iainandsam

Hi there, Just wondering what people think about the whole keeping back thing that goes on here. My child will be 4 next March 19th and is due to start 4 yr old kinder in Feb 2011, therefore when she goes to school she will be young in her year. In the UK she would of been in school the term after turning 4. Lots of people keep there children back for a year so the difference in a class could be 18 months between the oldest and youngest child.
Who has kept there child back or put them in before the cut off date i would be interested to hear your views. I have another daughter who was 5 in Dec and started school in Feb this yr, she has kids in her class who will turn 7 at the end of the year. She loves it and is doing very well but i am worried the other one will be that bit younger.

Pisces

Hi,

My daughter started kindy last year at the age 4 and turned 5 in the February. She is doing well and is keeping up. There are children in her class 6-8 months older than her but as they are now getting older the months don't seem to be obvious at all.
I do think it varies child to child and it does seem that the boys are older in her class as they seem to be kept back more than girls. My daughter has an older sister and all her friends were starting school so I thought it would be detrimental to keep her back.
I did read an article recently that said children who are not challenged - do better than their peers intially but then fall behind.
I have worked in childcare and felt that a few of the older children who were kept in childcare and preschool till the age of 5 were bored and not very challenged.

Kim67

I started my eldest daughter on early entry into year one the year she turned 5 in Queenland. She's quite bright and kept up fine, but it's when girls get to about eight or nine, they start to turn into wild creatures that like to eat the younger and more innocent. We ended up putting her back into an age appropriate class when we moved to WA because the girls in her class would have been one and two years older than her. It was the best eight months of school she ever had and she loved it.

I now have the same problem with my youngest because she started school outside of Australia and will be young for her year group when we go back. She's really bright, but I'd rather her be with kids her own age than pushed academically, there's plenty of time for that later on. You also have to think about extra curricular activities, if your kids are really into something outside of school, they have to be able to cope with the demands of being able to do that for a couple of hours a day on top of their school day and homework.

coansha

Tricky situation. We came over when my daughter had done half her first year and we could only get her in to kindergarten, she was delighted for a few weeks then bored. She was desperate to go back to school.
I think you know your child best, so perhaps if uncertain you could get the head of school to "interview"(sorry no better word) and evaluate your child??
My friend did this and her daughter loved it, she did however at year 2 hold her daughter back despite being very bright to be on an even level with her peers and it has worked out very well.
good luck!

HelenTD

My eldest was held back a year when they changed the year from January to December to July to June. He was more than ready for kindy, so it's been a pain all the way through. My youngest is a late June child, so he's the youngest in the year - there's no way he would have been held back, in fact he can tackle work at least a year above. Other parents at school did hold back their kids - and these are WA born kids - because they thought they'd do better if they were the oldest in their year. It hasn't made a bit of difference in terms of ability. Each kid is different, though, and only you know them best. You'd have to consider a possible return to the UK, though, if that was a possibility, you wouldn't want your child too far behind. Some kids here go to great programmes at childcare centres, then go backwards when they start kindy in a state school.

Hutch

Our son was born in very late August and so when he did his year in school in England he was far and away the youngest. However since he'd done that year we thought he'd be okay to go straight to primary school. He had no problem with the work but emotionally he suffered badly and we withdrew him and sent him to a local kindy. Best move we ever made - during the six months there he made good friends (who he's still mates with) and had friendly faces to move onto big school with. He's a happy chap now in year three and is towards the top of a 3/4 mixed class. The lesson we learned is that it's not about the school work, it's about the crowd you mix with.

Rosscarbery

When we arrived I had the choice of a kindy or pre-school place for my daughter at our school. I chose pre-school which meant that she turned 6 a couple of weeks after starting "proper school". Having had really bad experiences in the UK with young starters, and an eventual diagnosis of dyslexia for both of my sons, I just didn't want to take the risk third time round. She had a fantastic year at pre-school 2 days a week, I really enjoyed having extra time with her and when she started school there were no dramas - she took to it like a duck to water and is loving every minute.

I just don't get why people want to put their children into school asap - there are so many fun, interesting things you can do with young children that there is just no reason for them to be bored. YOU are the best educator of your children and education is about so much more than getting them to read and write as quickly as possible.

jothefw

I've a couple of points on this ... bear with me

1) I'm an August baby and went through school as often the youngest in my class, I saw it as a challenge and always tried to achieve top BUT that's as much my personality as age!

2) Eldest son had done 1 1/2 yrs at school in UK so went into school here, but Term 4 in Reception. He's not overly confident, or wasn't I should say, so the advantage he had in learning offset his disadvantage in friendships etc

3) Youngest son started into Kindy here and then ended up doing a whole year of Reception and it was too little, too late. He was un-stimulated and needed more. He's outward going and now can be the class clown if allowed ... I wonder perhaps if he'd started school earlier maybe this wouldn't be the case

HOWEVER in each story it's about personality.

And as Hutch pointed out with age groups - both my boys are in spilt 2/3 classes this year (different ones thank god!) but depending on the school this will happen alot. I find it good - my children work well with their peers and are good role models to the younger kids!

iainandsam

Thanks to all who have shared their views, its interesting to hear different peoples views on the subject.

bra_boy

My daughter started primary school (kindergarten) this year, at age 4 and 1/2. I know she is quite a sharp kid, so I was not too concerned when the teacher expressed concern about her backwardness, and suggested a visit to some kind of therapist (which we ignored). Six months later she is at the top of the class in writing, and near the top in reading. The problems with her school learning were real, but were related to the school environment itself (e.g. the regimentation, being away from family, fear of the toilets, doing things in groups and so on) rather than her intellectual stage of development.

The best start you can give you kid for school is to get them interested in books. This means reading to them every day, and having a good collection at home that they can flick through by themselves (e.g. picked up from garage sales).

Hostess with the Mostess

I had to make the decision for my son who would have gone into the last term of the year he had not started back in UK, so I kept him back.

Great for his confidence as he has been at the top of the tree ever since. However now he has hit puberty a lot earlier and finds his peers immature, this will even out next year though I am sure.

Sometimes I think I should have put him up but his results are so good that I know it was the best thing in the end for him.

Ultimately, I know so many who have done it both ways, if your kid is good at school they will do well whatever year they go into. If they lack a little confidence as my son did at the time, keep them back.

Hope this helps,

Hostess x

itigo

My friend is having the dilemma at the moment. Does she put her son into Prep in Feb, where he will be the youngest, or does she keep him in Kinder? He is quite bright and the Kinder has said their programme won't stimulate him for another year (very play based in VIC). She is putting him into Prep and the Principal has reassured her that if he looks as if he is struggling at any point, they can keep him down one year so he has a chance to catch up. She is looking at it in the view that it may be the difference between becoming a Dr or a nurse but she doesn't care which as long as he is stimulated and happy......

I think it's a very personal choice and there certainly isn't as much stigma here about holding children back, more what individuals feel is best for their child. As a teacher, I find that quite refreshing! In the UK, you can hold them back but what noone says is that at 11 they HAVE to go up to high school regardless unless there are exceptional SEN circumstances.