What is better for a child: kindergarten or development groups? Everything depends on everything. If the mother works, there is only one option - kindergarten. If the child is small, he needs his mother more than anything in the world and it is better not to send the child to kindergarten until he is 3 years old. If the child is a boy and has a melancholy temperament, then it is better to send him to kindergarten no earlier than 3.5 years old. On average, from 3 years old the child is psychologically ready to break away from his mother and his interest moves to games with other children. Kindergarten in this case is the socialization of the child, his school of life, where he learns to play, create, command and obey, defend his opinions and agree with the opinions of others. Learns to build relationships with peers and other adults. A child’s adaptation to kindergarten is a good indicator of his intellectual development and healthy parent-child relationships. There are 3 types of adaptation to kindergarten, from the descriptions of which you can determine exactly what level of adaptation your child has. 1. Easy adaptation: The child gets used to kindergarten in one week, parting with his mother, he may cry in the morning, but calms down very quickly. He willingly makes contact with adults and goes to the potty himself. Knows or recognizes his clothes. Has a good appetite. 2. Average adaptation: A child may cry for 2-3 weeks in the garden and when parting with his mother. Has poor appetite. He doesn't know how to take care of himself. The reason for such adaptation most likely lies in errors in upbringing, the child’s inability to make contact with other children, as well as the individual characteristics of the child. 3. Severe (maladjustment): A child can cry in the garden and when parting with his mother for an infinitely long time: from 3 weeks or more. The reason is unstable relationships in the family, where adults quarrel with each other in front of the child, the lack of a regime in the family that coincides with the regime of the kindergarten, etc. Kindergarten can be combined with development groups - if there is such an opportunity in the family (there is a grandmother, the mother works half a day, etc.) Development groups are a kind of assistance to parents in the development of their child. I am a supporter of home development. The more active and creative the parents themselves are, the less they need developmental groups for their children. A home library, a world map on the wall, a tear-off calendar on the door frame, a thermometer outside the window, a sports corner in the children’s room, family travel and home games, hikes to the theaters, a cheerful, friendly atmosphere in the family - all this develops the child incomparably better than any development groups. Interest groups - sports, dance, creative, music - are another matter. In preschool childhood, they expand the child’s skills and motivation, make him enthusiastic, and develop his talents.