When is the best time for a child to go to kindergarten? At what age should a child be sent to kindergarten? - advice from psychologists and experienced parents

So the long-awaited pregnancy, difficult childbirth, sleepless nights of the first months of the baby's life, painful teething, as well as all the joys and fears associated with these events are left behind. Ahead is a bright future, a kindergarten, a school, an institute and doors open to a new, adult life of a child. That's what all new parents think. In their plans, this whole process proceeds without a hitch. Mom, having celebrated the first year of her beloved child's life, is eager to get to work as soon as possible. She is firmly convinced that she will enroll him in a preschool educational institution without any problems and will be able to resume her work duties, but in fact, not everything is so rosy, because she does not know at what age they are taken to kindergarten!

Many inexperienced parents who are raising their first child naively believe that sending a baby to a municipal kindergarten is an elementary matter, while in reality it is a difficult process, fraught with various problems and difficulties. Today we will try to clarify all the points in the procedure for entering a preschool educational institution, and we will also figure out at what age children are taken to kindergarten and nursery and what moms and dads need to do for this.

Following the letter of the law

To understand this issue, you need to know that the process of a child entering a kindergarten is regulated by several standards at once. Like many legislative acts in our country, they largely contradict each other. The greatest number of misunderstandings both among the population and among responsible persons, who are the heads of the preschool educational institution, is caused by the point about the age at which they are taken to kindergarten. The Law "On Education in the Russian Federation", in particular, its article number 67, says that it is allowed to accept babies from two months old. This document was last revised in December 2015 and has not been amended to this day.

So, logically, it is from this age that the crumbs are taken to kindergarten. At what age should a child be placed on the waiting list? Perhaps even before his birth (joke)! Although everyone who has already begun to think about a kindergarten for their baby, probably managed to face the fact that there are sorely lacking places in these institutions. In Soviet times, most of them were abolished as unnecessary, but when the demographic situation in the country began to improve, the old kindergartens did not open again, and new ones are not being built as quickly and not in the quantity that is necessary. As a result, the officials made an amazing decision, in their opinion, helping to relieve preschool institutions, namely, to take there only those kids who are already three years old. This decision is confirmed by Presidential Decree No. 599 of May 7, 2012.

So that parents do not have doubts about the age at which they are taken to kindergarten, each of these organizations has set this bar in its Charter and recruits into groups based on it. That is, the heads of kindergartens, on completely legal grounds, can refuse parents to accept a child if he is under three years old.

When does the real kindergarten age begin?

Thus, no matter how much moms and dads want to attach their child, if there is a real shortage of places in the preschool institution they have chosen, the head has every right to refuse them admission to kindergarten. From what age exactly? As we have said, when the child reaches three years. And it won't happen here and now. There is a prescribed procedure for the admission of children to preschool. According to the law, the baby must first be put on a waiting list. But even if at the time of her approach the child is not 3 years old, they may not be taken, although there are exceptions in the territories of some municipalities, for example, in Moscow. At what age do children in the capital take to kindergarten?

As practice shows, at about 2.5 years you can already try. At the moment, city officials are preparing a resolution in which this bar will be lowered to two years, which is good news, because often parents cannot stay up with a child on maternity leave for three years. At the same time, if relatives did not worry in a timely manner and did not register with a special commission that registers children in a program that allocates places in preschool educational institutions, they run the risk of starting to take the baby to kindergarten by about 4-5 years old.

What do parents say?

The most reliable information about the age at which they are taken to kindergarten and nursery is easier to find out on various "mother's" forums. There, parents share their own experiences about how and where they gave their kids to be raised in preschool educational institutions.

Judging by the reviews, earlier than two years old, it simply will not work to attach a child. In most cases, parents still have to wait up to three years. As noted by most of them, children should be put on the waiting list for kindergarten immediately after birth - up to a maximum of a year.

It is a little easier to send the baby to kindergarten ahead of schedule if both parents are officially employed. In this case, there is a real opportunity to get into the group from about 2.5-2.8 years old. Often, at first, the employees of the preschool educational institution offer parents an alternative to the standard stay in the kindergarten - GKP. About what it is, we will now talk in more detail.

What is a GKP?

This abbreviation stands for "short stay group". When kindergarten representatives offer parents to send their child to the GKP, they mean that the baby can go to kindergarten and be there with other children, study, walk and participate in various activities, but on special conditions:

  • the time spent by the child in the garden does not exceed 5 hours a day;
  • there is no place for him to sleep;
  • the baby, who is in the GKP, does not eat in the kindergarten.

That is, everything happens approximately according to this scenario: a mother brings her child to a group after breakfast, he studies with children and teachers, goes for a walk, but by lunchtime his parents come and take him away, not leaving him for lunch and quiet time. Sometimes kids from the GKP are combined into one separate group, but this is only if there is a place for her in the kindergarten. Usually the children are together, only some are in the care of educators only until lunch, while others come to kindergarten for a full day. From what age do they take to the GKP? As a rule, about 2.5 years before the child begins to go to a regular group, so that he adapts to the team and his new position as a pupil of a preschool educational institution.

Baby and kindergarten

And what about the nursery - do they exist in our time? In Soviet times, it was a completely natural practice when a child was sent to a kindergarten at a year and a half. The decree was short, no payments were made to mothers, so they were forced to go to work just a few months after giving birth. At the same time, it is quite natural that during working hours the care of children fell on the shoulders of the state.

Now, however, most nurseries have simply been reorganized. They function only in some large cities of the country, and even then they do not accept children earlier than a year and a half. Typically, toddlers are required to have basic self-care skills and, of course, to be weaned.

The procedure for admission to the DOE

So what do you need to do to get into kindergarten?

  1. Contact the preschool recruitment commission at the place where the child lives, with a request to put him on the waiting list for kindergarten. You can choose up to three preschools and wait for a free place in any of them.
  2. Wait for the so-called voucher, which opens the doors of the kindergarten for parents and their baby, and go to the head with the appropriate application for admission and all the necessary documents.

It seems that everything is simple? No, at the second stage, the problems are just beginning. In the list of documents, in addition to an application, a copy and originals of a birth certificate, a passport and TIN of one of the parents, birth certificates of other children in the family, a medical insurance policy for a child and an open bank account with a completed passbook and its copy, you need to undergo a profile medical examination and prepare a vaccination card for the baby. According to the latest decrees, if a child does not have all the anti-epidemiological vaccines, they have the right to refuse entry into the kindergarten. Such a decision can be challenged, such precedents already exist, but then parents will need to prove that their child is not sick and does not pose a threat to the health of other babies.

How to bypass the queue in the kindergarten?

Many parents have had to deal with the fact that their queue has been standing still for several months, and there is no place for the child in the selected kindergarten, and, according to the assurances of the head of the preschool educational institution, there will not be. In such situations, it becomes completely unimportant at what age they take to kindergarten for a full day, you want to get into it at least someday, because for some reason other kids go there without any problems. You need to understand that there are categories of citizens who have preferential places in kindergartens. These include:

  • children who have only one parent (guardian) and at the same time he is employed;
  • children of students and especially student mothers;
  • children of disabled people of the first and second groups;
  • orphans or those who are under guardianship;
  • children of military personnel, judges, prosecutors, police officers, parents employed in the pedagogical field (if they are subordinate to the Department of Education in Moscow);
  • kids from large families, also twins and those who already have brothers or sisters in a particular kindergarten.

As you can see, the list is quite impressive and there is someone to move the queue. Purely theoretically, the system for allocating places in kindergartens is absolutely transparent and does not depend on the human factor, but, as practice shows, this is not always the case. There have been, are and will be cases when children were enrolled in a preschool educational institution, bypassing all the formalities, and how to deal with this is still unknown.

Who else can take the child to kindergarten earlier?

