Are you concerned about your child being ready for kindergarten? If so, daycare might be the answer to your concerns. Here are three ways that daycare can help get a child ready for the move to elementary school:

Learning to Use the Restroom Independently

Is your child use to having you help them with using the restroom? Daycare can be what they need to adjust to using public restrooms independently. For starters, a child at daycare will need to start recognizing when they have to use the restroom on their own. They won't have you there to ask them if they need to go or force them to sit down on the potty.

In addition, daycare will help them become better at pulling their pants down and up, and wiping when they are finished. At home, your child may be more likely to ask you and claim that they can't do it.

These may seem like obvious things, but the routine of doing it before they start elementary school will help them become adjusted before their first day at school. They will be more comfortable and confident when it comes to using the restroom, and it will prevent incidents where they try to hold it in all day long to not face the problem.

Learning How to Listen and Follow Directions

Another important skill to have is following directions, especially ones that require multiple steps. Your child's care providers will give many directions on a daily basis that your child needs to follow. It could be as simple as assembling an arts and crafts project or getting into the habit of lining up to go out to the playground.

It will also help your child get used to listening to what a teacher is telling them to do. A child that does not attend daycare may only have experience with listening to their parents, so being dropped into an environment like kindergarten with a new authority figure could cause them to act up at first. Allow them to get used to having teachers at daycare before they start school.

Learning a School Routine

Daycare provides a very structured routine that a child will follow every day, which is very similar to going to school. They will have certain activities on specific days of the week, as well as daily activities like lunch and recess that they will learn to expect. Going through this routine in daycare will get them accustom to it before they start kindergarten.