Taken from Growing Concerns -- A childrearing question-and-answer column with Dr. Martha Erickson

Question: Our 3-year-old son is in a childcare center that he absolutely loves. But it is very much play-oriented, and we wonder if he would benefit from being in a program with more rigorous academic demands. We hear much about the importance of the early years, and we don't want to put him at a disadvantage.

Answer: Children's experiences in the early years are indeed important, but that does not necessarily translate to the need for "rigorous academic demands." Play is one of the most important ways young children learn. By exploring and manipulating a variety of toys, children develop motor skills, spatial orientation, an understanding of cause and effect, and problem-solving skills. By playing make-believe with costumes, puppets, dolls, playhouses, tools and doctor's kits, children develop their creativity and language skills. And by using paint, crayons, clay and other art supplies, children learn to express themselves while also developing the fine motor skills that will prepare them for writing when they get to elementary school. Through interaction with peers--and with careful adult guidance--they develop important social and emotional skills, such as sharing, taking turns, treating other people with respect, managing anger and frustration, and resolving conflict.

Of course it is also important for young children to be exposed to lots of books. They need to be allowed to handle books, look at the pictures, and discover the left-to-right, top-to-bottom patterns that characterize reading in the English language. And they need adults to introduce them to the joys of reading, not only by reading age-appropriate stories to them, but by asking "who, what, why, where, when and how" questions to get children thinking and talking about what they have heard.

So, if your child's play-oriented childcare center provides those kinds of experiences, along with plenty of warmth and encouragement, I'd say your child is in exactly the right place for a 3-year-old. Also, the fact that he loves his childcare center is nothing to take lightly. A child who feels secure, happy, and eager to be with both peers and adults usually enters a kindergarten or first grade classroom with the attitudes and behaviors that pave the way to successful learning.

Editor's Note: Dr. Martha Farrell Erickson, director of the University of Minnesota's Children, Youth and Family Consortium, invites your questions on child rearing for possible inclusion in this column. E-mail to mferick@tc.umn.edu or write to Growing Concerns, University of Minnesota News Service, 3 Morrill Hall, 100 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455.

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