Wondering if child care is right for your child? Here’s a comprehensive guide to understanding the benefits for each age group - babies, toddlers, and preschoolers aged 3-5 years - and why quality child care is a powerful choice for children’s early growth and development.
What Are the Benefits of Sending My Baby to Child Care? (0-1 Year)
For parents of babies, the question of child care often brings up concerns about emotional connection and development. However, quality child care offers several meaningful benefits, even from infancy.
- Emotional security and bonding: Research supports the idea that secure attachments are foundational for emotional health. Quality child care centres focus on creating a nurturing environment where babies feel safe and supported through responsive caregiving. This consistency helps babies build trust and resilience, forming strong early bonds.
- Social and sensory exploration: Babies are naturally curious and start engaging with the world early on. In a well-structured child care environment, they experience social and sensory interactions that promote cognitive and social development, helping them develop early communication skills.
- Physical development and motor skills: Quality child care offers safe, age-appropriate spaces for babies to explore movement, from tummy time to reaching and grasping. These activities build essential motor skills. Studies suggest that babies in environments that encourage exploration reach developmental milestones earlier.
For babies, child care provides a nurturing environment where emotional security, social interaction, and physical development come together to support early growth.
Read more: Why child care is critical for your baby's development
How Does Child Care Support Toddler Development? (2-3 Years)
Toddlers are full of energy and curiosity, making child care an ideal environment to help them explore, connect, and build essential language, social, and physical skills.
- Building language and communication skills: Quality child care centres foster a language-rich environment where toddlers can hear and practice new words daily. Interactive activities like storytelling, songs, and conversations with educators help toddlers expand their vocabulary and understand language structure, setting a strong foundation for literacy. Studies show that toddlers exposed to consistent language input develop better cognitive and communication skills over time.
- Social skills and emotional development: Child care encourages toddlers to engage with peers, helping them learn critical social skills like sharing, cooperation, and communication. Research shows that children who participate in early social learning tend to have stronger self-regulation and empathy, which benefits them in later life.
- Physical activity and coordination: Quality child care centres provide plenty of space and opportunities for physical activity, from outdoor play to structured activities that encourage coordination and muscle development.
For toddlers, child care supports language acquisition, social skills, and physical health - all essential for long-term development.
Read more: It Takes a Village: How Child Care Supports Modern Families
Why is Child Care Important for School Readiness? (3-5 Years)
Children aged 3-5 are ready for structured learning and socialisation, making child care a valuable step toward school readiness and beyond.
- School readiness and foundational learning: Studies show that children who attend quality preschool or kindergarten programs enter school with greater confidence in literacy, numeracy, and social skills. Exposure to early literacy and problem-solving activities gives them a head start in academic preparedness.
- Social development and teamwork: In a preschool or kindergarten setting, children learn to work together and manage social interactions independently, building empathy and teamwork skills that are crucial for school success and personal growth.
- Hands-on learning and curiosity: Quality centres engage preschoolers or kindergarteners in hands-on projects and activities that allow them to explore their curiosity. Research indicates that experiential learning fosters critical thinking and creativity, traits linked to better academic and life outcomes.
For children aged 3-5, child care provides an enriching environment that prepares them for school, helping them build confidence, social skills, and a love for learning.
Read more: How Early Learning Centres Can Reduce Anxiety in Young Children
Should I Send My Child to Child Care or Stay Home?
Many parents wonder whether to stay home or send their child to child care. Here’s a quick comparison:
| Social Interaction | Regular interaction with peers and trained caregivers. | Limited, usual family only |
| Educational Activities | Access to structured learning activities tailored to age. | Dependent on family resources and time. |
| School Readiness | Strong preparation in early literacy, numeracy, and teamwork. | Varies, can be challenging without structured programs. |
| Physical Development | Age-appropriate spaces for play and physical activities. | Depends on home space and parental supervision. |
While both options have benefits, quality child care can provide children with the structure, socialisation, and early learning experiences that are harder to replicate at home.
Why a Quality Child Care Centre with the Lifelong Learning Curriculum is the Best Choice
While any quality child care program offers benefits, the Lifelong Learning Curriculum - available exclusively at Affinity Education centres - integrates both traditional methods and modern, evidence-based practices tailored to today’s children. Here’s how it makes a difference:
- Combining tradition and innovation: This curriculum draws from Montessori and Reggio Emilia while embracing evidence-backed practices suited to 21st-century needs. It balances structured learning with self-directed play, fostering independence and adaptability.
- Supporting holistic development: By focusing on social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth, the Lifelong Learning Curriculum ensures well-rounded development for children across all ages.
- Age-specific learning practices: From attachment-based care for babies to language-rich environments for toddlers and project-based learning for preschoolers, this curriculum supports every developmental stage with purpose.
Read more: What is the best approach to early childhood education?
Frequently Asked Questions
Child care for babies supports emotional security, early social interactions, and physical growth, setting a foundation for healthy development.
Child care helps toddlers build language skills, social abilities, and physical coordination in an engaging environment.
Yes, quality child care prepares children aged 3-5 for school readiness by fostering literacy, numeracy, social skills, and a love for learning.
Should You Send Your Child to Child Care?
Quality child care offers distinct benefits across all age groups, supporting emotional, social, cognitive, and physical growth. A child care centre that follows the Lifelong Learning Curriculum, which combines traditional approaches with modern, evidence-informed practices, can provide a nurturing, developmentally appropriate environment that helps children thrive.
If you’re considering child care, visit one of Affinity Education’s centres to experience the benefits firsthand. Affinity Education operates over 240 child care centres around Australia under the trusted brands Milestones, Papilio, Kids Academy and Aussie Kindies. Schedule a tour to see how our curriculum and dedicated educators support each child’s unique journey.