While there is no legal requirement for you to send your children to nursery, the early years foundation stage has been proven to give children a better start in life. There are lots of benefits associated with this for both you and your child.
From your perspective, the obvious advantage is that you’ll have a couple of child-free hours each day to focus on other areas of your life, which can really help boost your emotional health and wellbeing.
But, of course, the biggest benefits can be reaped by your children, however, and you’re sure to start seeing a difference in their confidence levels and overall development if you do decide that nursery is the right way to go.
At nursery they can play in gloop, sand water and so on, and have lots of messy play exploring textures and colours, something you can’t always fit in at home without having to spend an hour cleaning up afterwards.
Being at nursery school is also a fun way to learn through play, while meeting other children their own age and making bonds with new people can help them in all sorts of ways, everything from improving their listening skills and learning how to share to learning to make friends, how to play nicely with others as well as on their own, improving their communication skills and so on.
Nursery also helps to give your child a greater sense of routine and structure, including more rigid mealtimes, nap times and different activities, both indoors and out. This will naturally make them feel more secure, which will translate nicely when they’re at home, as well as making them more prepared when they are finally ready for big school.
This latter point is perhaps one of the most important, as going to school for the first time can be somewhat traumatic if your children aren’t properly prepared for it. By sending them to nursery, they’ll be far less likely to experience separation anxiety and will be more confident in new and unfamiliar environments, easing the transition for both you and them.
If you’re looking for a nurturing environment for your children (up to the age of five) in the Blackpool area, get in touch with the Embrace Kindergarten team today.