Children have an amazing ability to soak up knowledge from a very young age. Because of this, a lot of emphasis is put on early learning now. Rather than spend time idly watching cartoons, kids can learn about the world around them and get a head start on kindergarten by attending an educational childcare program. Here's how this differs from traditional daycare.

Educational Childcare Is More Than Supervision

Some daycare facilities are mostly group babysitting services. Your child is kept entertained and supervised, but little emphasis is put on learning. This type of childcare might still be beneficial since your child learns social skills and can learn through playing games, but an educational childcare program takes education a step further. The focus of the program is education, so activities are planned around that at an age-appropriate level. Toddlers aren't expected to sit still for desk learning, so they are taught numbers and reading through playful activities so they don't even realize they're learning.

An educational program isn't boring and dull. Your child still spends a good deal of time playing and developing social and motor skills, but their minds are challenged as well to encourage cognitive development and to get used to learning in a group setting.

Educational Childcare Prepares Your Child For School

When your child has been through an educational preschool program, they're able to adapt to a kindergarten classroom more easily because they know what's expected of them in a classroom setting. A child that hasn't had this training and exposure may find it difficult to sit still, focus, and learn in such a new environment. The preschool training might reduce behavior problems and help your child fit in socially once formal school begins.

An Educational Program Might Identify Learning Problems

By starting your child on an educational program early on, it might be possible to identify problems that could cause your child difficulty once school starts. This could be anything like vision problems, hearing difficulties, speech abnormalities, and learning disabilities. When a problem area is identified early, your child can begin treatments to prevent them from falling behind once they're in kindergarten and elementary school.

Attending an educational childcare program may even be more enjoyable for your child than staying with a babysitter. Your child will be exposed to interesting experiences and be challenged to think, learn, and grow, which encourages your child to take interest in things besides watching cartoons and playing with a tablet. When you have to work full time when your child is young, you worry about the quality of care they receive. Those young years are crucial to your child's development so you want to find a childcare program that offers a good balance between independent playing and teaching your child skills and concepts that give him or her a solid base for a good education.

For more information, reach out to companies like Kid Academy.