Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Children playing at a daycare center
Children playing at a daycare center - Credit: Photo: AllaSerebrina/DepositPhotos
Business
education
daycare
learning delays
childcare
Emmeline Bijlsma
Tweede Kamer
Tuesday, 19 April 2022 - 09:42
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Daycares pressured to teach youngest kids instead of letting them play

The Childcare Branch Organization is worried about political plans to impose learning objectives on young children in an attempt to tackle learning disadvantages. Children up to age six should be given space to play because it teaches them creativity and resilience, director Emmeline Bijlsma of the organization said to NOS.

On Thursday, a parliamentary committee will discuss childcare. Several political parties proposed establishing a curriculum with learning objectives in daycare with the idea to let daycare help tackle learning disadvantages. But young children's brains are not ready for "school learning" - offering and repeating information, Bijlsma said.

"Children from 0 to 6 learn by playing," Bijlsma said. Playing is not an optional extra for this age group. "By forcing them into school learning, you interrupt children's development." Playing helps young kids lay the foundation for performing at school alter, she said. "If we take the sandbox as an example, you see that children discover the material and get to know structures. They build castles, and when it collapses, they learn to deal with adversity and find solutions." They also learn how to work together with other kids. "Those are all skills you need in school."

According to Bijlsma, the proposed "school approach" assumes that young children are able to absorb the information. "But that takes away the essence of playing. Children learn by having fun, not through testing." Daycare staff know how to "guide and enrich" play so that children continue to learn, she added.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Overweight people more likely to die of Covid-19, Dutch study confirms
  • Rotterdam shootings suspect expressed right-wing extremist views online
  • Speaking (in Dutch) about bikes & the weather: The Delft Method at NedLes
  • JetBlue threatens KLM over Schiphol downsizing plans
  • Health Min. suggests “poison tax” for Chemours, Tata Steel, Philip Morris
  • Harlingen skipper prosecuted for 12-year-old's death during school boating trip

Top stories

  • Erasmus MC lecturer killed in Rotterdam shootings described as amiable, involved GP
  • Erasmus hospital was warned about student Fouad L., suspected of killing 3 in Rotterdam
  • Annual inflation rate drops to 0.2%, lowest in 7 years; Groceries 10% more expensive
  • Third victim, a 14-year-old girl, dies from injuries in Rotterdam shootings
  • Two killed, teen critically injured in Rotterdam shootings; Suspect a med student
  • Suspect arrested in Erasmus hospital shooting and fires; At least one dead

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content