Last week I discussed School Starting Age – Latest Research On Australian Children. There are some fantastic contributions in the comments that I would highly recommend you read, if you are contemplating what age your child should start school.
In this post I will share our personal experiences on the issue of school starting age, looking at each of our five children. I will state firstly that I don’t believe that there is one answer to the question What Age Should My Child Start School? My advice to parents looking for an answer to this question is as follows:
- Each child is different and decisions need to be made on the personality and circumstances of each child (eg. what might be good for their best friend, or sister, may not be good for them).
- Take advice from your child’s preschool teacher, they will be able to give you invaluable insight to your child’s cognitive, social and emotional development.
- Remember that education is not a race.
Thinker – 27th November
Thinker had a Montessori Preschool education for two years. I loved the Montessori approach of following the lead of the child and Thinker relished the practical life opportunities it provided. He started school when he was 5 years and 2 months and settled straight into school life, loving it instantly. He was the second youngest in his class, yet for him this hasn’t made any difference.
Little Rascal – 20th April
I couldn’t tell you how many hours I agonised over what to do about school entry for Little Rascal. Cut off for entry to school in Victoria is 30th April, so if I was to send him to school the year that he turned 5, he would be very young. I had undertaken some serious research and my husband and I also discussed our own school experiences. We were both “young” starters in our school careers. We decided that given the personality of our gorgeous second child, that he would benefit from starting school when he was older. A significant factor in this decision was actually not to do with the early years of school, but the later years in secondary school. Mr I and myself hit puberty on the later end of the scale and thought there would be a good chance that Little Rascal would be the same. This, combined with being one of the youngest kids in class, we felt wouldn’t produce the best educational or social outcomes for him.
So Little Rascal started 3 year old kinder when he was 3 years and 9 months and entered school when he was 5 years and 9 months. Watching Little Rascal develop in the last 6 months of his last preschool year, we knew that we had made the right decision for him. He settled smoothly into school life and coped beautifully with the social demands that school placed on him.
Possum – 10th December
By the time it came to making a decision about Possum’s school entry age, I had been in the school system for nearly 5 years. In this time I had seen:
- Girls with Feb, March birthdays start school at four and thrive.
- A Girl with a Dec birthday only lasted one term at school and go back to kinder (her kinder teacher had recommend that she stay at school for another year).
- Girls and Boys with Feb and March birthdays who were only just coping at school.
- Boys with Dec birthdays start school when they were 6 and thrive.
- Girls and Boys with March, April birthdays, who started school early, then repeat a year of school when they changed schools at Grade 5.
My conclusion from this was that it didn’t really matter what other kids did, I needed to look at Possum, listen to her teacher and make a decision that I felt comfortable with. Possum went to school at 5 years and 1 month and she had a wonderful year at school. She is the youngest in her class and she did get very tired at the end of the terms. In term one, on a number of occasions I offered her a day off, to recharge and only once did she accept this – she didn’t want to miss out on school! On the week ends sometimes, she would actually take herself off for a sleep, but sending her to school was certainly the right decision, she flourished both socially and academically.
Babaganouski – 30th April
Babaganouski was due date was 25th April and when I was pregnant with him, the socialist in me hoped that I might go over and have a May Day baby. Not only would this suit my red side, it would have also solved the issue of when to send him to school!!! In the end, this head strong baby pipped me by 35 minutes! He was born at 11.25pm on 30th April.
As we watched this beautiful little baby grow into a toddler, we needed to decide when he should start kinder and therefore when he would start school. We looked at his personality and the positive experience that we had with our second child starting later, so it is this year when he is 3 years and 9 months, that Babaganouski will start 3 year old kinder. He will start school when he is 5 years and 9 months and be one of the older children of the class.
Baby – 22nd January
Too early to tell really!!! However we will enroll him for 3 year old kinder the year that he turns 3 and make a decision year by year from there.
Entry age into school in Australia currently sits within a range from 4.5 – 6 years old. This range allows parents the flexibility to make a decision which will provide the best outcome for their child. As a parent I have made decisions with the hope that the result will be my children settling into school in a positive and enjoyable way – so far so good 
.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
It certainly is one of the most difficult questions we face as a parent, as the ramifications can last for 12/13 years through school, and then at university.