So far, in the field, all preschool educational institutions are guided by a single legislative framework, without making exceptions for their wards. They are a little more loyal to this in small settlements, where the population is not so large, and therefore there is no severe shortage of free places in groups for preschoolers. But in large cities this is a real problem - there are not enough kindergartens, including in Moscow. At what age do they take to kindergarten for a full day, we have already said that it is a little easier with the GKP - you can arrange a baby there even at two years old.

But it is worth trying to get into a preschool educational institution for parents who are forced to work for one reason or another. If both the father and mother are officially employed, they are qualified specialists and can prove it, then they have a real opportunity to send the child to kindergarten before the age of three.

Discounts and compensation for payment

Now let's talk about how much you need to pay for a child's stay in kindergarten. As of 2018, parents whose baby goes to a nursery will have to make a monthly payment in the amount of about 1200 rubles, for older children the costs will be slightly less - 1100 rubles. At the same time, the state makes compensations for parents. The discount depends on many factors, such as the number of children in the family, the income level of the parents, whether they have benefits and where they work. The minimum compensation for kindergarten payment is 20% of the payment amount, the maximum is 70%. There is also a group of children who can attend preschool free of charge - disabled people and kids whose parents have disabilities or are military personnel or employees of the educational system.

A little about expensive - private kindergartens

By the way, even without compensations and benefits, municipal kindergartens are quite accessible to citizens, which cannot be said about private preschool educational institutions. The cost of services of such organizations is many times higher and sometimes reaches 25-30 thousand rubles. Of course, good private kindergartens are very different from public ones. The cost of their services, as a rule, includes payment for meals on an individual menu and an extended education program for babies. Recruitment to groups there takes place all year round, such kindergartens accept children under three years old, so for parents who do not want to lose a highly paid and prestigious job, such preschools are a good opportunity to attach a child during working hours and not worry about his safety.

The beginning of going to kindergarten is stressful not only for the baby, but for the whole family, because before that the baby was under the wing of mommy, and now ... “How is he there? Is it full? Are you dressed properly? Doesn't she cry? Are they hurting him?" - many fears visit parents in this difficult period.

And the main question remains: when is it better to send the child to kindergarten so that the adaptation process goes as smoothly as possible?

Positive and negative aspects of kindergarten

Pros:

  • Communication with peers, developing the ability to interact with them;
  • Development of speech;
  • Mastering the rules and norms of behavior;
  • Mental and physical development. Special classes are held in the kindergarten and, in the future, this ensures a smooth preparation for school;
  • The kid becomes more independent, his self-service skills improve (read the useful article: How to develop independence in a child?>>>).

Minuses:

  1. A strong load on the psyche, due to the difficulties of adapting to the kindergarten;
  2. High probability of viral and infectious diseases;
  3. Often there is a deterioration in the child's nutrition, as "I don't like the food in the kindergarten";
  4. You may encounter unprofessionalism of educators, their authoritarian behavior and lack of attention to the child (due to the large number of children in the group);
  5. Changes in the behavior of the baby are not for the better. Sometimes parents notice an increase in capriciousness and aggressiveness in him.

One way or another, the “official tradition” of going to kindergarten has firmly entered our lives, and the vast majority of kids begin their acquaintance with society from this very institution. But the question remains: at what age is it better to send a child to kindergarten?

Here my opinion is unequivocal: up to 3 years it is better to be close to the child, and after 3 years you can smoothly begin to lead to a kindergarten group.

At what age do children go to kindergarten??

The desire to send the child to kindergarten early is usually due to:

  • financial difficulties in the family and the need for the mother to go to work, as a result, there is no one to leave the child at home with;
  • the desire to accustom the baby to independence as early as possible and to introduce him to life in society.

Why you should not strive to take your baby to kindergarten until 3 years old?

  1. It is necessary to strengthen the immune system so that the baby’s body can more easily resist various viruses (many of the mothers who take part in my training courses are still breastfeeding. But even if you have already completed feeding, it will be useful to watch the online seminar “Healthy Baby Workshop for Mom ", in order to begin to strengthen the health of the child before the kindergarten.);
  2. The child first needs to master all the necessary skills (go to the potty, eat and dress on their own, wash their hands);
  3. The stronger the nervous system is, the easier the baby will be able to adapt to the kindergarten.

