Kindergarten: The Last Crucial Year Of Child Development

According to some principles of developmental psychology, the childhood years are an important phase that helps shape an individual’s personality and how he or she is going to fare in life later on. This is generally accepted to be true, yet there remains the question: What are the most important years during childhood?

The answer is rather simple as it is practical — the first 5 years. This is due to the fact that it’s during this period that the child is only beginning to make sense of the world around him or her. This is the period where the child learns which things and people to trust, and which of these they should avoid.

In essence, you could say that this is the period that the child is learning to survive. It’s during these years that the child is curious and inquisitive about the world that surrounds him. This is why children within this age range ask so many questions and as parents, it’s our duty to make sure that these questions are answered properly.

However, there’s one year in particular that stands out from the rest of the 0 to 5 years old age range. It’s the fifth year. The reason being that this is the year that children are old enough to go to kindergarten. And this is the most important year of their childhood because of one thing — individuality.

While you could technically argue that children develop personalities way before they reach kindergarten, the qualifier here is that kindergarten is where children develop their personalities in contrast to not only the personalities of others, but also to the reality that their parents may not always be around to support them.

This is because Kindergarten is the first time in a child’s life that neither parent will be around to provide care and help during school hours, and the child will instead be entrusted to the care of a total stranger. It’s this environment that will prove to be one of the scariest prospects in a child’s mind, but also one that will help cultivate a sense of true individuality and independence.

This is as much a period of trials as it is a period of development. You’ve probably heard the old adage that the strongest metals are forged in the hottest of crucibles. Well, the core concept rings true here.

How a child acts in kindergarten is a reliable indicator of how the child will act in social situations. And worry not if your child is more timid and shy than others, or in extreme cases, anti-social. By detecting these traits early on, you as mothers will be able to do something in order to help solve the problem.

Kindergarten is also the first avenue where your child will learn to either become competitive or in extreme cases, a laggart. Again, being able to detect problems early is key to solving them. And when your child does exhibit good study habits, this is an opportunity for you to know what are the things you need to cultivate further in your child that would help guarantee that your child has the best shot at life that he can possibly get.