Preschool education is a hot topic among parents and early childhood educators today. If you are the parent of a preschooler (or younger child) you need to ask yourself why you should care about preschool learning. There are three key reasons why you should not only concern yourself with your child's preschool education but become actively involved in it as well.

First, you must remember that preschool education is the foundation for your child's education. The skills and knowledge (not to mention aptitude and attitude) that your child develops in the preschool years will have a dramatic impact on your child's success when formal schooling begins as well as life success. Today we expect children to know more by the time they start kindergarten. While previous generations learned basics like color identification and the alphabet in school, today's children are expected to possess these basic skills by the time they start kindergarten.

Another reason to care about your child's preschool education is that by actively promoting and encouraging your child's preschool learning you will promote his or her self esteem as well. Help your child gain confidence by making learning fun and easy at this age and you will help make your child an eager lifelong learner.

Finally, preschool education is important because it can give your child the edge in a competitive world and education climate. While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge and skill set. Do you want your child to be at the head of the class or lagging behind?

Concerning yourself with your child's preschool learning does not mean you have to enroll your child in a formal preschool program. You can work with your child at home if you prefer. The important thing is that you make sure your child is working to learning the skills they will need to prepare for kindergarten and learning to read.