Holding children back = new trend

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!

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.