The expert explained the growing demand for private kindergartens among Russians

The growing demand for private kindergartens among Russians is influenced by several factors, the main of which is the information environment. This opinion was expressed by Ivan Sorokin, founder of the NGO "Platform for the Development of the Institute of Family and Childhood", founder of the Smile Fish network of private kindergartens, in a conversation with Izvestia.

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"The Internet and social networks have formed a steady parenting trend: moms and dads see other families taking their children to the piano, soccer, speech therapy, chess, mental arithmetic, and robotics. There is a natural request: just to send a child to kindergarten and pick him up in the evening is no longer enough. Parents want every hour of their child's stay outside the home to be filled with meaning and development," he explained.

In search of quality, an individual approach and an environment that works for the child, parents turn to private specialists, the expert said.

Among the possible reasons, the interlocutor of the editorial office also identified objective administrative barriers (for example, moving to another city) and convenience considerations (parents want to leave the entrance and be at the door of the garden after a hundred meters, rather than take the child through the whole area and stand in traffic jams).

Another important factor is that people today carefully read reviews and study the reputation of the institution, the specialist added.

"You can build a garden with modern renovation and new furniture, but if the caregivers don't like children and suffer at their jobs, no walls will help. When a parent pays, they have the right to demand. He chooses a teacher, gets to know him personally, and controls the quality," Sorokin emphasized.

The economic growth of recent years has allowed many families to switch to more conscious consumer behavior in matters of child education, so in the future private kindergartens may become the norm for the middle class, he admitted. Because people are willing to pay for quality — for a trusted caregiver and for an environment where the child will develop safely and with pleasure.

Read more in the Izvestia article:

Mom is busy: why parents are increasingly choosing private kindergartens