See also | School Anxiety; Stimulation
Many parents feel pressure to send their children to preschool because of its reputed cognitive benefits. You hear that day care makes for better-socialized kids, higher-testing kids, even smarter kids. But don't let that sway you too much. A loving home environment with a few activities and play dates will be just as good for Jimmy at a young age if not better. While there's nothing wrong with structured activity and challenges, it's just as important for him to learn to balance work and play and to develop a healthy appetite for learning.
I always favor smaller, more intimate environments. A two- or three-year-old is not meant to be around twenty other kids during the day. Kids adapt remarkably well to various situations, but large facilities can be factorylike and impersonal, and they can foster aggressive behaviors. Having five or six close friends to play with builds stronger peer relationships by reproducing a family setting. For that matter, day-care facilities in private homes can be an excellent option (assuming they're well run), because they provide a more intimate and lower-pressure environment.
But won't Jimmy catch every viral infection under the sun at day care? Maybe, and that could happen whether he's with five kids or twenty-five kids, but look at it this way: He'll either develop immunity now, or he'll develop it later. When I started my residency, I caught virus after virus for the first six months. Now I barely ever get sick, even though I kiss a good dozen coughing toddlers daily. Jimmy may as well get started early.