Are Higher Quality Child Care Programs Really Better for Your Children?

Some have called preschool the most important grade because of the long-term gains realized by children who were enrolled in high-quality early childhood education programs. We’ve written past posts to help you understand what is meant when child care programs are described as “quality” or “high-quality.” Now, we want you to understand the benefits to choosing an early childhood care and learning program that is Quality Rated.

High-quality child care supports:

Brain Development:

The brain develops the most in the first five years of life, forming at least 700 neural connections every second, making this period the most crucial for children’s learning and development.
Children in high-quality early learning programs are more likely to be exposed to large amount of language through reading, singing, and talking which develop more neuron connections in the area of their brain that handles language and supports their advanced thinking and problem solving skills.
Young children are still learning how to learn, and high-quality child care helps them develop learning competencies like focus, self-regulation, memory, flexibility and motivation as well as social and emotional skills, and motor skills.

School Readiness:

Children who have attended high-quality early learning programs have:
Fewer behavior problems
Improved math and language skills
Fewer cognitive and social issues
Children from high-quality programs are less likely to need special education, repeat a grade, and most often graduate high school on time.

Future Success:

Children enrolled in high-quality early learning recognize lasting benefits:
They are more likely to achieve a four-year degree.
They are higher-wage earners.
They are less likely to be arrested or unemployed.
They are healthier as adults and report less obesity.

More information: