Is Your Child Ready for School?

Anticipating and preparing for a child's entry into kindergarten is a parenting milestone. Although many children now attend a preschool program when they reach age 3 or 4, kindergarten is still viewed by most parents as the child's "official" entry into a formal system of education.

Deciding when your child is ready to begin kindergarten is not as simple as it used to be. Years ago, children who reached the age of 5 by a pre-determined cut-off date were automatically admitted into a kindergarten program. Today, many school districts throughout the United States conduct a kindergarten-screening program, usually administered in the spring preceding a child's entrance into school.

Kindergarten screening is a form of school-readiness testing designed to identify children with special educational needs. About 5 percent of children in public schools have some type of learning disability. When identified early, learning disabilities can be treated sooner and children with them can be instructed in individualized methods that will maximize their learning potential.

Although not designed to determine placement, the kindergarten screening tests are being used with increasing frequency by parents and school officials for this purpose. Parents who might otherwise have started their child in a kindergarten program are now holding them back in anticipation of the child reaching greater maturity and better being able to handle the kindergarten curriculum the following year. The pattern of holding children back, especially those children who are born during the summer months, has made the parenting decision of whether or not to start a child in kindergarten a most difficult one.

Experts agree that there are no absolute indicators of kindergarten readiness. Standardized testing in children ages 4 to 6 is often unreliable, due in part to the fact that normal development in children of this age group is highly variable. When deciding whether or not to start a child in kindergarten it is important for the parent to consider that maturity is not synonymous with intelligence and that immaturity at 5 years of age is not a valid predictor of whether a child will succeed in later school years.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has developed a list of indicators that are useful in assessing your child's readiness to begin school. They include:

• The child is in good physical health; the child can see and hear well.



• The child is independent in self-care skills such as dressing, eating, toileting and hand washing.



• The child can follow directions and has begun to develop an attention span; he or she is able to share and take turns.



• The child speaks clearly and demonstrates age-appropriate language skills.



• The child knows and can recite their full name as well as the names of their parents.



• The child is able to work independently for short periods of time.



• The child can play in small groups with other children.



• The child tolerates frustration and failure.



• The child accepts adult supervision and help and easily makes changes when asked to do so.

When deciding whether or not a child is ready to enter kindergarten, it is imperative to consider not only his or her chronological age and academic achievement but also the child's physical, social and emotional development.

Children are more likely to have a smooth transition into the classroom if they have developed language skills that allow them to communicate with their peers and teachers. They are more likely to have confidence in their own ability to cope with school if they can relate to the ideas and topics introduced by the teacher and other children when classroom activities are being introduced and implemented.

Parents and preschool programs can help children acquire the needed language skills by engaging children in conversation and discussions and by providing opportunities for children to practice their language skills both at home and with other children.

A child is more likely to be socially ready for the kindergarten experience if he or she has already had positive experiences being in a group setting away from home and familiar adults. Children will approach kindergarten with increased confidence if they have already had positive experiences in accepting authority and direction from adults outside of the home. Children are more likely to have acquired the needed social skills such as taking turns, making compromises and interacting with unfamiliar peers and teachers if they begin kindergarten already having experienced these social situations.

Before starting kindergarten, most states require a complete physical examination and updating of the child's immunizations. The immunizations usually given at the 5-year-old checkup include a DTaP booster (diptheria-pertussis-tetanus), OPV (oral polio vaccine) and MMR (measles-mumps-rubella). Allow plenty of time before school begins to schedule this examination, because pediatricians' offices are especially busy during back-to-school times and the wait for an appointment could be several months.

When you have decided to enroll your child in a kindergarten program, there are several things that a parent can do to help smooth the child's transition into the classroom:

• Attend the school's kindergarten orientation program with your child. Children will have an opportunity to meet the teachers, view the classroom and find out what the school day will entail. If you cannot attend the scheduled orientation program, do not hesitate to call the school and request an opportunity to bring your child into the kindergarten classroom. Teachers are often at the school, setting up their classroom during the week preceding the start of classes, and you may be able to arrange a meeting during this time.



• Discuss with your child how they will be arriving and departing from school. If the child will be walking to school, do a practice run together a few times before school begins. If the child will be bussed to school, take them to the bus stop and, if possible, introduce them to some of the other children who will be waiting for the bus with them.



• Initiate conversations with your child about kindergarten. Find out if he or she has any fears or questions that can be addressed before school begins. Start a countdown until school a few weeks before classes start so that your child will have time anticipate his or her first day of school.



• If you will need to make changes in your child's bedtime and awakening time, do so well in advance of the first day of school. You can begin by having your child go to bed 10 to 15 minutes earlier each night for a week and have them awaken a few minutes earlier each day until they are on a schedule that resembles the one they will need for school.



• Try to arrange your schedule so that you will be able to take your child to the bus stop or classroom on the first day of school. If this is not possible, arrange for a familiar person to be with your child on the first few days of school.



• Relax. The first day of kindergarten is often more stressful for the parent than it is for the child.

Related Articles Top 10 Signs of a Good Kindergarten Classroom Is Your Child Adequately Immunized to Begin School? Chickenpox Vaccine: Should Your Child Get It? Treating Head Lice Learning Disabilities in the School-Aged Child Finding a Good After-School Program Keeping Your Child's School Lunch Safe Chickenpox Vaccine: Should Your Child Get It? Sending Kids to School With Meds Is Home Schooling Right for Your Child?

External Sources American Academy of Pediatrics. Policy Statement. National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC Position Statement on School Readiness. Young Children.

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.

Search