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Minimum age to start school

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  • #62
    embraer170
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,487 ✭✭✭embraer170


    tringle wrote: »
    Long time ago but..
    My birthday is January. As soon as Xmas holidays were over Mam took me to the school to register me for September. School was small and low on numbers so said I could start straight away.....mam went home and that was my first day at school. It was assumed I wouldn't move up a class in September...but I did. Socially, academically, emotionally I was fine, i was smaller than everyone but my family are small anyway.

    I moved through each class always thinking I would be repeating some year but this never happened.
    Small problems through primary school related to school competitions/feis etc. Everyone in class would be in one age category and I would be in the lower one so I never got to compete against my class mates.

    I moved house and towns 4 weeks before 6th class finished. My new primary school wouldn't keep me to repeat 6th class and the local secondary school didn't want me as I was too young. Ended up my previous headmistress wrote to the new secondary school and they took me. But they had to get permission from department of education to let me sit state exams. I sat my leaving at 16 and left.

    Problems again, no college would take me and I ended up working full time for a year. I was fine with that but not many 16 year olds should be commuting over 2 hours each day, working with adults and on a full time wage, I found it hard to settle back into.college after that.

    Similar experience to yours. I started young for different reasons and ended up repeating my LC (school did not have a transition year) and then taking a year out before starting college.

    I did not realise it at the time but I am not sure I would recommend it. I did fine in school but I always struggled a bit socially with kids 1-2 years older than I was. It is not something I would want for my kids.


  • #63
    Ms2011
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,171 ✭✭✭Ms2011


    gooseygander wrote: »
    Opinion please on starting my boy at 4.5 years or 5.5 years. His birthday is end of March and we are thinking of 4.5 start next September. What do you all think ??

    My son's birthday is the first week of April, we decided to send him at 5.5 rather than 4.5.
    We have no regrets so far. Coincidentally our daughter's birthday also falls the first week of April & from the experience of sending our son to school at 5.5 we will also be sending her to school at 5.5 after she completes her 2 ECCE years.


  • #64
    feckthisgenie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 181 ✭✭feckthisgenie


    Ms2011 wrote: »
    My son's birthday is the first week of April, we decided to send him at 5.5 rather than 4.5.
    We have no regrets so far. Coincidentally our daughter's birthday also falls the first week of April & from the experience of sending our son to school at 5.5 we will also be sending her to school at 5.5 after she completes her 2 ECCE years.

    I'm in the same boat. My son's birthday is early April so he will be 4yr 5mths or 5yrs 5mths starting. I'm thinking sending at 5. I thinking that i dont want to have to keep him back further into his education and him resenting us as he would be seperated from the friends he makes starting. Also if he's younger there will be older friends and this could be an issue when hes 16 or 17 going out etc.


  • #65
    drunkmonkey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,022 ✭✭✭✭drunkmonkey


    Our oldest is 4 at the end of April, my wife wants to hold him back in the crèche, I'd like to let him follow on with the majority of his class mates as he's been with them since 9mts.
    I'm not seeing what benefit another year in the crèche will do for him. He's very social not one bit shy.


  • #66
    GT_TDI_150
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,917 ✭✭✭✭GT_TDI_150


    I've mentioned it a few time but take the advise of the teachers/class leaders ( what ever they are called) in creche/preschool, they see the kids in school like environment and will have a really good idea whether the child will be ok in primary or not.

    Most creche/preschools are full subscribed and would have no reason to hold a child back to fill numbers so you should get a very honest assesment of the child.

    keep in mind they will go from playfull school to fairly structured learning ..


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  • #67
    byhookorbycrook
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 12,541 Mod ✭✭✭✭byhookorbycrook


    drunkmonkey wrote: »
    Our oldest is 4 at the end of April, my wife wants to hold him back in the crèche, I'd like to let him follow on with the majority of his class mates as he's been with them since 9mts.
    I'm not seeing what benefit another year in the crèche will do for him. He's very social not one bit shy.
    Remember that he will probably be going into a class of 30 + children with ONE adult, primary is a completely different set up.
    Could he do Montessori for a year?


  • #68
    drunkmonkey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,022 ✭✭✭✭drunkmonkey


    byhookorbycrook wrote: »
    Remember that he will probably be going into a class of 30 + children with ONE adult, primary is a completely different set up.
    Could he do Montessori for a year?

    What's the Montessori, he's in pre school now is that the same thing? Still in the creche but half the day he's up in preschool and then back down to creche to mind him for a few hrs.


  • #69
    vicwatson
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,404 ✭✭✭✭vicwatson


    pwurple wrote: »
    Nice to have the luxury of choice.

    For a lot of us, we simply cannot afford the annual 12k in Creche fees to keep them out of school another year or 2. Will hold onto that for college.
    gooseygander wrote: »
    Opinion please on starting my boy at 4.5 years or 5.5 years. His birthday is end of March and we are thinking of 4.5 start next September. What do you all think ??

    In my opinion Only you can make that decision and decide if it’s the right time post 4 for them to start, we knew with ours when they were ready.

    I wouldn’t be doing it for financial reasons ie a free babysitting service that some have said on here, teachers aren’t babysitters


  • #70
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,186 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    Just enrolled my boy for primary school, he’ll be starting on his 4th birthday, the school had no issue with it.


  • #71
    Moonbeam
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 19,021 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    That is very young. He will be 18 months younger then alot of his class mates. Are you sure that he will be able for it socially and emotionally?


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  • #72
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,186 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    Moonbeam wrote: »
    That is very young. He wil be 18 months younger then alot of hi class mates. Are you sure that he will be able for it socially and emotionally?

    We did it once before with no issues whatsoever , that time the child started almost a full month after the rest and is the youngest in the class, the age gap to the eldest is 17 months, in that occasion the school said that while they didn’t agree with it, they respected our decision and that if the child struggled she would have to repeat a year.

    As it turned out, she is now one of the top pupils in the class.

    I know every child is different and no 2 are the same before I write the next bit.

    My son is now almost 17 months and is by far the most advanced of any of my other children the whole way up to this stage, while I can still change my mind in enrolling him, If his development continues as it has been we have no hesitation.

    Places in many schools are in high demand, hence the decision was taken now, only during the preschool year will the decision be rubber stamped effectively.


  • #73
    embraer170
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,487 ✭✭✭embraer170


    Cork Truck Driver wrote: »
    Moonbeam wrote: »
    That is very young. He wil be 18 months younger then alot of hi class mates. Are you sure that he will be able for it socially and emotionally?

    We did it once before with no issues whatsoever , that time the child started almost a full month after the rest and is the youngest in the class, the age gap to the eldest is 17 months, in that occasion the school said that while they didn’t agree with it, they respected our decision and that if the child struggled she would have to repeat a year.

    As it turned out, she is now one of the top pupils in the class.

    I was also one of the top pupils in my class, which continued through college and eventually into a good Master’s Degree (and being the youngest ever recruit in my company when I got my first proper job). Still, it’s not something I want for my kids...


  • #74
    embraer170
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,487 ✭✭✭embraer170


    I have come to meet a few people who went through school young, either because of parental pressure or circumstances (such as moving countries) and I am not sure many look back on it positively.


  • #75
    draiochtanois
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,655 ✭✭✭draiochtanois


    This post has been deleted.


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