There are other (more banal) reasons why a child is not sent to kindergarten, for example, the lack of places in it, as a result of which priority is given to older children, or some parents are simply playing for time, being afraid and not letting the child go.

If you go to kindergarten early...

What should you pay attention to and what is important to prepare for if a child at 2 years old (and earlier) goes to kindergarten?

  • All changes in the regimen, habits and activities of the baby should be carried out very smoothly. For example, if until now the mother has given him breasts, then it should be weaned from it no later than 2 months before the start of attending kindergarten;
  • Be sure to find out the daily routine in kindergarten, the schedule for eating, sleeping and walking. In advance, you should accustom the baby to this schedule, otherwise it will be extremely difficult for him to abruptly adjust to the new regime. And, as a result, your crumbs may have problems with sleep and nutrition;
  • The child should also be able to fall asleep on their own. Difficulties usually arise if the mother has so far been able to put him to bed only with the breast or prolonged motion sickness. This, too, should be thought about in advance;
  • It is important that the child has already mastered the basic skills: he needs to be potty trained, hold a spoon, eat and drink on his own, put on at least basic things. Ideally, you should also teach yourself how to wash your hands;

Preparing your child for kindergarten should take a certain place in your life.

How many children are taken to kindergarten without even taking 1-2 weeks to prepare. And then mothers suffer that the child is constantly sick, crying in the garden and does not want to go into it.

You will understand important issues such as:

  • preparing a child for kindergarten. physical and moral,
  • when to start driving to kindergarten: among the first children or wait until everyone is used to it and go to the group last?
  • turn the caregiver into your child's best friend. You will not worry that no one will take care of the baby in your absence;
  • respond to children's tears when saying goodbye to a child in the garden, how to explain to him that you will definitely pick him up and not leave him in the kindergarten forever,
  • help the child make friends with other children, attack the same be able to stand up for themselves and not give offense;

And these are just a few of the most important questions.

my three daughters went to kindergarten and with each we started training according to the method proposed in this course. She works!

Age features of children

When thinking about what age to send your child to kindergarten, remember the age characteristics of the child and it will be easier for you to make a decision.

  1. In children under 2.5 years old, a strong attachment to their mother prevails, she continues to be the main figure for them (for many, dad too). Therefore, a long weaning from you (even for several hours) is a strong stress and adaptation to kindergarten is harder and longer;
  • Kids at this age still need increased care and attention, and kindergarten teachers are simply not able to provide them to each of the 25-30 children in the group;
  • At 1-2 years old, the child does not yet strive to communicate with peers. He perceives them not as children, but as some kind of living objects that he wants to study more, touch, but not play with them;
  • At this age, the baby is quite satisfied with communication with close relatives, who are a source of care, emotional contact for him, those whom he trusts and with whom he is ready to play and laugh.
  1. At the age of 3, the child begins to feel the need to communicate with other children. For development, the environment of his parents is no longer enough for him. He becomes more independent and less attached to his mother (learn from the article what to do if the child is afraid of other children?>>>);
  • Toddlers at this age usually tend to play with their peers and through the game they learn various rules and norms of behavior. They have a well-developed speech and a fairly large vocabulary, which facilitates interaction with both adults and other children.
  1. By the age of 3-4 years, the child masters the necessary self-care skills and even in a dream can control his physiological needs. Adaptation to kindergarten during this period is much faster than in children of 1-2 years.

Therefore, based on the psychological and physiological characteristics of each age, experts consider it optimal to send a child to a kindergarten at 3-4 years old.

Which kindergarten to choose: private or public?

Both have their pluses and minuses. When making a decision, it is important to take into account the age at which you send your child to kindergarten, and the features of his development.