In my case I was frustrated by the starting age in Queensland. M&M, who is VERY academically minded, was 5 years and 3 months before she was ALLOWED to start school. She did 2 years of kinder and her last year was so bored she almost didn’t want to go to school. Prep in Queensland is “play based” and I was so worried she would be bored at school. Fortunately her prep teacher was very skilled at allowing all students to work at their ability level, and M&M finished prep all but reading, writing at nearly grade 2 level, and doing maths at nearly garde 3 level!!! Of course that does make me worry about her teacher for this year and their ability to cope with extending her. She has been identified as a “self-directed learner” by the school, which means she is virtually allowed to work on whatever she wants (within the parameters of what the class is doing of course).
Kiki on the other hand will be 5 years and 1 month when she starts school next week *sob* and I’m not convinced she’s ready, however starting school at 6 years and 1 month is leaving it a little too late to my mind, and will mean she will be nearly 19 when school finishes. I think that is far too old in Australia. However now we are aware of other issues with Kiki (beyond her eating and allergies) I am more hopeful that the school will be able to work with her more than daycare or kindy ever could, and that will help her develop and catch up.
Miss Moo, who is 2 next month, will be 4 years and 11 months when she is eligible to start school. From what I’ve seen so far she will be more than ready, but I will reserve the decision until the last possible moment.
In South Australia kids can start at public schools when they turn 5. Therefore my son started midyear after he’d turned 5. However, he did one and a half years (6 terms) of reception before moving into grade 1. He was more than ready to start school but I’m glad he did the 6 terms of reception as he’s struggled socially at school.
it still amazes me how varied things are in Australia (i was raised in America and dh in England so already very different schooling).
We movedup to Brisbane from Sydney when my oldest was 3 1/2 (it was the beginning of Jan.). we could not get her a place straight away in Pre-prep and with a birthday of July 1 i found out she was not legally entitled to it since she missed Qld cut off by a day (all her friends back in sydney were starting kindy that year).
so when she started prep last year she was the oldest in her class bar 1 boy whose parents waited (he was a head taller than the rest, acted a lot older and was a bad influence in the classroom with lying and such – so bad call there IMO). My dd was ready to read and in Qld again, they are behind NSW and wait til year 1 to formally teach reading. I taught dd at home and she is now a fluent reader as she enters Grade 1 next week.
DD2 is stating prep next week and she is turning 5 on Feb 19. I am expecting she will be pretty average for the year – middle of the ages, sizes and abilities and social levels (a bit shy with new people and hates to be the centre of attention in class with hand raising and such…)
so with mine i did not really have any choice to their starting years (although i could have searched and pushed the issue for dd1 and pre-prep if i knew more about the schools here back then).
it is amazing though when you see dd1’s best friend who is May 30 and she is only just going to be turning 6 this year when just over a month later my dd will turn 7 and they are in the same year.
Kin – Thanks for taking the time to detail you experiences. I agree that when you make the decision it is also not just the first years of school, but later down the track that we need to consider as well.
Thanks for sharing your experience Jen. I haven’t heard much on how it works in SA, so it was interesting to hear a parents experience.
I love your last comment “Have you lost any sleep over thinking about the entry age for your child at school?” and I would have to say “Yes—last night in fact”.
Last night I was tossing and turning thinking have we made the correct decision about sending our boy to school this year.
He will turn 5 in late Feb. He is very intelligent with excellent verbal skills but still has some issues with personal care (toileting and keeping his face clean when he is eating!)and emotional maturity (crying a lot when he doesnt get his own way, not being able to take “no” for an answer) that concerns me.
For the last two weeks his behaviour is out of control. He is shouting and hitting his siblings and me several times a day. I think he is aware school is starting soon (even though we make sure not to make a big deal about it) and is so wound up about it he does not know what to do and is lashing out with the expectation of it all.
My husband is absolutely adamant he is ready. My husband was a late April baby and went to school young he said it did him no harm so it should be the same for our son. But I am not so sure. Every article I read about this issue has the parents agreeing to delay or send the child. His Kinder teacher said he would be bored at another year of kinder and advised on sending him.
Can someone please write an article that has the parents disagreeing? As well as an article on what to do if your instinct is telling you one thing (delay) but EVERYONE (including your partner) around you is saying ’send’.
Thanks
Yes I certainly have. I knew from when he was born that I would have to deal with this. My oldest is 5 in February this year. He is having a ‘bonus’ year at kinder this year and as such will commence school in 2011 when he is 5 years 11 months.
