Sending your child to an early learning center can be a difficult decision. While so many mothers and fathers would love to stay home and care for their child or children, in today’s economy, it is rare for that to be plausible and affordable option.
At Children’s Enchanted Learning Center in Pasadena, we believe it’s in the best interest of the child to attend a pre-kindergarten early learning program. Not only will your child (or children) have the opportunity to make new friends, they will participate in a stimulating developmental approach to learning.
More than making friends and learning important developmental skills, studies show there are other benefits of early childhood learning. A recent article in ThinkProgress outlined five surprising facts about early childhood education. The five facts presented in the article are:
- Preschool can help combat crime, teen pregnancy, and high school dropout rates.
- Early childhood education has a better return on investment then the stock market.
- The U.S. lags behind almost every other country when it comes to preschool, including Mexico, Chile, and Russia.
- Early childhood education is a bipartisan issue.
- Preschool can save families thousands of dollars in child care costs each year.
There is no question that all of these facts are interesting and accurate. In our opinion, the facts that could directly influence many parents are #1 and #2.
Preschool can help combat crime, teen pregnancy, and high school dropout rates.
Through quality early childhood education, children learn the skills needed to make cognitive and social decisions before they begin school. Being able to think for oneself is an important developmental skill that each child should learn, as it will prepare them for rest of their life. According to the article, children who don’t get an early childhood education are, “25 percent more likely to drop out of school, 40 percent more likely to become a teenage parent, and 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.” Those statistics alone are reason enough, in our opinion, to send your child to pre-school.
Early childhood education has a better return on investment then the stock market.
Who would have thought that sending your child to a pre-kindergarten program would be a better investment, financially we mean, then investing in the stock market? Well, according to ThinkProgress’ article, “the estimated return on investment for high quality early childhood education is ten percent. In comparison, the average return on investment in the stock market is 7.2 percent.” These estimated ROIs are based on the idea that children who attend early learning centers are less likely to need services throughout their lifetime including special education services in their early years and public benefits as adults. These children are also less likely to be incarcerated, saving the taxpayers money.
As you can see, investing in early childhood education is not only a great educational and personal investment, but also an intelligent investment in terms of the financial market.
To read more information about these surprising facts, click here.