Too much too young? Kids start school too early, according to experts

Too much too young? Kids start school too early, according to experts

Jonah has always kicked up his heels about reading. He just doesn’t want to do it, despite being perfectly competent. We have to bribe him to sit down with a book, despite reading to him every night since he was a newborn. This might be because, as an aspie, he struggles to identify with characters and situations with which new is unfamiliar. However, I think it’s because we started asking him to learn to read too early.

According to this story on Sky News, the idea that pressurising kids to learn before they are ready may be doing more harm than good is beginning to be recognised.

Jonah and Ava go to a progressive state primary where the kids call the teachers by their first names, and they don’t wear uniform. As much as possible, the school operate on a Montessori principles of play based learning, but the national curriculum likes to scupper this by making children sit down, shut up and learn. And it’s just not that good for them.

I feel a sense of relief that this is being recognised by the powers of be. I feel strongly that particularly that four and five year old boys, often do not have the attention spans or interest in learning at an early age – which is not to say that if they are not pressured into it, they won’t later on.

I also feel strongly that younger girls should be placed in classes with older boys to even out the social and emotional learning curve between the sexes  which might in the long run help out on yesterday’s rant about government policies failing women by  making it hard for them to be financially able to have children at peak fertility  – if you’re wondering how these things are linked, I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions. But however sensible a proposition, I doubt this will happen in my lifetime, whatever expert opinion states, because it might be considered sexist, which when it comes to the wellbeing of future generations just shouldn’t be a consideration.

In many nordic countries, not beginning formal education until six  or seven is commonplace. I hope the UK adopts this model of universal play based childcare  and a later start to the ‘three rs’. Kids need a chance to be kids. We’re not Victorians anymore.