I was happy with our decision but lately he has really gone from strength to strength, he reads, he adds basic sums and he follows instructions really well. He is very social and plays well with others. However none of this is why we gave him the bonus year, he gets distracted very very easily. I believe that this is something that will come with maturity and he will thrive this year and next and by this time next year – I will be completely happy with our decision.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Oh gosh we have AGONIZED over this decision. In the end we held our Mar 2nd boy back and he will start Prep this year (in Victoria) and turn 6 a few weeks later. My husband believes we did the right thing, I’m not convinced (he’s been a bit of a menace now and then and I think kinder was a total bore for him), as others have mentioned he was academically VERY ready, but less so on the emotional side. What bothers me though, is the holding back becomes self perpetuating, in other words because so many kids are held back, my son would have been relatively immature a year ago, whereas if everyone simply sent them according to the cut offs, then there would be a mix of maturity levels with others matching his own.
Anyway what’s done is done. My second child is a Feb child, and a girl, and at this stage we WILL send her on time, so at 4 turning 5. She’s starting 4 yo kinder this year, and if she’s not ready for school she’ll just do another year of that…no biggie.
I’m so grateful my third is a July baby and it will be a no brainer. The only down side is that she will be a full three years behind her nearest sibling, whereas there will only be a one year gap between the first two. In the scheme of things it won’t matter, but I liked the idea of even spacings at school lol.
For me all this begs the question, how did you manage to have 3 babies in the questionable months lol? If I had my time again, or another baby I’d be making darn sure it was not born Jan-April as this school thing is so frustrating!! (I know, easier planned than achieved)
My eldest – who turns 5 this year – is an April baby. He has a group of friends who were all born around the same time. Its been fascinating watching the decision making process within each family about school readiness (… which for some started at birth!)
We decided to start our guy at 3 year old kindergarten when he was eligible and then take guidance from the teachers there about school readiness. The staff were fantastic, providing really valuable information specific to our child. The end result is that he will start school next year (he just wasn’t ready this year), but will have had 3 very happy years of kindergarten.
I neither regret starting him in the education system “on time” nor about starting school “late”. Its just nice to know that we can do what is right for the child.
Now as for our youngest … I had wondered whether boarding schools accept them at age 3?!
I think it is so insightful to read your list of examples of different kids coping differently at various ages… there is no one right or easy answer on this, it’s totally about what is best for your individual child.
Mind you our next 2 June babies will mean this decision won’t be so agonising in the future! LOL
.-= katef´s last blog ..The End of the Zoo Days =-.
Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. This really does show that choosing when your child starts school is really a child by child decision. It is also very comforting to know that I am not the only one who has agonised over this decision! For those mum’s that have children starting school this year, I hope they have a wonderful first year!
April – I did try and email a response but it bounced, you can email me through the contact form, if you would like to me to resend the response to another email address.
Annie was born on 1st May so the decision was made for me. She started school at 5yrs and 9mnths old. Academically she was more than ready but socially and emotionally she struggles but that is not for age related reasons.
Heidi born 24th Jan starts school this year at age 5 and 2 weeks. But she is going into a pre-prep class which is more of a practice run for school and starts full on prep in 2011 at age 6. I think that was the best decision.
Oddly the age of my children starting school has not caused me worry. However the choice of where to send them to school was a nightmare and I’m still not 100% sure we’ve made the right choice for Annie.
This was an interesting one for us too. We have 2 May girls, and here in SA, that means that in the public system they would do 6 months of reception and be the oldest in their classes. Our other option was the Catholic system, where May birthday kids start in term 2 and just do 3 terms before moving on to grade 1- and they will be among the youngest in their classes. That was the option we chose, for a number of reasons.
Our oldest will be starting this year, so the outcome is yet to be seen, but given her height, academic and social readiness, I’m feeling very positive about it.
Master 5 is a late April baby, and he started school last year. Being born only 6 days before the cut off, he was the youngest (and shortest) child in Prep, but he was definately ready to go to school. He could already read, write a little, and spell some words too, plus he was starting to pick up basic maths (one plus one, little sums like that). We were worried if we didn’t send him to school he would a) be bored with not learning anything more from me at home, and b) end up being too advanced to fit in well at school. He has made plenty of friend in all grades, and is thriving at school. Really, it does come down to individual children. Miss 4 has a November birthday, so she will be starting at age 5, 3 months, with her kinder peers, but as for Master 1, we will see when we get there.
.-= SilverMoon´s last blog ..Flash Game Friday =-.