How Infant Childcare Prepares Your Child For The Transition To Preschool

You counted her little fingers and toes and pored over her silky skin. She was perfect. And with that realization, a bit of fear may have crept in. You don’t want to do anything to jeopardize her future.

Of the many decisions you’ll make in your child’s first year, infant childcare may be the most difficult. Many new parents worry about how infant childcare will affect their child’s development. How will childcare impact her social skills? Does infant childcare affect children’s academic performance?

If you’re a new mom or dad who has to return to work, you can rest easy knowing that a growing body of research shows that infant childcare helps prepare children for preschool and beyond. Learn the various ways infant childcare positively impacts your child’s development and sets her up for success in school.

Infant Childcare & Your Baby’s Developing Brain

When your baby was born, his brain weighed almost a pound, making up a significant portion of his total body weight. By comparison, an adult’s brain is only about 2% of their body weight.

Despite being relatively large at birth, your baby’s brain will double in size during his first year. That growth happens at the mindboggling speed of over one million new neural connections per second! These connections lead to exponential learning and developmental milestones.

• Gross and fine motor skills help them take their first step and grasp objects.
• Nascent scientific concepts like cause and effect, such as learning that shaking a rattle produces a sound.
• Problem-solving skills, such as figuring out how to build a block tower that doesn’t fall.
• Social skills, such as smiling in response to a caregiver’s smile.
• Language skills, such as making their first sounds and associating spoken words with objects.
• And so much more.

High-Quality Infant Childcare Nurtures Brain Development

It’s been widely accepted that preschool helps prepare children for kindergarten and later grades. However, a growing body of research indicates that infant childcare has a significantly positive impact on children’s long-term academic success.

This could be because much of a child’s brain growth occurs much earlier than preschool. By the time she’s five years old, your child’s brain will be almost as large as an adult’s. However, most of that growth occurs in the first three years, during which the brain reaches 80% of its adult size.

A stimulating and caring environment gives babies what they need for healthy social, cognitive, and physical development during these critical years. And research indicates that high-quality infant care can have a positive impact on children for years to come.

One study in Oklahoma followed a group of infants who were enrolled in a high-quality early learning program. Researchers found that the children performed better on all academic measures, even into grade school. These children also had fewer behavioral issues. Another long-running study from the U.S. National Institute of Health found that the positive benefits of high-quality childcare last into high school.

Infant Childcare: High-Quality Is Key

These studies and others like them found that the quality of infant childcare was the key to positive developmental outcomes. In other words, the benefits of infant childcare stem from a healthy and nurturing environment tailored to the child’s developmental needs. But what does that look like?

Low Child-to-Teacher Ratio

A low child-to-teacher ratio ensures that every infant gets the care and attention they need. Babies thrive when they’re held and talked to. Making sure there are enough caregivers on hand to keep diapers clean and tummies full helps infants feel secure.

Advanced Training for Infant Childcare Staff

Caring for children is arguably the most important job. Advanced training ensures that those who care for infants understand how to nurture their development. A baby’s first year of life is also fraught with the most danger. Advanced training gives caregivers the knowledge they need to keep babies safe.

Sensitive Caregivers Who Frequently Interact With Infants

Interactions between caregivers and babies are the most crucial measurement of high-quality infant daycare. Experts call it “serve and return,” and it’s essential for babies’ communication, social, and emotional skills. These back-and-forth exchanges create powerful neural connections in your baby’s brain, and they include fun interactions, such as:

• Playing peek-a-boo
• Singing songs that are rich with gestures and facial expressions
• Imitating baby’s sounds
• Comforting their cries
• Picking up the object the baby is pointing to
• Simply talking to the baby and making eye contact

Access to Educational Toys That Promote Development

Babies learn by interacting with their environment. An infant childcare with access to a variety of developmental toys helps your baby learn essential skills that will help them in preschool and beyond.

Educational play helps babies:

• Learn cooperation and sharing
• Experience textures, sounds, and colors
• Express and manage emotions
• Enhance concentration and memory
• Learn STEM concepts

Long-Term Success Begins in Infant Childcare

A high-quality infant childcare with the above qualities gives your child the best chance for academic success in preschool and beyond. Recent research suggests that children who receive high-quality childcare early in life experience:

• Increased readiness for school
• Higher college graduation rates
• Higher salaries as young adults

Our Infant Childcare Program

Parkland Children’s Academy believes in unlocking your child’s potential early on. Our program focuses on providing infants and toddlers with a caring and educational environment in which they can thrive.

Our low child-to-caregiver ratio means your child will receive the care and attention they need to feel safe and ready to grow. Our highly trained staff is knowledgeable about infant and early childhood development. They have the skills to nurture your baby’s development as well as essential training to keep your child safe.

When your baby reaches his second birthday, our Two-Year-Old Class will help him learn confidence-boosting skills, such as potty training, manners, and social skills.

Prepare Your Infant for Preschool and Beyond

Parkland Children’s Academy understands the importance of safe and nurturing infant care that focuses on your baby’s unique developmental needs. High-quality infant care combines sensitive nurturing with developmentally appropriate learning opportunities.

With Parkland’s Children’s Academy, new parents can rest easy knowing they’re giving their children high-quality infant care that will make a truly positive difference in their future. Call us today at 954-688-5877 or join us for a virtual tour.