To wish school wasn't so relentless for young children.

[waterrat]

My son is 4 and likes school. It's a good creative primary and I feel lucky to have got a place there. But god the school system is so relentless. Every day handing over my young child and getting him back exhausted to the point of tears. And he is one of the kids who has found it generally easy socially etc.

I work part time so I cant ve there every day to collect him. I feel very sad about losing the days off I had with him. I now get to be with him twice in the week between 330 and bedtime. How have we built a system that means parents see so little of their children ? I already work a 3 day week so I know I'm lucky.

Today I was in the park with my younger child. It was such a beautiful day and my heart ached wishing he cpuld be with me just having a random jump about and playing with friends rather than having to be in the system every day learning.

I think pre school was great but the hours we put our kids through at such a young age is just reallt making me sad.

Do any of you feel like this ?

Fair point I cpuld have kept him at pre school. It just didn't seem like the right decision given that his close friends were all starting school and a new younger intake was starting st nursery.

Even if I had kept him back I still wouldn't like the system we have for 4/5/6 yr olds

Anyway I'm not saying I dislike school completely. I certainly don't want to HE. I just wish it was more flexible and the day was shorter.

I feel maybe I should have pushed for a 4 day week.

Not everyone can HE. I couldn't afford to stop work. Also I want an education system that works for all children not just a solution for myself.

I get it many kids love reception. My son loves it most of the time. I just think family time matters too and there should be more freedom to choose if you want to spend time with your own child in their younger years. Not just at 4.

You're perfectly entitled to that opinion. Up to what age would you give parents the choice to keep children at home for part of the day or some days? And how would you go about ensuring they were all (roughly) starting from a similar point when some of them had been educated from 5, some from 6, some from 7 etc?

You dont have to give up work to home ed, you work part time already, you would home ed around that and find childcare for your child.

Can you imagine the chaos and lack of continuity if children just went to school when their parents felt like sending them!

Sirzy: Yup! You're trying to teach half the class what you've been teaching them all term and, out of the other kids, you have three kids who have missed half the lessons, four who have missed two thirds, four starting from scratch etc. A total bloody shambles.

I'm in NI where I knew the date for age cut offs was different but I assumed the compulsory starting age was the same as England. However this has just been posted on a local parenting group I am in and it states that September after the 4th birthday is compulsory starting age.

Mine find great initially after a break but then find it relentless. So many school demands on family time too.

I've always found this term to be the hardest on kids especially those in reception. They are worn out at this point and to make it worse there's so much going on at school with nativity plays and Christmas not to mention all the colds and bugs on the go. It's exhausting for kids, parents and teachers.