Compulsory School Age – to wait or not to wait

After a lovely chat with Mooses “ladies” at preschool about how he is getting on I was feeling less apprehensive. Moose is doing really well at preschool and has made some great friends. He is right where he should be for his age.

boy and a fence

His age is the problem.

He is an August baby and that means that he is due to start reception aged just 4yrs and 3 weeks. I know that there always has to be a youngest child but I feel/felt really sad to think that he will be that child. That it will put him at a disadvantage before he has even begun.

Physically I don’t think we will have a problem. His dad is 6ft2 and Moose has always been big so he will probably look quite average alongside children who might be anything up to 11 months older than him.

The bits I worry/worried about though is the little things. Things like getting his uniform on and off for PE. Putting his coat on to go out to play. Being able to write as well as and be able to hold a pencil for as long as his peers. His little fingers still being too clumsy to be able to keep up.

boy and tablet

It was for those reasons that I seriously considered keeping him in preschool for another year and starting him in reception when he is 5.

He wasn’t due until September. If he had just stayed put he would be going to school in 2019 and I wouldn’t have worried (alright, maybe a bit)

Problem is that it would be quite a fight to delay his start because everyone I have spoken to has told me that he would have to start in year 1, not reception. I don’t want him to miss the social connections kids make in those first few months. Applications for school need to made by January 2018 for a September start so I really need to get my skates on!

Seriously, how can I be more clueless with my third child than I was with my first?! Why is there not more information made available to parents about this? 

Did you delay your child until they reached compulsory school age? Tell me about it by leaving a comment. 

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