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By hearing the word "Universal" I can already tell the answer is NO! The term "universal" is a term used by the government when they assume they know what is best for everyone. Well, not everyone is the same.

I am tired of the government trying to come into our homes and parent our children. I am not saying that it is wrong for 3-and 4-year olds to attend preschool. I am however saying that it should be the individual choice of each and every parent. The government has no business telling me to peel my 3-year old from my leg and hand her to a stranger to teach her ABC's. I'm sorry, I think I can handle that!

That being said, I enrolled my 3-year old daughter in a 2-day preschool program this past January. I am a work-at-home mom with a very bright daughter. She knows colors, shapes, can count to 7 most days, draw stick people and write the letter "A". I was able to teach her these things myself.

Because of when her birthday falls, she will not start kindergarten until she is 6. I felt that it would be cruel to keep her under my wing for that long and then "poof" send her to school. I had this planned since she was about 2. Because I work from home she is very attached to me and when we would go to church it was always a challenge to leave her in the nursery for an hour. Not anymore!

I believe I heard age 3 is the most active year of childhood. She would want me to read a book or play games while I had work to get done. I would do what I could but she always wanted more. That is when I knew enrolling her would do us both good. She only goes 8 hours a week and loves every bit of it. I chose to enroll her to get us both used to separation and for her to interact with kids her age.

As I mentioned, I "chose" to do this. Why? Because as her mom I knew what was best for her as an individual. I knew when the timing was right. Also, since this was a choice that I made and not something required by the government, I can cancel anytime. If this had turned out to be too much of a traumatic situation we could have put it off until she was ready.

I do believe kids should attend some kind of program away from their parents before entering kindergarten. It is unfair to the child and their teacher to experiment with separation on the first day of elementary school. Also, parents should work with their kids at home and teach them the basics and to write their name before sending them to kindergarten. There are great workbooks to use with your child at their own pace.

The children who attend 3- and 4-year old preschool will be ahead of the game for a short while. Once the other children are exposed to the same skills they will pick it up in no time and be on the same level by the end of first grade.

What really determines a child's success academically is the involvement of the parents. Establish a relationship with the teachers and check their side of the story before assuming your child is telling the whole story. Check behind them that they are doing their homework and provide a set routine for doing it.

"Universal preschool" is not the answer. More involvement from the parents and less from the government is.

Learn more about this author, Tinya Smith.
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