What
is the right age for a child to begin their academic career? We’ve been
trained to believe that each step in school is ordered by age and time. But
what if we were to change the way we do things by changing when our kids start
school? Most children are enrolled into Kindergarten along with the year of
their fifth birthday. It’s a great age because they are just learning their
ABC’s and 123’s but what else are they trying to learn? A very important part
of school is learning. No kidding right? But children need something very
important in order to learn things and that’s attention. Of course, the
attention of their parents, teachers or other guardians but more importantly,
their own attention.
A child at the age of five is most likely
a rambunctious little one with a fire for play time, snack time and
occasionally, a small amount of time for retaining information. Studies across
the world have shown that a child starting their education at such a young age
could cause issues and hinder them in their learning capacity over the next few
years. Beginning Kindergarten at age five versus age six won’t keep them from
attending an Ivy League school or alter their grade point average in high
school but for the first few years of elementary school, they may have a better
handle on retaining the information being given to them. The studies coming
from Stanford University have shown that holding a child back for about a year,
and introducing them to Kindergarten at age six instead of five could
potentially give the child the opportunity to better grasp their instructions.
Not
only will it help the child in academics but it can also give the child a
better sense of self control and this understanding of their own selves has
been shown to stay with the child for years. Yes, one year doesn’t seem like a
lot but in comparison to the disposition of a five year old to a six year old,
I’m sure we could all notice the difference in self reliance as well as
behavioral maturity. A six year old may be better suited for a classroom
because they may be able to understand how to focus on, comprehend and execute
what the teacher is relaying to them.
With
any change to a the academic career of a child, even the slight changes in
teacher work days or when the appropriate time for breaks are; it’s hard for
some families to be able to accommodate. When it comes to delaying the school
age of a child, it means that the child won’t be attending free education but
will still need supervision. For some families that’s not feasible because no
school will mean daycare or day time sitters while their parents or guardians
work. But if your household is able, do you see a great benefit for holding
back your child for a year to start their school career?