State kindergarten

  • Strict observance of sanitary rules and other norms directly related to ensuring the safety of the child;
  • Low cost;
  • Developed program standards that contribute to school preparation;
  • Balanced diet, strict control over it;
  • Opportunity to attend additional developmental classes;
  • The location of the kindergarten near the place of residence.
  1. Numerous groups (25-30 people and more);
  2. Inability to give individual attention to each child;
  3. Lack of modern equipment, furniture, educational games;
  4. You may encounter poor-quality child care and rude treatment from kindergarten staff.

Private garden

  • Small groups (from 8 to 15 people) and the opportunity to pay attention to each kid. Children are at less risk of getting sick;
  • High-quality classes with children, modern development programs;
  • In most of these kindergartens there are early development groups. Kindergartens for children from 1 year old usually contribute to the soft adaptation of the child to the conditions of the kindergarten;
  • Flexible schedule for visiting the kindergarten: you can choose the most suitable for the baby and parents;
  • New equipment, toys, comfortable indoor conditions;
  • Opportunity to choose developmental activities;
  • Availability of vacancies;
  • Often more “interesting” food for children.
  1. High price;
  2. Not everyone has a license;
  3. Lack of control of higher organizations.

At what age and in what kindergarten to give the child - you decide. Just don't be in a hurry. The systematic development and psychological comfort of your baby are the most important tasks at the moment.

And remember that by preparing for the kindergarten in advance, you will insure yourself against a lot of problems. See you at the online course on easy adaptation to kindergarten.

Some of the children have grandmothers who are ready to sit with their grandchildren. For others, the mother does not work. Some mothers have the opportunity to hire a babysitter. Therefore, quite often the question arises is it worth it?

Personal experience

My opinion is worth it. I have 2 sons. The eldest did not attend kindergarten. Before school, he stayed at home with his grandmother. We taught him to read and write, enrolled him in an early development school and sports classes. Three of us were involved in the development of the child (mother, father and grandmother).

When he went to school, he had difficulties. He is not used to doing something himself: dressing, especially putting on shoes and tying shoelaces, putting things in a backpack (he constantly loses everything), he taught and still teaches lessons under the supervision of one of the adults, cannot serve himself: find food in the refrigerator, warm up, apply, etc.. In the first grade, he got used to studying for a long time. You can talk about his adventures at school. The problem that my son needs a nanny has not been fully resolved to this day (he is now twelve years old). And the second problem is that he usually thinks only of himself and the interests of others do not bother him much.

We took our youngest son to the garden at two years and three months. Now he is 5 years old. He dresses and puts on shoes himself, and very quickly. He knows what is where in the house. He is perfectly oriented in the refrigerator, finds in it what he needs, takes out, washes, eats. Easily serve himself and his older brother. He is going to kindergarten - he puts toys in his backpack and never forgets or loses anything anywhere. And he takes toys to kindergarten like this: Maxim likes to play with this saw - I'll take it, Sasha asked me to show my new robot - I'll take it.

conclusions

Now I think that only children from large families, where there are children close in age with whom you can communicate, should not be sent to kindergarten. Where parents have no time to please one single child day and night, the kids grow up independent, help each other and learn everything from each other. But these kids need to be taken to an early development school so that they are ready for school educationally, and this does not always work out in a large family.

Children who do not attend kindergarten often get sick in the first grade, because before entering school they had a small social circle, and the first encounter with various infections in these children occurs in the first grade. Frequent illness interferes with studies. This problem did not affect my eldest son, because he attended an early development school and sports sections, his social circle was quite wide, he was sick quite often before school, and very rarely gets sick while studying at school.

So, decided that the child is worth send to kindergarten. The next question arises.


At what age is it better to send a child to kindergarten?

From the point of view of psychologists

Officially, children are admitted to the kindergarten from the age of one and a half, if there is a nursery group in the kindergarten. Some parents argue - the sooner the better, the child adapts to the kindergarten earlier and learns everything: eat on his own, use the potty, talk. And they make out the baby in the kindergarten at 1.5 years and even earlier. For some children, this option passes.

