#!Parentsroom Weekly Poll Results - In this day and age, is preschool a necessary part of children's lives, and should the government be paying for it?

Don't forget to answer this weeks Poll

In this day and age, is preschool a necessary part of children's lives, and should the government be paying for it?

This was the first poll that wasn't a runaway landslide on any side, especially regarding the second part of the question. It appears that most people do believe that preschool is either necessary or it helps, but the issue over the government paying for it, was less well defined. At the beginning of the week, we were receiving more answers saying that the government SHOULD pay, but by the end of the week, the SHOULD NOTS had won!

Here are the results in more detail:

54.5% said they believe Preschool IS necessary
6% said that Preschool is NOT necessary.
39.4% said that although Preschool isn't necessary, it certainly helps.

Regarding whether or not the government should pay for preschool:

45.5% said they believe the Government SHOULD pay.
54.4% said they believe the Government SHOULD NOT pay.

The following are some comments we received:

Kids do seem to be expected to know more at a younger age these days, and I believe that one year of preschool before Kindergarten is a good idea. I think it should be half days, sort of like what Kindergarten is now, and Kindergarten could go to full days. With so many parents working full time too, this would help them out a lot also. The government should pay for one year of half day preschool.
I think preschool can help children with the socializing skills they will need when they get to public school. But I do not feel preschool should push academics on kids that young. Some academics is ok, but overall I think it should be for developing social skills.
These days when both parents need to be working (in most cases) it is important to have subsidized preschool for our children.
Children of preschool age are at a stage of development where they are 'programmed' to learn, so it is the perfect time to start. Also, any money spent by 'society' on education is money well spent. We should strive for education as a whole to be a community responsibility, including the financial responsibility.
Pre-school is not [only] educationally sound, but also gives the child social skills and a sense of "structure." Plus, if there are any developmental problems (learning, hearing, sight) they are most often caught at this level - at an early age. I also believe that if parents want to send their children to pre-school, many times, it comes out of their pocket, which some may not be able to afford. I sent both of my girls (2 years each) to pre-school (financially, I could not afford it and I had to make a few cuts) but it benefited both.
As for our children needing preschool, yes yes yes, they do learn a lot of things to get them ready for the elementary school, and for the poor that can not afford to send their children to a daycare or a preschool that needs to be paid, I say yes to the government paying for preschool as well! Education is not what it used to be. You used to be able to start kindergarten and not know lots of things, and now you need to know them before you go to kindergarten. That is where the preschools or headstarts come in handy for the poor or working families. They have no time to teach their children and it gives others a chance at a job and the reward of knowing you have made a difference in some child's life! So I vote yes to both!
Is pre-school necessary, no but it sure helps. With more parents working and unfortunately spending less time with their children to teach them basic readiness skills, pre-school takes the burdens (as some may see it) off of parents and makes it more fun as other children are doing it too. As far as should the government pay for it, not for those that can afford it, but I think that with low-income families vouchers or programs like headstart should be subsidized. It is not fair that education is only for the "haves" especially early education that sets a tone for the whole picture!
I feel that preschool is very important today. Children are expected to already have a grasp on so many things by the time they reach Kindergarten.
In this day and age with so many children being in a day care setting from the time they are born, preschools are not necessary. But I am a stay at home mom, and at the age of 3 my children can write their names and say their abc's, recognize colors etc. Their problem is social skills. They needed to be in preschool to learn the in and outs of playground etiquette. No the government should not pay for preschool. But the head start is a wonderful start for those children who need the extra assistance.
I think with more and more 2 person incomes and less time spent with parents, some children can benefit from things that are taught at pre-schools and some children can benefit from the socialization whether both parents work or not. Government should pay a certain % of pre-school depending on income.
I teach in a State funded preschool program. I also send my 3 1/2 year old to a private preschool. I believe that preschool is a great place for all children to start out, school-wise. I also believe that if parents are able to pay for preschool they should. There are so many options for parents these days, that they shouldn't have any problems finding a preschool that fits into their budget.
I believe the push for preschool is driven by the need for two income families. If a parent stays home with the children then most of the education received in preschool will be learned from good parenting. I think the only benefit of preschool for a child who is being raised by a stay-at-home parent is the socialization aspect. I don't think that is really necessary until the child is almost old enough for kindergarten.
Preschool is important for parent as well as the child. The govt. should pay for children whose parents couldn't afford it otherwise. I want the very best for my two sons, but I don't know if I'll be able to afford it.
I think daycare is an individual decision, that is not right in every situation. My circumstances allowed me to stay home with my young children, but I still felt there was a time when they needed interaction with other children, and *socialization*...[g] I started them at 16 months, in a one morning a week program at my church, and they loved it and so did I. Later, just before kindergarten, I sent my son to preschool three days a week for 3 months. My youngest added one more morning a week in a play group that I was part of with friends. But if you have to work, absolutely have to work, and do not have a choice, then I guess you have to have some kind of child care. I would try to earn some kind of income without going to work in order to stay home with my kids, but not everyone is in the same place. Government funding for preschool I think should be available in certain situations. In inner city areas, where there are young mothers who are not trained for work and have no skills, they would benefit greatly, from funding for preschool, while they attend training for work. And perhaps by neighborhood, a program to train young mothers to start a preschool coop might be helpful.
I believe pre-school is a great way to give your child social skills and developmental skills, however, I don't believe the government should pay 100% for pre-school. I believe there should be funding to assist in the cost, but not a full payment. After all, College is definitely a necessity for kids today . The government doesn't pay for that!
When I was little (33 yrs. ago!), preschool was not necessary. Most mothers still stayed home but, now most moms work. Me included. We don't have the time to even teach our kids the basics much less anything else. I think that we need preschool now because of this. Kids who don't have preschool have a disadvantage because they seem to start out behind before they even get started.
It seems a child is behind if he starts kindergarten without having had some preschool. Rather than have my son at a disadvantage, he's in preschool now. I also like the idea that my son is beginning to love to learn. This will help him immensely when it comes to starting elementary school. As for the government paying for it, it will certainly cost more for the government to run than if we pay for it directly out of our pockets. We will also have a decision on which preschool our children attend. Depending on the child, a preschool could help or crush a child's learning ability. That's a bad start.
I think that Preschool is a must because it develops social skills. It also gives children a learning experience about how to take directions from other adults. I also believe that it gives them a good learning foundation and shows them that school is FUN! I think that the government should pay for it because it gives the lower income families and their children a great foundation for learning.
Preschool helps children socialize at an early age. Socialization is at least as important as academics in school, especially when kids begin school. If a child doesn't feel comfortable in school, how will he/she learn? I suppose some parents can help their kids socialize by getting involved in playgroups or other programs like them. In terms of the government paying for preschool, I'm not quite sure (I haven't really thought about this enough) but it doesn't seem right to me. Of course I understand that some people can't afford preschool. Maybe the government could help them but I don't think all preschool should be subsidized. Interesting questions, though, that I will keep pondering.
We are in time where little ones need reinforcement from their peers. If the Government wont pay, a lot of children could get negative reinforcement. We need to teach and nurture our young so they will grow up to be educated and socially capable of the real world and their surroundings.
Pre-school is necessary in this day and age to help acclimate children socially and academically. Perhaps if every child attends a pre-school and begins the learning process there, they will be better students in their future years of school. The government should pay or at least subsidize this because ultimately the country as a whole will benefit down the road.

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