Nervous about sending my baby to preschool

Alison - posted on 09/26/2009

Is your kiddo at home with you or already in a day-care situation? If already in day-care, I doubt the transition will be that hard, it won't be much different than what he is already getting. If you are stay-at-home, you can EASILY keep your kiddo home and teach him all the pre-school stuff at home, giving him one more year to grow up a little bit. Maybe go to the school and ask questions, find out how they deal with these problems, and if you feel comfortable with their policies go ahead and put him in, if not let him have one more year!

Michelle - posted on 09/24/2009

There are many adaptations that can be made for your son to have an enjoyable preschool experience. I would find a place that will address your concerns. They can support you with speech and communication concerns. Maybe you can find a half day preschool environment and introduce him to school gradually. As far as him having "accidents". After two weeks of preschool my son decided he was going to use the potty just like the "big boys and girls". His preschool has all types of adaptations available for a diverse group of students. It's worth the attempt to get him into preschool. My son is in his 2nd year and he loves it! Be blessed!

Heather - posted on 09/22/2009

A three year old boy that isn't completely potty trained isn't abnormal. The preschool should be ready for that. You can talk with them to make sure, but I don't think it will be a problem. My son started preschool at three years and he wasn't potty trained. He wasn't the only one. He is almost 5 now (October 18th...) and has been potty trained fully for a year and a half. We just sent extra clothes in his back pack everyday just in case. It was actually helpful to have him around other kids his age that were potty trained.

The speech is a different story though. My son still has speech problems. Each school is different, make sure that they are working with him. My son's last preschool refused to acknowledge that he had a speech problem until I had him diagnosed by a doctor. Then the school is required by law to help, but they weren't really concerned. If your school is like that I will say right now that you need to find a different one! Our son's new preschool is amazing! They are working not only with him, but also with us so that we know how to help him at home. We have phone numbers and e-mail addresses and their goal is to not only help our son learn to talk correctly, but also to help us understand him better and know how to coach him with out us or him getting frustrated. If your son doesn't have an IEP I would check with the preschool about getting one. They will refer you to either a child find office, or and AEA or something. But they will look for the problem to help you fix it. They do free testing for hearing to see if that is a problem. But as I said make sure that his school acknowledges the problem. That makes all the difference in the world!!!

Heather - posted on 09/22/2009

For the past two years I have been a preschool teacher in a Christian school. I was actually the three year old teacher. I had a student that was not completely potty trained and had a speech problem. My advice is to let your childs teacher know in advance all of your worries and I am sure that they can work with you. By the end of the year my student was potty trained and his speech had improved tenfold. When your son sees his friends going potty then he is going to want to go as well. The more he talks with his friends, the better his speech will be as well. I know as parents we tend to worry but God has made him exactly the way he is for a bigger purpose. I hope this has helped.

Victoria - posted on 09/22/2009

It's so nerve racking the first time our kids go off to school (at any level). When my kids were in nursery school, I was sure to keep a regular dialog with their teachers, which I continue now they are in Grade 3, SK & JK. Talk to the teachers let them know of his progress, where he is at, if he's having any problems that day/week. If he's achieved anything notiable while at home. Having also been a day carer, both in a formal daycare and in my own home run daycare, I know staff appriciate they regular input, it also give them an easier time to inform you of anything that might be going on, milestone, behavior problems etc... As for the delays, he's only turning three, not really delays, he'll come into his own & the interaction with the other kids will be great to help him along. Pray with him every day when you take him, pray for his teachers (whether Christian or not), pray for the other kids, whatever else God leads you into pray with him each day before he goes to school.