Most children get the following

  • The child pees in his pants, it gives him discomfort, plus it contributes to frequent diseases.
  • The child cannot eat on his own and does not agree to be fed by caregivers (he considers them to be other people's aunts). As a result, the baby is hungry and moody all day long. Everyone plays with toys - and he wants to eat.
  • The baby cannot express what he wants, because he has not learned to speak.
  • The kid is not yet ready to communicate with peers for a long time and share toys with them.
  • The child develops a negative attitude towards kindergarten. He doesn't want to go there. Against this background, it is more likely that the baby will get sick.

To make the child feel comfortable in kindergarten

  • Need to potty train him
  • Learn to eat with a spoon
  • Learn to speak in simple sentences.

Most children successfully learn this by the age of 2 or 2.5 years. From the point of view of the ease of getting used to new conditions: to the children's team, to the educators, to the regime - this is the best age. By the 2nd - 2.5th years, children already have a need to communicate with their peers. It is children from the age of two who are usually invited to register in kindergarten.


From an immunological point of view

The immune system of a child is formed by the age of four. Until this age, children often and quite seriously get sick when they meet with an infection. Almost all children newly registered in the kindergarten often get sick during the first year.

What to do with it?

  1. Wait up to four years. For those who have grandmothers or nannies, this is a good option. At 4 years old, the child adapts quite easily in the kindergarten, and it will be easier to get sick than at 2 years old.
  2. Give to kindergarten from the age of two, and wait until the baby is ill with everything that is possible. This is what most parents do. Thus, the majority of children also adapt to the kindergarten and after 1-2 years they begin to get sick less often. But some of the children get sick so often and severely that the child has to be taken away from the kindergarten completely or take a long break for medical reasons (for six months or a year).
  3. Get your child vaccinated before kindergarten.

Let's take a closer look at the last point.
If you do routine vaccinations: DTP, against polio, hepatitis and any others, when the child is already attending kindergarten, this creates additional stress for the baby and unpleasant associations with the kindergarten. Immediately after vaccination, the baby's immunity weakens and the child is less resistant to infections. Therefore, all mandatory vaccinations are recommended to be done before the child's first visit to kindergarten.
If you vaccinate a child against, hemophilic, rotavirus infection, chickenpox and influenza, this will significantly reduce the frequency and severity of the child's diseases. He will be less likely to get ARVI, and less likely to suffer from their complications: otitis media, pneumonia, rhinosinusitis. Will not get chickenpox, rotavirus infection, flu. As far as possible, it is recommended that these vaccinations be given to the child before the first trip to kindergarten.

How else can you strengthen the child's immunity before kindergarten -.

When is the best time of the year to send your child to kindergarten?

In terms of the likelihood of getting sick

Autumn and winter are the season for SARS and colds. In spring and summer, the likelihood of getting sick with them is much less. From this point of view, it is better to send the child to kindergarten from mid-April to August. Why I do not advise doing this - read on.

For easier adaptation of the child

In summer, the holiday season in kindergartens: groups unite, teachers and the children themselves in the group are constantly changing, the location of the children, lockers, cribs, places at the table, etc. can also change. In such an environment, it is difficult for a child to adapt to kindergarten.

Therefore, before you send your child to kindergarten, find out when your group will be formed, when your permanent caregivers will go to work, when the repairs in the premises of your group will be completed. It is best to talk with your caregivers about when it is best to bring your child to kindergarten. Most often, groups open and form in September - at this time it is best to send the child to kindergarten. So he will have to get used to everything at once: - this is much easier for the child.

I hope you decide when is the best. Stay healthy!

Modern society makes quite high demands on parents in terms of upbringing and education of children. If earlier the child received the first knowledge at school, now an already prepared student comes to the first grade, who can not only put syllables into words, but also read quite fluently. All this is taught now in kindergarten. So parents are worried at what age to send the child to kindergarten so that he does not lag behind his peers, but at the same time does not receive psychological trauma from parting with his mother too early.

