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Start school at 4 years old or 5 years old

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    #32
    yourdeadwright
    Registered Users Posts: 20,735 ✭✭✭✭yourdeadwright


    My daughter started at 4 ,turning 5 in December ,

    She was in preschool for 2 years , so she is more than ready and so far is doing great she absolutely loves it ,

    At the same time my 2 & half year old son has started pre-school & is struggling so far, He just doenslt have a grasp on rules , he doesn't i understand why he can't do what he wants , So all kids are different ,



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    #33
    SwimClub
    Registered Users Posts: 491 ✭✭SwimClub


    With school start age at least you get a choice who your kids are grouped with, with sports you don't, it is well-researched that professional athletes all have birthdays earlier in the year. The small advantage of even half a year at a very young age is enough that the birthdays of professional athletes are dominated by kids that are born first half of the season, even the first quarter.

    It might be because the kids are selected at an early stage as 'good' and given more coaching etc. First impressions last and all that and people find it hard to shake off labels, so giving your kid the best start relative to their peers in their class makes sense IMO. The same effect probably happens across the board not just in sport - being seen as a good student by the teacher, being in the cool gang, etc. etc. Of course there are always exceptions (even in professional sports) but the effect seems surprisingly strong.

    https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-athletes-birthdays-affect-who-goes-pro-and-who-becomes-a-star/

    "Of course, children old for their cohort don’t have better genes or more talent. Instead, “the relative age effect is almost certainly related to differences in rates of biological and psychological maturation,” said Joe Baker, a professor at York University in Toronto who researches the relative age effect. “Those who are relatively older appear stronger, faster, etc., but they’re really just older and therefore more advanced in their maturation.”


    Kids are picked as being in the better group when really they are just in the older group, and these effects can last a lifetime.



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    #34
    Princess Calla
    Registered Users Posts: 5,868 ✭✭✭Princess Calla


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608232#Comment_119608232

    You need to adjust your mindset.

    For one no one really asks your age in college.

    You will also have a mixed bag of people.....those who took a year out, those that failed a year, mature students etc.

    If you join any of the clubs or societies you'll be mixing with , 1st years to post grads so age not an issue.

    So your social life is not over , you will find your tribe once you adjust your attitude.



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    #35
    griffin100
    Registered Users Posts: 4,811 ✭✭✭griffin100


    We sent out first girl to school at 4 years and 5 months. She was academically well capable but she struggled physically a bit with the rough and tumble and emotionally she was just not ready. That might sound weird but it’s hard to explain. We should have waited another year. That said she didn’t suffer long term and is off to UCD next week at 18.5 years of age (we made sure she did TY).

    We sent children no.s 2-4 all at 5 and we had a much better experience with them. I’d hesitate about sending a child who wasn’t very close to being 5 (but thankfully that’s a stage of my life that’s over :))



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    #36
    JDD
    Registered Users Posts: 1,578 ✭✭✭JDD


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119608232#Comment_119608232

    I met my best mates in college.

    I had friends in school. My closer friends went off to other colleges, some repeated, and some came to the same college as me. I met up with my school friends in college the odd time in the first few months of first year, but actually met my best mates when I joined various societies in college and in my college year. It didn't matter a hoot if you were 18 or 21. Nearly all of them had no friends from school with them in college either, or if they did I very rarely met them. My college mates are still my closest friends today and I had an absolute ball with them for the four years.

    Forget social difficulties in school and the slight age gap. College is a chance to totally reinvent yourself, if that's what you want. I was a shy nerdy kid with shy nerdy friends all the way through secondary school. I really came out of my shell at university.

    ANNNND, you will be 21 when you do your J1. Winner all round. You should be shaking your parents hands.



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