An older child will always love to act as a "teacher" for the younger ones. This helps the older one become even more responsible and proficient because the best way to learn is by teaching. If she is teaching the younger ones about the alphabet or numbers or animals or anything, she is deepening her knowledge of the subject because by teaching she is really having to process the knowledge on a deeper level. They can also help serve, clean up and do all of the things that the "babies" can't do and they really love this. It gives them a real sense of responsibility and a type of gratification that one can only get by helping others. It helps create empathy and patience as well.

Older daycare children love being the "big kid" and as long as the daycare provider is capitalizing on this, guiding their efforts and keeping them stimulated and active it can be a very good thing. A child who is the youngest at home or an only child will especially love this special status because they may be being "babied" at home and might not get many opportunities to be independent and strong.

You will find that if managed properly, that older child will shine and progress even faster than if she was in a group of children just their own age.