Content:

One and a half to two years

Preschool institutions accept children for the most part from the age of 1.5, but there are also those (mostly private) who are ready to take them almost from birth. There are increased requirements for nursery groups. For example, a smaller number of children compared to other age groups allows educators to pay attention to everyone.

And yet, psychologists agree that it is too early to send such kids to kindergarten. The fact is that at this age the attachment of the child to the mother is too strong, he needs increased attention, guardianship and care. You can see how children of this age are afraid not only to be left without a mother for several hours, but even just to lose sight of her. This period lasts up to 2.5-3 years.

Some parents tend to take their child to kindergarten earlier, justifying this by the fact that there, communicating with peers, he develops faster. Indeed, the program of preschool educational institutions is aimed at early development, but we should not forget that up to 2.5 years old, kids do not strive for collective games. As teachers and psychologists say, they do not play together, but side by side.

The source of communication, which is more than enough for a one and a half year old child, is his relatives. It is from them that he receives information and acquires the skills necessary for his age. Therefore, if possible, it is better not to send the child to kindergarten too early.

Video: Why does a child need a kindergarten: mothers' opinions

two year olds

You can try to take your child to kindergarten for the first time at 2 years old, if necessary. It should be noted that he will get used to the team not only psychologically, but also physiologically. Being in an unfamiliar environment, being separated from your mother, communicating with many strangers is a serious stress that can lead to frequent illnesses, exacerbation of existing ones, and in more severe cases, to the emergence of new ones.

This is the so-called adaptation, and it is different for everyone. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare for visiting a preschool institution not only psychologically (introduce the teacher and the territory of the kindergarten, the future group), but also physically (harden, walk more, start taking vitamins in 1-2 months).

A good solution would be to visit a short stay group (2-3 hours a day) or developmental classes that are held 2-3 times a week. In such classes, as a rule, the mother is present with the baby and even performs some tasks with him. The kid is gradually getting used to the fact that he can be interested even without parents, in the circle of his peers. When visiting the kindergarten, he will feel more comfortable.

If, despite all the preparation measures, the child is hard to adapt, constantly cries, nervous breakdowns, exacerbation of diseases and other unpleasant manifestations are observed, then it is better to leave him at home for another year. Excessive psychological stress threatens serious problems in the future.

Video: Psychologist's advice on the age at which a child should be taken to kindergarten

Children from 3 to 4 years old

According to psychologists, this is the optimal age when you need to send your child to kindergarten. There are a number of reasons for this:

  1. Age crises (2 and 3 years) are behind, the next crisis (7 years) is still far away, which means that the child is psychologically more stable, not subject to mood swings. It is easier to find a common language with a three- or four-year-old child than, for example, with a two-year-old who, by all means, strives to insist on his own.
  2. The child is already socially adapted, knows how to follow the rules, understands what adults require of him, and fulfills instructions.
  3. The child's speech is well developed, understandable and logical, others easily understand him.
  4. At the age of 3 years, the child needs to communicate with peers, the environment of his parents becomes small for him. He is able to play with peers for a long time, learning while playing.
  5. Social and everyday skills are developed: he eats independently, cleans up after himself, washes his hands, washes himself, knows how to dress and undress, and neatly fold things.
  6. Children after 3 years of age are able to control the physiological needs even in a dream, waking up if they want to go to the toilet.

Of course, all these skills should be instilled by parents. Some kids at 2-3 years old know how to do all of the above, others even at 5 years old have difficulty dressing. In fact, this not only facilitates the work of educators, but also makes the child's stay in a preschool institution comfortable. He is already self-sufficient, he can do a lot himself, so he does not experience psychological discomfort.

In fact, the age at which a mother should send her child to kindergarten is not as important as the presence of certain skills, indicators of the baby’s readiness to be left without parents for a long time. First of all, attention is drawn to how he builds communication with others, how he perceives the absence of his mother, how developed his social and everyday skills are.


