:49pm

"You just have confused "developmental need" with what a child needs to function in modern society."

Could you please enlighten as to what you think the developmental needs of children are?

"Who knows what new skills and knowledge bases will be needed 200 years from now."

Indeed who knows what new skills and knowledge bases will be needed.

"And yet, the developmental needs of a child 1000 years ago are exactly the same as they are today and as they will be 200 years from now."

I disagree. I think developmental needs evolve just as new skills and knowledge basis evolve.

"Children have always needed healthy food, exercise, and social interaction and will continue tom need these things in the exact same proportion as they always have since the human race evolved."

Absolutely.

However, you seem to be missing the fact that children's developmental needs also include cognitive/intellectual/educational needs as well. Why is that?

"The problem is that you have confused developmental needs- which are constant through the species."

Again, I disgree that developmental needs are constant, but rather ever changing and evolving.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-2006
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 6:59pm

"Kids have developmental *cognitive* needs ..."

Exactly! Indeed, children *do* have cognitive/intellectual/educational needs.

You (and others I might add) seem to be missing the fact that children's developmental needs also include cognitive/intellectual/educational needs as well. Why is that?

"but those don't require an education to be met."

I didn't say they did.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-2006
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 7:10pm

"The developmental needs of children were set eons ago, long before civilization developed, and include proper food, exercise and social interaction. Education is not a developmental need. Rather, it is a knowledge base that children will need in order to function in modern society."

I wholeheartedly disagree, as I think that developmental needs are ever changing and evolving as opposed to being a constant that was set eons ago.

Of course I'm an evolutionist, meaning I don't believe that a supernatural God created man, but rather that man, including his intellect, evolved slowly and gradually over time.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-2006
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 7:13pm

By the way, nighty nighty.

See you next week (say...Tuesday-ish).

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2004
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 7:20pm

Unschooling is more than just a parenting style. It goes well beyond that and quite frankly it's hard to define because every unschooler is different.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-03-2005
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 7:29pm
Talking to yourself? Do you always tell yourself goodnight?
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2004
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 7:39pm

We have three, sometimes 5 kids in this house, and while we do tend to lean more towards a traditional homeschool curriculum for the three that are homeschooled fulltime

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2004
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 8:55pm

I take a

Mondo

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2004
Fri, 03-24-2006 - 11:29pm

I agree.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-10-2006
Sat, 03-25-2006 - 1:10pm

We do have zones that are set up... Each home has different stuff so they get a new experience at each house. Mine has a "library" and the "playzone" with the large play equipment from step2 (cause my rec room is 22x22 in the finished basement). House 2 features arts and crafts (cause their house is *dinky*) and house 3 is set up as the "imagination" zone with dress up and pretend play (kitchen, work bench, etc). The mom's do particpate in most of the activities, but in more of a parallel play way, then as an instructor, IYKWIM.

The pg time is very much "structured" play time. All of the kids in pg get their "unstructured" play time in the mornings either playing at home by themselves or at the park, or in the backyard with the neighbor kids or whatever.

BTW, I am all for preschool. I think that most kids would do well to experience a non-parental learning experience (that includes small amounts of both structured and unstructure play/learning) I just dont feel that a pre-k child *needs* fulldays to accomplish this. KWIM? I think some parents have a need for it, and even some kids themselves do too, but I just think that *generally* speaking avoiding long hours if possible is optimal.

I think I remember you said you used 2 fulldays of preschool. IMO, this is not really the same as using long hours. I think that it starts to get questionable when it is fulldays, 5 days a week, all year long. Some kids may do very well in these situtions, but I know mine wouldnt. And I believe that these situations that the studies are showing to *possibly* cause negatives.

I guess all in all I feel that preschool is a good thing. More preschool does not automatically translate into more of a good thing.

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