Education is the cornerstone of success and it begins in early childhood with the first portal of learning – The Pre-School. If statistics are any index, then ninety percent of the human brain is developed by the age of three years and near complete development has occurred by the age of five years – which makes preschool the most impressionable of all the learning institutes that the growing child would attend in the years to come!

THE CONVENTIONAL MODE

In the not-so-recent past, it was simple and effective to put a child in preschool – all it entailed was consulting the directory and calling the school closest to home and the child was admitted!

The perceived needs of the parents were limited to:

A safe, secure and warm classroom environment for the budding child

The focus expected being primarily academics

Logistically, the school needed to be close to the home and convenient to attend

The changing times have witnessed exponential increases in both the number of preschools and the expectations of the parents per se.

THE ENHANCED LEARNING CURVE

Present day parents are more discerning and aware considering that preschools play such an important role in development – the expectations are high and the perceived needs of the parents are more spatial than ever before. The new age expectations from a preschool are more than a safe and mere academic institution. The expectations from the modern day preschool need to encompass some or more of the following:

An institution which could inculcate spatial personality development

Preschools with a reputation and a prestigious name

Aligned to the perceived needs of the parents – be it religious or values driven

Availability in synchronicity with the work schedules of the parent(s)

The Curriculum – well-structured or play-based method depending on the preferences of parents

Feedback – present day decisions are strongly driven by feedback – even more so for preschools considering it is important to assimilate and analyze the real time experiences of parents and children

THE OPTIONS

The present day Preschools could well be demarcated:

The traditional half –day school program being in alignment with those not wanting to overburden the child very early in life

A school with a full-day program - as in a state-sponsored program which would predictably be the option of choice if both parents or single parents work all day

The religious school environs could well be need of offering a non-secular environment

Discerning parents then would address this critical decision conscientiously, considering that it entails enormous planning and judicious decision-making which invariably begins with identification of preschools, followed by an in–depth researching of facilities and track record of the institutions – moderated by the feedback of others and finally conclude based on the personal real time visit perceptions before making the decision.