Today many mothers prefer to go to work as soon as the child is 1.5 years old. After all, after this age, cash benefits for child care are no longer paid, and the husband’s salary is often not enough to provide for the family. Of course, before a mother goes to work, every family faces a problem - who should be entrusted with caring for a child. There are three ways to solve this problem: the first is to leave the child in the care of grandmothers; the second is to hire a nanny for the child and the third is to send the child to a kindergarten where there are nursery groups. Each option has its pros and cons, and it's up to the parent to decide which option is best for their child.

From point of view psychologists The art of communicating with peers should be taught to a child from early childhood. The sooner he goes to kindergarten, the sooner he will learn to play in a team and become independent. Neither a grandmother, nor a nanny, and even a mother herself can replace kindergarten for a child. A kid at the age of one and a half, indeed, adapts to a new team more easily, it is much easier for him to join the children's social circle. Many children at this age are already independent, they eat themselves, go to the potty and enjoy studying the behavior of other children, while forgetting that their mother is absent.

Some children of this age they do not cry even when parting with their mother and ask them to take them to kindergarten even on weekends. , being up to three years old next to his mother, becomes "home" and it is much more difficult to accustom him to communicate with other children than babies of one and a half year old. In addition, a child at the age of three already knows how to show his emotions well and throws a real tantrum in the kindergarten when he needs to part with his mother. Most often, three-year-old children every morning for two to three weeks from the beginning of the kindergarten visit have to be literally torn away from their mother.

Certainly, pediatrician you will never be advised to send a one and a half year old child to kindergarten. He understands that the later the child begins to communicate with other children, the less he will suffer from various infectious diseases. Meanwhile, the earlier the child gets sick with chickenpox and rubella, the easier it is to tolerate the disease. It is almost impossible to get infected with "chickenpox" or "rubella" outside a children's institution. The frequency of diseases such as acute respiratory infections and colds does not directly depend on age, but on the immunity of the child. Each transferred cold or viral disease ends with the formation of immunity, reducing the likelihood of re-infection and the development of the disease. A child who started going to kindergarten late may “not have time” to get sick with all viral infections, and therefore he will “have to make up for it” at school age. Meanwhile, missing a week of school is not the same as not going to kindergarten for a week.

Parents often associate each disease a child in a kindergarten in violation of the rules for child care - the child was sitting on a cold floor, he was dressed early, as a result of which he sweated before going outside, it was cold in the room, etc. In fact, any child cannot live in greenhouse conditions all the time; he will definitely someday have to face cold, drafts and a sharp temperature drop. Therefore, there is no need to blame the educators for the child's frequent colds, if you yourself are to blame for the fact that from birth you did not prepare the child for adaptation to kindergarten.


To give an unambiguous answer to the question: "At what age is it better to send a child to a nursery?", you need to know the character and state of health of the child well. Children who are active, physically well developed and always eager to communicate can start attending kindergarten at the age of one and a half years. But sending the child to kindergarten, the mother should not go to work on the same day. In a few weeks, the baby will most likely get sick with his first kindergarten acute respiratory disease, at this time it is very important to be able to leave the child at home, preventing the disease from progressing and not thinking about the sick leave for the mother. That is why it is better to send the child to kindergarten not at the age of 3, when the mother already has to go to work, but at least 2.5 years, so that the mother has time to be with the child during illness, without having trouble at work.

Certainly, desirable start attending kindergarten in the summer months. From October to April, the risk of infection increases markedly, which can greatly lengthen the time for a child to adapt to kindergarten. But in general, the adaptive period for kindergarten depends more on the nature of the child than on the weather outside. Children who grew up in families where peace and love reign, feel protected and confident in their abilities. They quickly adapt to the kindergarten. Aggressive and capricious children grow up in families where parents pay little attention to the child and are busy constantly sorting out the relationship between themselves. Of course, a child who grew up in such conditions is afraid of being left in a kindergarten without parents. After all, he has no confidence that mom or dad will definitely come in the evening to take him home.


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