Holding children back = new trend

[New Dawn]

OMG try movinbg from state to state they are ALL different...

DS is a april 00 baby so in QLD he had to start school when he was 5 turning 6, but we were in Darwin before that so he had already done a whole year of trans and was in year 1 when we moved... so he went almost back a year ( as year 1 is ( was ) the 1st year of school), Last year we moved to Vic he was able to go to either year 2 or 3 as he was in the age group for both... we choose yr 2 as he was already stuggling...

DD1 is May 03 so last year while in QLD she started prep ( as they only just brought it in ) but when we moved to VIC she couldnt go to school as she wasnt in the right age group, so we had to put her into Kindy, she wasnt happy but I was coz I thought she was too young to be in school...

Now that we are once again moving to QLD I know they will want DS in year 4 and DD in year 1 but I dont want this ( expecally for DS ) so I am going to have to fight to put them intom year 3 and prep... DS will be able to go to year 3 as he is way behind and we have all the reports from everyone telling us this but I think they will try to put DD up a year....

Sorry Pap just a little take over there but like the girls have said if you think your child is ready then put her into school next year... As far as I know with Vic kindy coz you have a child close to the cut off ( any child born form jan onwards ) you have the chance to pull them out of kindy at the end of term 2 the kiddy teachers will talk to those parents they think this will apply too... they do it at the end of year to coz of funding they way your child will ortermaticly have a place in kindy, so you dont have to go on the wait list... but if you wait until the end of the year it is harder for the kindy to keep the children back... iykwim....

[Crystalwings]

I think the word 'trend' was probably just a figure of speech but as an early childhood educator we are definately seeing children who need to be held back the extra year. To me 4.5 is really young to begin full time schooling for alot of children, they are often tired from 5 full days and find it more difficult then an older child. There is also the fact that they will be treated the same as the 6yr olds and IMO there is a huge gap between 4 and 6 and the expectations should be different but school isn't that individualised. In my experience it doesn't matter if the school is private or public and don't think that is relevent.

In saying that there are lots of things to concider IRT starting school. In general boys need the extra year as they mature later and often don't want to sit at a desk and do that kind of work and their concentration and attention span takes longer to develop then girls. We find that with girls they often still just want to play mums and bubs at 4.5
and their emotional development can take a little longer. Obviously these are generalisations but I really think that the cut off should be in calender years. As others have mentioned the later years are a whole nother kettle of fish. We have seen so many parents send their children to school for financial reasons when they simply weren'y ready and they have really stuggled and you as a EC teacher you feel as though you have struggled.
I think more parents are holding their child back because they want to err on the side of caution and not have to repeat kinder or subsequent years.

I'm not sure about other states but in NSW there is also a before school screening that parents can take thier child to and it is important to take on what your childs preschool or child care centre has to say in regards to SS.

IMO Allowing your child to learn and grow through play at this stage of their life is still really important and we should value these early years more as a society. I think we make our kids grow up far to early in this country.

Can I ask what the deciding factors are for you? What makes you say "yes, my child is ready for school?"

Hope I haven't offended, this is a personal decision, I just wanted to add some a EC perspective.

[Turkish Delight]

My DS was born in March 2002 and being in VIC he was the youngest at kindy and in prep.

Being gifted he was excelled into Grade 1 during his 3rd in prep. He is now 2 years younger than his class mates in grade 3. He gets on fine with them. His teacher tells me he is more social this year than last.

The school wanted to keep him down last year, so he is with his peers but still do grade 3 work whilst repeating year 2 and i strongly objected. He didn't have a problem getting on with the older kids, then why should he be kept down?

Yes, he might have a problem at uni, when his friends are out clubbing and he's at home with us, but what the heck, i'm sure he'll survive. He'll be 16 during first year uni!

I don't think age has anything to do with it. If the kid is ready to attend school in your eyes then they should be allowed to go.

[BeautifulMadness]

She is you're child, and if you and her teacher think she is more then ready to start school, then i wouldnt hold her back. Half the time teachers dont know what they r on about. Each kid is different.

[Jennifer13]

I think I'm the very youngest here at finishing Yr 12 (in Qld) - I didn't turn 17 until the Feb after I finished! So officially I was enrolled at uni at 16, but O week wasn't until I turned 17.

