To wish people would just say their child's age

[kaytee87]

Not a taat but about many threads. In lots of threads the op will say things like Year 5 or KS whatever to describe the child's age and I don't have a clue what they're talking about as the schooling system is not the same the U.K. (or indeed the world) over.
AIBU to wish people would just put the child's age?

I find that annoying too, not everyone on MN is familiar with the school system in the UK and it's annoying having to Google it every time. So I'm starting to just leave those threads now.

YANBU just say what age fgs!

But, 99% (?) of MN users are from Britain. I'm in England, but understand the Scottish year groups.

I think it depends. If you are talking about school, then year group is fine, as e.g. 11yo makes a difference if primary or secondary and 16yo makes a difference if GCSE year / first year 6th. It also matters for things like alcohol at parties whether the peers are older or younger.

For other things it doesn't matter so much and age would be clearer.

It's not even the U.K. school system, its totally different in Scotland too. I can't get the context of the thread if I don't know the age of the child. I don't get it, it doesn't take long to say '8yo' '4yo' etc

Well I'm in Scotland and don't understand the English system!
The Scottish one is very straightforward (imo ) but I'd still say age and if relevant, what class they are in.

P1 = Reception, P2 = y1 … P7 = y6, S1 = y7

@TeenTimesTwo but it's not exactly because children in Scotland tend to start primary 1 older than children in England start reception. Plus i don't want to remember that

I’m scotland too and always have to wait until someone asks their age. KS1 & 2 etc I’ve no idea.

Well I'm old and have no kids so I've generally got no idea whatsoever.... I don't understand why people can't just put an age either.

OP I agree.

I can work out the ages of children from some of the class years in different countries but it is helpful to say 6 yo or 7 yo as well.

If you’re talking about school related issues the year they’re in is often more relevant than their age. “5 year old DD still can’t read at all” is a problem if she’s in Y1 but no big deal if she’s in YR. “School won’t let me in to try to find 11 year old DS’s rucksack” is worth fighting if he’s Y6, but not if he’s Y7. “I want to take 16 yo DD out of school for a couple of days in March to attend a family wedding” is maybe OK in Y12 - not so much in Y11.

I only ever see people do it with the English system actually. I've never seen anyone write 'primary 2' to refer to their child's age.
It's on par with saying you live in 'the north' or 'the south east' I suppose. The north of where??

The Scottish one is very straightforward

Except in p1 in Scotland you can have a child who is 4, 5 or 6 because of deferral. So saying a child is in p1 when talking about developmental issues may be misleading because there is a huge range. And obviously this continues up the primaries.

It's not as bad as "my ds is 32 months" or "my dd is 26 months" YOUR CHILD IS TWO

@Jeanclaude or weeks for newborns.... My head was mince...I could never remember the weeks!

I agree its annoying, for example a reception aged child could be 4 or 5, which is quite a difference.

Hate people who speak in months as well. Your darling 35 month old is almost 3 ffs.

I would actually rather know what school year we're talking about in most instances. For example, DS1 is 6. He could be old in Year 1 or young in Year 2 (he's the latter), but a child at the beginning of Year 1 is at a different stage from a child at the beginning of Year 2, regardless of the age. I get it's a pain if you're not in the English system, but I understand the Scottish system, so it can't be that hard. For ease, everyone should put the age and the school year. Job done.

@DancingDot I was being 'lighthearted' about our system being more straightforward and yes, I agree! That's why from henceforth I announce that everyone must put age and class on all posts forever more.

@Dahlietta see in Scotland a 6yo would be old for primary one or spot on for primary two so our classes just don't match up. Hence the confusion.

Oh come on, just recently I've seen loads of threads where the OP has put aged 9 or aged 7 etc, and other posters have got it wrong, not read properly and responded with "well, at Y7 or Y9, I'd expect......"
So putting the age means nothing, anyway.

Totally agree on this and the months for toddlers. Someone posted on my FB recently that their child was 37 months so 3 then you fucking weirdo.

No @Kaytee I think you're right. And your diktat sounds spot on - let's get @MNHQ to add it to the rules.

My angel is 113 weeks old awww

I only ever see people do it with the English system actually. I've never seen anyone write 'primary 2' to refer to their child's age.

I have seen it loads of times (probably in proportion to the % of UK population in Scotland) and I do it myself. It really isn't rocket science!

Although I'm in Scotland myself I don't think that it is that straightforward. In England, the autumn term starts in September, and almost all the DC will be the same age and will become the next age during the school year as the birthday intake will be 1 September to 31 August. In Scotland, as the intake is 1 March to 28 February, half the children starting P1 will be 5 and the other half will be 4. Some will turn 6 during the year and the rest will turn 5 during the year. Then there is the further complication, of families defering so the gap between the oldest and the youngest isn't a year but more like 16 months. At the other end, in secondary, it is even more complicated with 5/12 of the DC reaching school leaving age at the end of S4 (see I've done what you think you have never seen) except for those whose birthdays fall between 1 October and and 28 February who have to stay on at school for an extra term and can leave at Christmas.

It's not as bad as "my ds is 32 months" or "my dd is 26 months" YOUR CHILD IS TWO

Lol this is what I thought this thread was going to be about when I clicked! I recently turned 384 months.