RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The number of preschool places outside the family for young children has considerably increased in recent years in Germany. The study investigates how attendance of a preschool affects children's development taking sociodemographic factors into account. METHODS: We used data from the school-entry examinations in Schleswig-Holstein collected in 2014-2015 including 21,272 children aged 5-6 years. We investigated endpoints relevant for school entry, sociodemographic data as well as the number of years of preschool attendance. RESULTS: Low parental educational level, migration biography of both parents, large number of siblings and growing up with a single parent were associated with poorer outcomes (p<0.01). Logistic regressions showed (Odds-ratios [95%-confidence interval]): Attendance improved motor (0.84 [0.79-0.9]), cognitive (0.7 [0.66-0.73]) and speech and language development (0.91 [0.86-0.96]), competence in German (0.42 [0.35-0.5]) and reduced the need for special education (0.58 [0.54-0.64]) when sociodemographic factors had been taken into account. We did not find an association with the prevalence of overweight and obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Psychomotor development in 5-6-year-old children is positively influenced by preschool care attendance. Children growing up in vulnerable families benefit the most. Therefore, intervention programs in kindergarten should be expanded.