Personally I would wait until the year he turns 6. So many kids struggle when they start too young.

If you feel your child is ready for school then there shouldn’t be any problems. I’m sure there will be other children who are the same age or even younger.

My kids were 4 when they started school. It was the rules to send them to kindy in the year they turn 5

Hello
My daughter was the same as you son she is a March baby and started school at 4 her preschool assured me she was ready, she was one of the youngest at the school and started off really well she did great up Untill about year 4 when she started coming home upset she just wasn’t fitting in last year we had a few sleepovers and I could notice the maturity difference just the other kids looked older, she was 10 in year 6 and not makin friends as most of the other kids are about to be 12 or already 12 so we ended up changing schools and now she is repeating year 5 not for academic reasons she is an intelligent girl just not fitting in on the social side. and is absolutely loving it !! She was so happy that all her friends are the same age. I don’t want her to be a follower trying to keep up with the older kids all the time.

My daughter turned 5 at the end of July, right on the cutoff date. I could have sent her, but I didn’t. I asked a lot of people. Preschool educators, other mums, the Principal of the Primary school I was sending her to. Basically the answers I kept getting was that you run the risk of them not being socially ready. I would be asking the staff at the Primary school, they have seen it all before. Each child is different though, maybe if they meet him they could give you a better idea, particularly since they tend to advise keeping boys back. Hope this helps.

My twins were 4 when I put them into kindy. They were in preschool for a couple of years prior, so they were very much prepared for school. I didn’t have any problems with them adjusted to a school environment…I had problems separating them into different classes. I initially put them in separate classes which didn’t work and ended up combining them for about a term or 2. They are ahead of their peers and intellectually capable. I guess it depends on how much preparation they have had. If they were not enrolled in daycare/preschool, then perhaps implement educational activities in their early years and get them socially active. Hope this helps and good luck!

My daughter started school this year at 4 (her birthday is March too). She took a little bit to settle in but is going well now. Her kindy (preschool) recommended she didn’t need another year at kind – maybe an extra term or 2 but that wasn’t an option anymore (I’m in SA where it used to be an option), so she went off to school.

my daughter started kinder this year three turning four on the 8th of april so made it before the cut off in vic we ended up taking her out as she was not ready socially it was such a hard decision but after stressing about it for so long decided to send her the following year good luck i know first hand how stressful this decision can be! x

I would talk to the school which you are sending him to as they all differ quite considerably.

Personally I would wait so your child is with kids his own age .

My son was born on the cut off date (30 June). He starts kindy next year at 3.5 yrs old!
And even though he will be the youngest in his class, I feel that he will be ready!
My daughter was born 6th June and she too is the youngest in her class (Grade 1) and she is not having any issues at all!
What I do not understand is that if the new half way year age thing didn’t come into practice (in QLD), then my son would still be attending kindy next year anyway…why are parents all of sudden so concerned about sending their kids to school? Education is a great thing!

if he goes to preschool they will do little activities with him and let you know how ready he is for school. it does really depend on the child. I would register interest to go to kindy start at your local school and attend information sessions. they will usually advise if they think your child doesn’t seem ready. I don’t think any child really seems like they’re ready but if they are independent and you think they can handle being in a learning environment all day send him – if not hold him back.

We did the pre Kindy thing for two days a week in our daughters school, they do reports etc and it was a great way to find out if she was ready to progress forward to full time school.

I’m in the same boat my daughter just turned 4 in June so we have to work out we do, we are waiting to see with the help for the teachers what we do.

There is no benefit to sending him early… Other than you having free time.
Delaying him will help him be more ready to handle the changes associated with school. It’s overwhelming and a huge social and academic adjustment. The majority of the kids in his class WILL be 5 turning 6, so starting him early will only put him behind the eight ball. Having to stay back in years to come is a lot worse and can have a huge impact on his self esteem.

I would delay him. There seams to be more and more research now suggesting that, particularly for boys, a later start is more beneficial.

if your school has a pre kindy orientation program, see how they go with it, the teaches can assist you and tell if they are not ready.
my daughter just turned 4 last june so I am holding her back for another year.