I'm in two minds whether to send my daughter to school when she turns 5 in early Feb 2019 or wait another year. She's very social and academically where she needs to be but i know emotionally coping is most important. Is being 18 when u start year 12 a negative or not? Any advice would be appreciated 😊
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I’d like to know to. Same boat...send when he’s 4 turning 5 in March...or be 5 turning 6 in March 😱
I'd be waiting a year. There is a couple of reasons for this.
1. If it doesn't work out it's almost impossible to get a repeat year. You'd basically have to change schools and have a massive fight with the education department.
2. Being more mature and older when you start school is never a negative. And definitely being older when you do year 12 is a huge bonus. Think about it, year 12 is a huge deal and most kids are expected to compete to get into Uni. Doing that when you are slightly older, more mature and more able to be independent is a big advantage.
When I was in school my birthday was right on the SA cutoff. I turned 17 in late July the year I did year 12. I noticed the difference more when I got into high school. I'm a pretty shy person and maturity wise I was a fair way behind a lot of my classmates. I was making big decisions about my future at 15. Once I completed school and started uni I found it difficult socialising because I was freshly 17 while everybody else was 18 or close too and going out drinking.
I'm not saying don't start her - I just don't think there's anything wrong with her being 18 when she does year 12. My daugter is in a similar position and I'll be holding her back
I always say wait if you’re in two minds about it.
I'd wait until she's 5 turning 6. I didn't have an option as mine didn't turn 5 before the April 30 cut off., so started when she was 5 turning 6. Being older has definitely benefited her. And as a previous poster said, if she does end up struggling repeating is difficult.
I almost wrote in with the exact same question!! I have spoken to everyone in my real life including a family memeber that is a kindergarten/prep (depends what state your in to what its called) teacher and was told to hold child back as it was obvious to the teacher who was held back and who wasn't.. I decided to keep my child back but do alot more activities so stop them from getting bored.
My daughter is turning 5 end of April, she’s confident and smart, but I’m
Waiting untill the next year, every teacher that I ask say younger survive, older thrive.
I think it all depends on the child.
My son was 4 turning 5 in March when he started kindergarten this year, he had been going to preschool for almost 2 years beforehand.
I sent him to the head start program at our school and asked all teachers involved if they thought he was ready.
Although he was the youngest, he is going fantastic. He’s a level 6 in reading, great with writing sentences, and he’s received more awards than most kids in his class, he also has to go 30 minutes away to receive another award he was nominated for.
My niece also started at the same age and she’s 3 weeks younger than my son and she’s also going great.
But I look at some kids and they’re definitely not ready.
It all comes down to if you think they’re ready.
She doesn’t turn 5 until 2019 so you have another year before you need to make that decision. A lot can happen in a year. She might not be emotionally ready now, but she’s still only 3. Does she attend day care or kindy/preschool? That will help with her emotional maturity, and the teachers will be able to advise you this time next year whether she is ready for big school or if she should wait another year.
My eldest turned 5 in April the year he started prep (qld). He was one of the youngest in his class but academically, socially and emotionally he was was at the top of the class. He started high school this year (year 7) and is doing amazingly well in everything. I was talking to one of the teacher aides at the primary school recently and said that if he had done year 7 in primary school he would have been in a lot of trouble because he would have been bored. He’s in an extension class so everyone is at about the same level academically, he’s not having to sit there bored while the teacher explains the same concept for the fifth time to the child/ren at the low end academically.
My youngest turned 5 in May the year he started prep. Again, one of the youngest. Academically he’s average and I really don’t think holding him back would have improved his academic results. Emotionally he could probably have used another 6 months at daycare/kindy but overall he’s about where he should be coming up to the end of grade 5.
Much as it’s not easy, try not to stress about it until you have to. Every child is different and will develop at a different rate.