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Back to School: Is there a best age? In Australia many children will be starting school for the first time tomorrow. I can still remember the mix of emotions that my wife and I experienced when we sent our eldest child off to her first day in Kindergarten (the first day of formal schooling). Now she is 30 and this year she is sending her own son, and our first grandchild, off to school. And we were just as nervous about Jacob.

Sandra Crosser has also written a very readable piece for parents on this topic titled
He Has a Summer Birthday: The Kindergarten Entrance Age Dilemma.

It would seem that there is little evidence for a universal perfect age for starting school, so there isn't much pointing asking anyone what it is. It would seem that we need to make individual assessments. Here are some things to consider if your child has reached an age at which he/she can officially commence formal schooling.

Is my child physically ready?

Are they toilet trained?
Do they have the motor skills typical of the average starting aged child? Can they walk, run, jump, throw things, dress themselves (few can tie shoelaces – that’s why we have Velcro! And Kindergarten teachers are good at it anyway). Can they tear paper, apply some stickers, hold crayons and pencils and use them (even if not that well)?
Can they feed themselves (pretty much unpack their own lunch)?
How big is the child? Very tall children often struggle if held back when they eventually go to school. And very small children might struggle if they go early.

Is my child emotionally ready?

Is your child able to cope with separation? Going to school should not be the first time the child has not been out of the sight of parents or the primary caregivers.
Have they had at least some experience relating to other children? Can they share, communicate, show some control of anger and frustration?
If your child is keen to go to school there’s a strong chance that they are emotionally ready.
Can they communicate their emotions (frustration, fear, anger, affection etc)?

Is your child intellectually ready?

• Concentrate on activities for extended periods of time (say at least 10-15 minutes on one activity). This might include being able to listen to a story, watch some television, sustaining attention on a game or activity that they like.
• Hold crayons and show some interest in making marks or scribble (the early stages of writing), show some interest in print and symbols (e.g. “what does that say Mum?”), complete basic puzzles (maybe 30-50 pieces), try to write their name, count to five, recognise some letters.
• Show some interest in learning. This can show itself in many ways such as inquisitiveness, exploration, and observation of things around them.

At the end of the day, parents need to make this decision based on what they know about their child. There are some other things worth considering:

• What is the school like? Do you know the teachers and do you have confidence that they will be able to understand your child and help them to find their feet at school?
• What are your family circumstances like? If you have another sibling just one year younger you might want to make sure that you don’t have them going off to school at the same time.
• What was the experience that you had as parents. Did you go to school early or late and what was the impact on you? Given the common gene pool this is a useful consideration.
• What are your personal circumstances? Is there major upheaval in the family or some major change coming in the next 12 months (e.g. moving to another area)? If so, holding your child back might be justified.

If all has been considered and the way forward is unclear I’d advise not sending your child at an early age. After all, there is little evidence to show adverse effects from starting late, but conversely there is some limited evidence to show that starting early might have some adverse effects for some children. An interesting postscript to this matter is that the country in the OECD with the highest school literacy levels is Finland, where the starting age is seven!
Posted by Trevor Cairney at 5:44 PM Labels: readiness for school, school age, starting school



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