If you have a child born towards the middle or end of the year, you may be faced with a tricky and stressful decision. Do you send them to school as soon as they turn five? Or do you “hold them back” and send them at the start of the next school year? Reports show that some parents of boys express concerns that their boys may develop more slowly and that school activities may favour girls.
SCHOOL ENTRY IN NEW ZEALAND
Most children in New Zealand start school when they turn five years old, but school is not compulsory until age six. Children can enrol and start school on or after their fifth birthday. Some schools may operate on a cohort entry system, where children start school in groups, rather than individually on their birthdays.
Some students will start in Year 0, which refers to the first year of formal schooling and includes children who start later in the year (for most schools this is after April 30 but can be up to July). Year 1 is the first full year of school for those who start at the beginning of the school year, up until the school’s Year 0 cut-off.
NEW RESEARCH
New research from professors at Macquarie University, Sydney, and published in Early Education and Development surveyed 226 Australian parents and found that 29% of parents intended to send their child to school as soon as they were eligible and 66% planned to start later. About 5% were unsure.
Consistent with trends in other countries, parents were almost four times as likely to report they intended to start boys later than girls. There were five key factors guiding their decisions.
Key Factors
1. Money and work
One group of factors, labelled “practical realities,” meant parents were more likely to send a child to school on time. This included high early childhood education costs (it is much cheaper to send a child to a government school than pay for daycare) and parents’ work demands (and the benefits of regular school hours).
As one parent said:
“School is a cheaper option for many parents and community preschool (which is cheaper, depending on the number of days) is not a practical option for many working families.”
2. A child’s size
Parents also considered their child’s physical size relative to their peers. Other studies suggest parents worry smaller boys will be bullied and will struggle to demonstrate sporting prowess.
Reflecting on this trend, one parent said:
“I would prefer that my child wasn’t starting school with children [who are] older, just because other parents think boys need a bit more time to mature. They are then significantly older and bigger by then.”
3. Social readiness
Another group of factors involved children’s social, emotional and behavioural readiness for school. This includes their ability to pay attention and sit still, follow instructions, regulate and manage emotions, and show empathy and consideration for others.
One parent who sent their child at five said:
“Our child will be fine. He is able, social and confident and hopefully this will mean he will have a positive school experience irrespective of what year he starts.”
Another parent who chose to delay said:
“I want my child to be introduced to formal schooling as late as possible to ensure his brain development and emotional regulation are mature enough to handle the transition.”
4. Family time
Another set of reasons influencing parents’ decisions was a desire to spend more time together with their child before formal schooling.
As one parent explained:
“I always hear that no one ever regrets sending their child a bit later but they often regret sending early. I can afford for her to have an extra year of preschool and time at home and that is a luxury I acknowledge not everyone has.”
5. Milestones
Parents also looked ahead to the future and considered their child’s age relative to peers—such as when they would be starting high school or completing teenage milestones like driving, drinking, and finishing school.
As one parent said:
“The people around me having a choice (and holding their children back) ended up influencing my choice. She [my daughter] could have started school but would have been in a peer group that had been held back.”
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What About Academic Concerns?
Interestingly, parents did not typically express academic concerns or motivations (such as a desire to see their child move ahead of others academically) as a factor in their decision.
One parent said:
“I have very strong beliefs about what school readiness means and, for me, it is much more than just being academically ready.”
Although there is evidence older children have a developmental advantage over younger children when entering school, academic benefits tend to dissipate over time.
What Does This Mean?
Research suggests the reasons why parents start a child early or hold them back are complex—and very much based on the needs of individual families and children.
Taken together, they suggest teachers not only need to accommodate a wide range of ages starting school but a sizeable portion of families who will have “delayed” school for a variety of personal reasons.
