Years ago education began in kindergarten. Now, most children are enrolled in some sort of preschool prior to kindergarten in order to adequately prepare them for the current level of expected academics. There are many kinds of preschool programs, but preparing your child for any of them has more to do with life skills than learning shapes or colors.

To prepare your child adequately for preschool, enjoy teaching them the alphabet or counting, but don’t forget other important skills. The social and developmental skills are much more critical to preschool success than anything else.

Potty Training

The most fundamental thing many preschools require is that your child be out of diapers. Some children are ready for underpants around age two but many others aren’t ready until closer to three or four. If your desired preschool requires fully potty trained students, you might have a bit of work to do – if your child is willing to learn.

Following Instructions

Preschools are more about learning basic methods of behavior such as following a schedule and minding instructions. To prepare your child for this, be sure you have guidelines at home. Children with few or no limits at home have a very hard time adjusting to a more structured setting.

Patience

Young children are not born with patience. Waiting for attention is a learned skill that many toddlers don’t possess, but it is especially important in a school setting where a single teacher might be dealing with eight or more children. Teach patience at home to help ease the transition.

Playing Nice

Basic social skills and manners must also be taught. Sharing does not come naturally to children or to many adults. Children used to having their own way or with limited social skills may struggle when they are suddenly expected to share with five other children. Play dates and Mommy and Me classes as well as lessons in manners and politeness help establish these foundations.

Preparing to Learn

Finally, a preschool is a setting where children learn how to learn. They may “graduate” reading simple sentences or counting to twenty, but more importantly they will know how to sit at a table, listen to a story and will have basic alphanumeric concepts. To give them an even better head start, encourage quiet time and structured activities at home in addition to basic and fun playtime.

Parents are busy people. They are constantly pulled in many directions trying to meet the needs of their children, their home and their jobs. Too often they fail to meet their own needs or those of their marriage. Maybe it’s time for you to take a time-out, too.

Relax

Taking time away from the family and pressures of the home allows parents to relax and work off stress. Taking care of children is innately stressful with so many constant worries and demands. It is also a job that you can’t drive away from at the end of the work day. Parenting combined with the stress of the office means that parents rarely have a chance to kick back and relax.

Taking a break from the family, even for one afternoon or evening if not a full vacation can have a tremendous impact on your stress level and outlook. Exercise or being completely away from distractions like the computer or phone can help you reach a state of well-being much faster.

Reconnect

The two partners in a relationship often spend the days and nights passing each other heading in opposite directions. There is little time to sit down together for a long conversation or a bit of romance. Marriages become more functional than romantic and this can lead to a loss of communication and affection.

Heading out on a date every few weeks, or even scheduling a date night at home after the kids are in bed can make a world of difference. Parents should be a team, but it can be challenging to present a unified parenting front and enjoy your family as a whole if your marriage is suffering or you don’t have time or energy to demonstrate affection for the person who helped create those wonderful children.

Appreciation

It’s hard to appreciate something that you are constantly working on. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” is an apt clique for parenting. Taking a walk or heading out for an evening makes you miss your children a bit and that absence may help you focus on the great qualities your child processes and, at least temporarily, forget about the tantrums and colic you deal with throughout the rest of the day.