This means I started pre-school when I was almost 4 and school (Year 1 in the olden days of the 80s) when I was not quite 5. I was quite small even for my younger age, so I was always the tiniest in my class, all through school, until halfway through high school. I competed in sport a lot in high school and was generally competing with those in the year below, not that it ever bothered me. I had a couple of friends who were in the same boat as me re age.

It actually was never an issue for me. I always did well academically and had plenty of friends. My best friend lived across the road from me and was 3 years older anyway. I was also among a group in Yr 6 who were analysed to be accelerated into the year above that even (but I didn't go - that would have just been a bit too far!).

I'm very glad I got through school and into uni so young. It gave me the chance to switch my courses without graduating far behind. And my first year at uni was still full of parties, but if anything I think I was probably one of the more responsible students. Once I was at uni there were many, many different age groups in the courses anyway, school leavers (young and 'normal' age), those who had switched courses and were a couple of years older and adults who were going back to study.

Just another viewpoint.

My DD is a March 2006 baby so will be starting school (Kindy which is the same as prep in Vic) in 2011. I have several friends with girls born that same month and we are all intending to start them at the same time, so the trend must be different up here!

[mrsmac]

She is you're child, and if you and her teacher think she is more then ready to start school, then i wouldnt hold her back. Half the time teachers dont know what they r on about. Each kid is different.

As a teacher I take offence at this comment. We actually go to uni and study to be teachers, we don't suddenly get up one morning and think "hey I might be a teacher today"
Its rude and thoughtless comments like these which have devalued the teaching profession in the public's eyes.

[teachmum]

Ok. It doesn't matter when the cut-off date is you're going to have a 12mth gap. In WA we changed to June cut-off instead of December. This simply means that children born in the last half of the year will be six months older when they start school.

Having come out the other end of the school system, my dd is in year twelve, I can see the benefit of having a delayed start to school. My DD will finish school before she turns 17 because her bday is at the end of October. She's a bright girl and never had any problems academically. I wish now that I'd kept her home for another year because then she would have been more ready to make decisions about her future.

Kids are at school for a long time and there has been a worrying 'trend' occurring where we now see 3 year old kindy. In our haste to get them reading and writing we often forget that they learn best with lots of play, love, attention and being read to. You know your child best. Ignore the 'trends' and do what you think is right.

[Liz]

I'm not expecting DS to learn to read & write at 3 yr old kindy. He's there purely for social reasons.. we've never been involved in playgroup or anything, only socialised with friends and their families. I'm hoping he'll be reading before going to 'big school' but that will be from our teaching him.. not preschool.

I'll be relying a lot on the teachers' assessment of whether he's ready for school in 2011, as they see what he's like at preschool and I don't.

[Muppity]

I know a little boy who turned 5 in between Christmas and New Years last year and is the youngest in his kinder class. It is crazy! There are kids a full 18 months older than him - I really feel for the teachers. His parents say that if they had known they probably would have held him back - just because the other kids are just so much bigger.

[Jennifer13]

I'm not in a 'hurry' for my DD to learn to read and write, but I started her at preschool last year. There are several in our area who do preschool from 2 years until school. This is different to daycare as they have a proper preschool curriculum, just aimed at younger children.

I actually think it was an excellent idea for our family. She is an only child and I decided to work part-time. She only went for one day, but she learned a lot during that year that was reinforcing what I teach her at home. And she made some wonderful friends.

This year she is going along for two days. They are learning letters, etc, but so much of the teaching focus on other skills that are important for development (physical, fine motor, etc). She is also learning French at preschool and is picking it up so quickly (knows the days of the week in French better than English!). Next year, it will be three days. She is gradually building up to school, rather than having to deal with a sudden change from full-time at home to full-time school away from home.

She is spending most of her time with me and/or her father and I don't schedule extra-curricular activities in our free time, apart from swimming lessons. As she is an only child atm I think the social interaction with her peers is very important for her development. I'd be running around all week to playgroup, playdates, music classes, etc to try to fit in as much social interaction - and I don't fancy that!

While I do 'teach' her at home, I am not trained in child development and including some experts (ie teachers) in her life is having a great deal of benefit for her.