1.Academic Readiness

●Providing a challenging environment and enriching curriculum when a child is ready for the next stage of learning is very important

●Hitting the “window” of excitement and readiness by enrolling a child when they are excited and ready to go to “big school” is a positive

2.Social and Emotional Maturity

●Some children (especially the gifted) are socially and emotionally mature enough to start school early

 -They often prefer the company of older children

- They frequently have fewer behavior problems when their classmates are older than they are

3.Physical Maturity

●At times, a child’s physical development may lag behind their emotional and intellectual development. Waiting for their physical development to catch up can cause problems for them academically and socially.  

-Example: Gifted children are notorious for their poor  handwriting. They can think faster than they write,  which causes them to scribble things down as quickly as they can. That does not lead to neat handwriting. Waiting another year will not solve this problem. 

●There is no guarantee that waiting an extra year will make a child grow any faster.

 -Example: Holding a child back an extra year might allow him to start out the same size as the older children, but they may outgrow him in a couple of years.  

NOTE: We do not grade advance a child who is big for their age even though their size can lead to teasing. In this case, the importance of academic needs is understood. 

4.Impact on Adolescence

●Children mature at different rates

-A child who is the same age as his classmates may not be socially or emotionally mature enough to date. There is no way to know for sure if a child who starts early is any more or less ready than children who are a year older.

-Not all 16-year olds drive, regardless of when they started school

-Not all children are interested in sports, so making a decision for grade placement based on a possible future desire is not necessarily valid. Additionally, some sports are not affected by physical size, track, for example

5.Other Influencing Factors

●Reduces costs for day care and/or preschool

1.Academic Research

●Studies have shown that, typically, early kindergarten entrants score 4-12 percentiles lower than the oldest members of their cohort in 4th grade. The performance gap tapers to 2-9 percentiles by 8th grade; however, the data has shown that the youngest members of each cohort are less likely to attend university (Bedard & Dhuey, 2006)

●Moreover, studies have shown that academic aptitude is not the most important piece to consider when starting a student early in kindergarten; social savviness is far more important to a student’s future success (Dee & Sieversten, 2015)

2.Academic Readiness

●When children enter school and are not ready, they may…… 

-Develop negative self-esteem that stays with them throughout their entire school careers and possibly beyond

-Not receive the extra help they need to survive the kindergarten experience

-Tax the system by requiring remediation in kindergarten and future grades

-Experience negative relationships with peers

-Take valuable time away from students who are ready

3.Social and Emotional Maturity

●A four-year old is not mature enough to start school

 Typical Kindergarten Expectations: be able to pay attention to the teacher, follow directions,  obey rules, sit and listen to stories, stay focused on a task, and understand the difference between work and play. Moreover, know when each is appropriate. 

 -If the child is immature emotionally, socially, or behaviorally, placing them in kindergarten early may be setting your child up for failure or frustration

- If your child has demonstrated in preschool or day care an inability to sit and attend to a lesson, get along well with peers, or transition easily from one activity to another, they may be put in a situation for which they are not ready and it may set their entire educational experience off to a negative start.

●Social immaturity can make it difficult for a child to interact appropriately with other children. If for whatever reason, your child is not developmentally ready for kindergarten, other behavioral or emotional problems may pop up.

4.Physical Maturity

●A child may not be physically ready for school

Note: Physical readiness includes gross and fine motor skill development as well as physical size 

 -Children who start school early are typically smaller than the other children and may encounter social problems, including teasing by the other children.

 -Some younger children have not yet fully developed the ability to control their bladder for the periods necessary at school. Accidents can lead to social issues if a child starts school early, they may not have the fine motor skills to be able to hold a pencil properly and write well

5.Impact on Adolescence

●A child who starts school early may be unable to participate in sports due to smallphysical size

●When other teens are going to camp or participating in other summer programs, a child who started school early may not meet age requirements and will not be able to attend or participate

●Early admission has negative effects on a child’s life in high school that can lead to them feeling like an outcast and a misfit

 -Your child will be the last to be eligible to drive

- Your child will not be mature enough when his or her classmates begin dating

Parents need to consider their child’s emotional and social maturity, but they need to consider it in terms of the child’s chronological age. A gifted four-year-old may think like a six or seven-year-old but have the emotions and social skills of a five-year-old. This can make them look too immature for school, when in fact they would fit in with other five-year-olds, at least emotionally. Intellectually, they might still be ahead.

The decision to put a child in school early is difficult. Parents worry about which option will allow their child to fit in best with the other children and best set them up for the future. Like most things in life, there is not a simple answer. Ultimately, parents are best served when they have a clear understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of early entrance, have access to clear and useful data about their child’s academic abilities, and can accurately recognize the physical, social, and emotional levels of maturity in their child. 

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Available online at http://giftedkids.about.com/od/educationoptions/i/earlyentry 2.htm 

Bedard,K. and Dhuey, E. (November 2006). “The Persistence of Early Childhood Maturity: International Evidence 

of Long-Run Age Effects.” Quarterly Journal of Economics. (Oxford), 121(4), 1437-1472. Available online at 

http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/24091802/persistence-early-childhood-maturity-international- 

evidence-long-run-age-effects 

Dockett,S. & Perry, B. (2002). “Who’s ready for what? Young children staring school.” Contemporary Issues in 

Early Childhood, 3(1), 67-89. Available online at 

http://www.wwwords.co.uk/pdf/freetoview.asp?i=ciec&vol=3&issue=1&year=2002&article= 

Dockett_CIEC_3_1 

Downs,C. (June 1, 2009). “Pros and Cons of Early Kindergarten Entry.” Carolina Parent [online]. Available online at 

http://www.carolinaparent.com/articlemain.php?Pros-and-Cons-of-Early-Kindergarten-Entry-837 

Gulino,J.(2008). “Kindergarten Readiness: A Challenge.” Principal. (Reston, Va.), 85(5), 30-35. Available online at 

http://www.naesp.org/resources/1/Principal/2008/M-Ip30.pdf 

Hellesvig-Gaskel,K. (N.D.). “Pro & Cons on Deciding When to Send a Child to Kindergarten.” In The 

Bump > Preschooler > Parenting > Preschooler Development. Available online at 

http://preschooler.thebump.com/pro-cons-deciding-send-child-kindergarten-1202.html 

Weil,E. (June 3, 2007). “When Should a Kid Start Kindergarten?” The New York Times. Available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/magazine/03kindergarten-t.html?pagewanted_1