Benefits of International Early Childhood Education
If you’ve ever found your toddler confidently flipping between Peppa Pig and a Spanish lullaby, you could have a budding polyglot on your hands!
But beyond the grands’ bragging rights, there are loads of benefits to international education for preschoolers that could be a total game changer for your little one’s future. Here are all the reasons why giving your child a global start could be one of the best calls you ever make.
1. A Head Start in Languages (and Life!)
We all know that toddlers are sponges — except more soaking up knowledge and less soaking up milk off the floor! Children can pick up new languages faster than we can say “bilingual genius”. It’s well-backed that children exposed to multiple languages from a young age have developed stronger cognitive skills, critical thinking and creativity. Being in an international environment fosters every child to grow into a confident communicator in multiple cultures.
2. Cultural Awareness – More Than Just “Please” and “Thank You”
Going to an international school isn’t your child learning about other different parts of the world — but rather living them. Fish fingers and sushi for snack time in the classroom? Totally. Exposure to different cultures helps your child to cultivate empathy and respect and an innate curiosity about the world. And, in the globalised world today, it’s the ultimate superpower.
3. Enhanced Social Skills (Yes, Even for the Shy Ones!)
Ever watched your child go up to someone they don’t know and chat like an old friend? International schools support this natural openness, creating a social space populated by diverse groups that allow students to mix with like-age peers from different cultural backgrounds. This fosters adaptability, collaboration and resourcefulness — essential qualities for surviving in the real world (and the playground)!
4. A Global Curriculum with a Local Touch
International early education does a fantastic job of blending the best global teaching techniques with local learning customs. Schools like The Benalmádena International College put together an impressive curriculum that gives your kids a chance to learn properly while still honouring the culture you’re raising them in. And the combination of the right ones presents you with a learner for life!
5. Small Class Sizes, Big Benefits
Try keeping a two-year-old in one place for more than a minute and a half. Exactly. One of the big benefits of sending your child to a private school in Benalmádena or elsewhere internationally is the smaller class sizes. This means more face-to-face instruction, more personalised learning and best of all, a teacher who will remember that your child likes dinosaurs this week, not unicorns.
6. An Early Love for Travel and Adventure
When children are growing up in an international community, they’re naturally inquisitive about the world around them. So family holidays become about much more than ice cream and sandcastles (but those are important too). They’re about trying new things, learning about different cultures and celebrating new customs — because your tiny tot might well grow up to be a future global citizen who’ll think nothing of studying or working in another country!
So, Is It Worth It?
If you’re thinking of giving your little one a head start, an international school may well be the perfect fit. You may just find yourself learning a second language too — and then you’ll finally know what your five-year-old has been planning during all those secret chats with their new mate from halfway around the world!