I think the cutoff really needs to be standard across Australia - especially now that we have a national curriculum. IMO it should be April 1 because even in those younger kids born Jan/Feb/Mar there is still a big difference between them and kids born in April/May/June. And it's definitely evident once they get older, even more so if you already have kids in a cohort that have already been kept back a year. In reality you could possibly have up to 2 years age difference from the oldest to the youngest person in a year group and that's huge once you get to the end of primary school. I see it in my class - I have a year 5/6 class and I see kids who are starting to act on those raging hormones because they have hit puberty and the younger kids are engaging in the same behaviours purely to 'keep up' with the other kids in their class who are older. I've had a 10yr6mth old girl in year 5 send bedroom selfies to her 12.5yr old year six boyfriend :/ What parent would be happy with that? But had that girl been kept back a year, she wouldn't be doing that because other girls in year 4 aren't doing it. And then there is the academics. It's not a big deal usually - I know a few very very bright kids who started early (my son being one of them - he was late feb born) and that's fine if they are smart, but there is a big difference to your child seeming bright thinking they can handle the academics because they know their numbers, letters and colours etc, and what happens in reality. Once you put them in a class with older peers, remembering that some have possibly already been kept back a year, there is a HUGE difference. Most younger kids just do not have the cognitive ability to actually make connections between what they are learning and that's when they start to struggle. I would much rather keep them home for another year rather than risk them having to repeat a year of school or struggle all the way through if I wasn't 100% convinced that they were able to handle it.

I think a lot of the problem is like they say in the article - parents have no choice because they can't afford to have another year of childcare or they need both parents back working full time. And I also think part of the problem is that parents don't believe early childhood educators when they say a child isn't ready to start school and think that it's some sort of judgement against them as parents or that they think their kids are 'dumb', so they send them to school to prove a point. But they know these kids better than they are given credit for. They have done extensive study as part of their degrees in child psychology so they KNOW how these kids develop. They know which kids are ready for school and which ones aren't. I even see on here time and time again 'what would they know, you know your child best' and that's partly true, but these early childhood educators know a hell of a lot more about how a child's brain actually 'ticks' than a parent does. I think if anyone has any worries about their child's readiness, speak to them because they will give you an honest, professional opinion.