Kindergarten at 4 years old? YES OR NO

Well I guess being expose to other kids would be another great way to improve her speech. Just go on with her speech therapy as well.

I went to kindergarten at age 4, and came out none the worse for it. I got teased a little bit throughout school for being the youngest in my class, but it wasn't really a big deal. The speech difficulties could make things a lot more challenging, but then again if you do some research and get your daughter into a good classroom with a good teacher, it might actually help her with her speech difficulties.

I think it could be hard for her considering she's not at the age group of the other children and thus not at the same developmental stages. For example lots of kids don't really start to talk to kids they don't know until they are 5 years old. I think there is always the risk of having her feel inadequate because she may not understand everything the way the other children will because of her stage in life. It's risky, I would suggest you do not do that but I'm not a parent so I can't really say much. On the other hand she could develop faster because she is learning at a higher level earlier. It's hard to say because children learn best at the earliest stages and so there is the scale of yes this is good for them vs the social scale of no this is not. Hmmm...tough one.

Yes, referring to my own experience. My three kids started going to school (nursery school) at the early age of three. The hardest one is for my first born since shes the first to go to school. The other two is of no problem at all, they just follow of their eagerness and our persuasion to go to school. The best thing we parents do is to teach our children about going to school is a good thing, the earliest possible time. This way they don't develop the fear of being alone or left in the classroom without the parents around.

I don't think so. My first daughter enter the kindergarten when she was 4 years old. There was no problem at all. she was enjoy and was happy because she had a lot of new friends. But different child has different manner. you know your child and you will do the best thing for your child. It is your choice.

I think its better to start your child`s education at 5 years as i started when i was 5 years old, although i don`t remember much i still had lots of fun. She should finish her speech therapy as in kindergarten she should know how to talk to people atleast as it might cause problems for her in the near future.

I think you are right. If they aren't forcing you to put her in kindergarten I would wait and put her in next year. In our area, you have to turn 5 by the end of August to start school in September. My daughter's birthday is September 13, so she had to wait to start kindergarten till the following year. So she turned 6 right after she started kindergarten. I think it was good for her to be a little bit older before starting. She also did preschool so it helped her open up more around the kids.

Hello, I have 5 years old, her birthday was in October last year. She speaks to languages and her first language is not english either. She is really slow kid, I meant with speaking english. No one would understand her even she comes to work with me everyday and deal with people around her. However, I put her in Preschool since she became 4 years old. Now, she is in Kindergarten, she could understand but sometimes she can't answer you... she is learning now and I am telling you she is something that I didn't expect at all. So, I think you dont have to worry about it. She will learn and speak on her own and she might sing u a song before you knew it. Kid's brain is just like a sponge and they will get everything in there. For my kid, they did take her a test to find out how much she knows. I think, if the school said she is ready then put her in. She will love going to school and then come home singing songs for you.

I don't think 4 is too young to start school, because if she's ready to learn then by all means let her learn. But if you personally feel that she would have a hard time due to her speech condition, then you should be able to hold her back a year. There are plenty of parents who decide their child isn't ready for a certain grade because of age or learning difficulties. It's completely up to you.

I think it depends on the child as to whether or not they are old enough to start kindegarten. Some parents keep their children back a year if they feel they are too young. I went to pre-school when I was 4 and to kindegarten when I was 5.

Hi mamalovestoread! I'm no where near having children but I have given this topic some thought. I think that children shouldn't be sent to nursery/pre-school/kindergarten. I believe in giving them the chance to enjoy their younger years before responsibilities and expectations are piled onto them. However, this does not mean that they shouldn't be learning during the years they are not in school. I actually think that as a parent or an adult, we should make it our responsibility to help the child learn something new everyday. I believe this structure-free kind of learning will help broaden their minds and increase their knowledge-base. For me, four is definitely too early an age to send children to school.

i live in West Liberty Ky. and here our school districts age limit is 5.. they have to be 5 before october 5 of the year they are supposed to start school... my daughter is going to be 5 in march and she went to two years of pre school... i ended up pulling her about three months after she started because they werent really teaching her any thing and i figured that i could help her a little more at home being a stay at home mother... i have found that working with her on a constant basis doing flash cards and writing excersizes. i feel that if the parents think that the child is ready then it should be the choice of the parents... but also i think that there should be a testing procedure to determin whether or not the child is ready to go to school... but i figure that there isnt a better teacher than your parents... be a good teacher, teach your children, help them... thats the best way to help your children be ready for life... by teaching them from your life expierences...

I'm 22 now, but I didn't go to preschool, and went to kindergarten at 4 years old. I wasn't a very social child, so the idea was a little frightening at first, but I think getting started that one year younger actually helped me adapt easier. It all depends on if you think your child is going to do well, and it won't be a bad situation for her. Good luck

IF U find dat ur daughter is not able to speak properly..Then its better to leave this topic for 1 year..,If yes,This is the right age :) Best of luck!

hi mama Yes, for me its good for the kids to start school at their young age, especially your child that has difficulty with her speech, maybe she can improve it while in school, watching and listening with the teacher and classmates would probably help her speech improve. My son is 3yo now, he'll be 4 on oct. this year. And this coming june I will enroll him in kindergarten, yes I think he would enjoy learning basic things. Happy mylotting

Well you should not worry about her. I think she must have learnt those things which a 4-5 year child require form home. Now its time for her to interact with someone who is not among the family member. Let her go to see the outside world. It will be quite beneficial for her if she can learn other social aspects as soon as possible. And I am quite sure that she might be gifted with a good presence of mind. Don't think about her speech. It will go with time. So friend let her go into a new world.

My son is 5 years old, he has been in kindergarten since 3 years old, firstly there are many problems we worried, he was born in september, that means he is the youngest kid in class. he can't speak clearly, can't go to toilet by himself,he can't eat and sleep without mom. But after one month, my son was used to the new life easily, he learned to express his needs to teachers, eat and sleep by himself, the most important is that he learnd how to get well with others, and make friends. Of course every child has his own question, but it's the first step for a child to begin his own life, I don't think 4 year old is too young, just go ahead and keep in close touch with her teachers, I believe your daughter will find the way to express herself clearly.

I don't have an opinion either way, although I do believe structured assignments aren't the best thing to do for most children, especially on early on development. A lot of the newest research is bringing about the idea of play, basically the development of motor abilities and experimenting with as much variety as possible to help build as much different understandings of the world early on. Different language, different tools (the more simplistic the better), fantasy roles, unstructured sports development - think recess, instead of a specific sport, etc. are the keys to helping a child foster an environment that will instill an ease for learning later on in life. All this stuff has to do with how the brain develops early on - how a child matures and how child development until about ages 4-6 stays within them until they are older, meaning that we can't lose something at all and has a permanent habitat in our brain during these peak times. For example, you can't forget how to speak english, nor can others of native languages who immigrate use their native language even if they know several. Basically an easy way of thinking about learning is a way to form associations with different and multiple subjects - this also helps develop creativity (the ability to make associations to unlikely subjects/objects in life. The more associations you make, the better able are you to give anything meaning in your own life and thus memorize it better. With kindergarten though the environment is rigid and tries to teach you the rules of everything - limiting, rather than helping learning if done too soon. The best approach is to do both, where yes you give your child a structured environment, but also teach your child other ways of thinking of the same subject - physically and mentally. Three good books are Nuture Shock, Edu-K, and Smart Moves.