When is my child ready for school?
When should my child start school? This question is on the minds of many parents every year. Especially if their child's birthday is after the deadline for school enrolment. The solution is complex, but there are pointers that make the decision easier.
Firstly, this is a topic where it is not possible to lay down general rules for all children. In the end, it will always be an individual decision that the parents have to make together with the environment, the teachers, the paediatrician and ultimately their child.
Nevertheless, I believe that there are a few aspects and pointers that can help with the decision and that I would like to pass on to parents. In my opinion, there are three aspects to school readiness:
Physical maturity: is the child reasonably within the norm in terms of height and weight? Is the child's dexterity and gross motor skills reasonably age-appropriate?
Mental maturity: Is the child developing a basic understanding of numbers? Can it concentrate for a certain period of time? Can they play memory games, copy and recognise figures, etc.?
Social/emotional maturity: If the child is treated unfairly, does he/she manage to calm down again? How does the child deal with being reprimanded? How does the child deal with injustice? Etc.
Point 3) is, in my opinion, the most important when it comes to whether a child is considered ready for school or not. That's why I often tell parents that I can't make the best judgement in practice in such a short time. That's why the most important thing is to talk to the people who experience the child on a day-to-day basis. These are usually the nursery school teachers or the leaders of gymnastics or play groups. Because they see their child interacting with other children. And if a child feels comfortable and reasonably safe with their peers, I believe this is the most important criterion for recognising that a child is ready for school.
In general, parents should simply trust their gut feeling. And if they are in doubt, if they are unsure, then please always say: It's better to start school a year later than a year earlier. Ultimately, it is important that everyone in the family is happy and has a good feeling about starting school. And if the parents are already feeling insecure, then you can be sure that this will be passed on to the child. And that would be an unnecessary first negative factor when school starts. And school should actually be something positive for the child from day one. And not filled with fear.
Further interesting tips
Sunburn
As an introduction to the topic, here's a little joke: What is black, white and red? A zebra with sunburn. Haha. But sunburn is actually nothing to joke about.
Medical information in social media
... and yes, the doctor himself spreads a lot of medical information on Insta & Co. But there is one crucial difference: he does not pursue any commercial interests with his channels. Unfortunately, you can't say that about everyone who is active in this field ..
Drowning
Anyone who knows me from practical experience knows that I am usually very relaxed and not very anxious when it comes to parenting and development issues and often advise people not to take a too tense view of things. But when it comes to today's topic, there is simply zero room for compromise. It's one of the most important issues in paediatrics: the risk of children drowning.