Kids Corner- Playschool at 18 months? or not?

As my champ was approaching the 18 month milestone, I was concerned about whether to send him to a playschool or a playgroup or not. And believe me, it wasn't an easy decision to make as everyone you talk to will present their view for or against your thought and many a times will leave you reconsidering your decision. However, to begin the whole process, I thought of enrolling my champ into a playgroup and started talking to a lot of mums.
I had my reasons to have come to that decision and when shared with my Mr. Scientist, he also found them sensible and then started our search for a good playgroup close to our house. But in the meanwhile, when I shared my thoughts with other mums, not every one was on the same page with me on that and there were always a lot of discussions centered around whether I should go for it or not.
I wanted to send my champ to a playgroup because of certain reasons and let me share them with you all as well-

• Since he was used to being with only two of us that is me and my husband, he was becoming shy of strangers and didn't feel very comfortable in company of any other adult. I wanted him to get used to being around with other people as well.
• I wanted him to socialize with children of similar age group. That can provide him with experience that he's been missing in the company of adults for the whole day.
• Being in different surrounding, away from home and parents for some time may help him to become more confident and independent.
• There will be a routine set for him and he'll learn to be better organised in life later.

The counter arguments that came across for doing so were-

• He's too young to go out and stay away from home and mum even for a short while.
• He'll cry initially and may not settle well and how would you handle that?
• He may develop insecurities.

So this was what I experienced and since then I have been reading a lot about what is the right age to send your child to school, how to cope with various initial difficulties etc. I have also been talking to experts on the same issues and will share with you my findings in the following posts...
But with all this We started sending him to this Playgroup close to our place, for two hours, five days a week. Yes, We faced some initial "teething problems" and believe me they can persuade you to change your decision but we survived through them (How? Will let you know in next few posts...) and now We are happy with the way things are moving. Our Champ is enjoying his school, teachers and friends and learning as well!

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