Education for every child starts in their early toddler years. The environment your child encounters, the activities they engage in before age 4, and the relationship they form are essential to positive and healthy growth. It also helps ensure an all-rounded development and positive learning outcomes that can last a lifetime. Since a child’s brain undergoes immense changes during their toddler years, education provided at this stage is essential.
Here are three ways how a toddler community will benefit your child.
1. Social and Emotional Development
Before your child can perform in life or school, they have to be emotionally and socially developed. As far as a child’s development is concerned, early experiences matter. Thus, a toddler community helps promote relationship-based experiences and interactions.
As toddlers interact with other children and caregivers, they develop secure attachments. Consequently, they learn to interact with adults and other children, not only at that stage but also later in life.
If a child can’t relate well with others, it can be traumatic to them. Lack of essential social and emotional skills causes them to shut down. At other times, they may cry a lot and feel alienated from the rest.
A toddler community prepares children to be around others. They learn to work with others and understand transitions and schedules. More importantly, it makes it easier for these kids to move into a more structured classroom later in life.
2. Empathy and Self-Help Skills
If your child joins a toddler community, they have an opportunity to master self-help skills. The early childhood development educators (ECDE) in these programs take the children through developmentally appropriate tasks that help them develop confidence in whatever they do.
Infant-toddler programs have play and curiosity-based activities that encourage your child to develop essential problem-solving skills. For instance, the educators and caregivers will give your child independence to play with blocks, stacking rings, nesting boxes. Children also play hide-and-seek and different games, such as Tic-Tac-Toe. These activities and games inspire toddlers and infants to think critically and creatively.
A toddler community is more of a platform where young ones learn and explore. They learn the importance of working together and helping others in the process. In other words, they understand the importance of empathy towards other toddlers in their small community.
3. Language and Cognitive Skills
Toddlers are always curious about the world around them. In this context, a toddler community provides activities that help your child with this exploration. The caregivers provide experiences that help children use their problem-solving skills and imitate adults in their play.
A toddler community is also critical in teaching your young one language skills. These skills are taught through everyday moments, such as playing together, talking, and laughing. Your child will also learn a language when caregivers talk to them or when they sing songs aloud.
Our toddler community gives children a chance to explore and play with books. The young ones also can interact with other written materials like newspapers, crayons, markers, magazines, and take-out menus. All these activities help them develop literacy and language skills.
A toddler community creates a significant foundation for your child’s physical, emotional, and cognitive growth. The community provides challenges that aren’t too easy or too hard to ensure your child develops the skills they need to interact with others and excel in other education levels. If you want an infant program or toddler community that provides a supportive and safe environment for your child to grow and play, consider Miniapple International Montessori School.