The surprising way preschool affects your child's future success

Research has shown that two years of quality preschool can have effects lasting through to the other end of your child's schooling.

Many people would assume that preschool is beneficial to children. In fact, there have been many studies confirming this, but just how far these benefits stay with a child throughout their life is really surprising.

Preschool, like child care and similar services can sometimes feel like a dirty little secret.

Any parent who has been asked, 'Is your child in preschool?' will understand the small cringe as they answer. Or the question on the flip-side to that one, 'So your child isn't in childcare or preschool of some sort?' You see, as a parent whichever way you answer can result in instant judgement. It seems that no matter what we do will forever subject us to the possibility of parental judgement. Fact.

Australian and international research have all supported the theory that preschool is beneficial for many children. Those that benefit most from this are those experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage.

Preschool specifically improves cognitive, social and emotional outcomes.

In general, many studies have shown the long-term benefits of a minimum of two years in preschool, but recent research has taken this one step further.

A recent study in the UK has shown that a child benefits from two years of preschool both in their transition to their first year at school and also in their final years of schooling.

In the first year of school, a child who has had a minimum of two years in preschool will demonstrate better abilities in "language, pre-reading, early number concepts, independence, concentration and sociability."

At the other end of their schooling, children that had experienced two years of preschool "achieved higher total final exam scores, better grades in English and in maths, and took more final year exams."

According to the Mitchell Institute fact sheet, "children with at least two years of preschool achieve much higher scores at age 15 than those who attend no preschool or only one year."

Of course, these statements are not simply broad declarations that cover every scenario. These long-term effects are only seen where the preschool is of a high quality. Low quality preschool sets up children with an advantage of just three months in the first year of school.

This article has been republished with permission from Kidspot.