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Original poster

starting school too early??

10 replies

Tinkerboo · 05/10/2006 13:14

I have just had a letter for a meeting for DS2 about starting school next september. He is now only 3.4yrs and still such a great big baby. I can't imagine he will ever be ready for school by next year. He is still so babyish in all his ways, likes to be carried, has a blankie, chooses to sleep in his cot etc I wish there was more flexibility so you could choose when they were ready. I know some are raring to go at just 4yrs but others need longer. Or am I just over protective of my baby??

OP posts:
bambi06 · 05/10/2006 13:28

i thought tha tof my ddd, shell never keep awake as she still had an afternoon nap, was a proper mummies girl etc but in that last year before she went she changed so much,it was unbelievable how ready she was so keep your chin up, im sure he`ll mature in time..will he be 4.5 yrs old by then?

Original poster
Tinkerboo · 05/10/2006 13:40

he'll be 4.4yrs when he starts, which I know won't make him the youngest, but he really is so young in all his behaviours. He still has a lunchtime nap and really needs it, although I am trying to waen him off this. His language has been quite delayed, he has good understanding but it can be difficult for others to understand him. He also likes being a 'baby' and plays up to this, I try not to respond, but he is my baby!!

OP posts:
LIZS · 05/10/2006 13:46

You may find that they phase in later birthdays so he would n't go fulltime , if at all, until half term or after Christmas , admission policies can vary.

Gobbledispook · 05/10/2006 13:50

I agree with bambi - IME children can really come on a lot between 3 and 4 you really might be surprised at the difference in a years time.

Ds2 is 3.11 now and in the last 6 months he changed dramatically. 6 months ago I would say he was fine at nursery but still very tired in the afternoons, needing a sleep still and very whiney. He is completely different now and at almost 4, although he is only in school nursery, I think he could actually manage reception quite well.

He goes to another nursery Mon-Wed mornings, school nursery every afternoon. I was worried he was going to be utterly shattered but he isn't - he is raring to go.

He has 'come out of his shell' so much - you can't stop him talking where he was previously very shy and hardly said a word. He was very clingy - now he runs into nursery without a backward glance.

Absolutely everyone that knows him, without exception has remarked at how much he has changed over the summer months.

So, I really wouldn't worry too much - it's a whole year away and he could honestly change an enormous amount in that time.

JoolsTOOOOOOOoooooooooo · 05/10/2006 13:55

I can second that, you can't shut him up now!

It is lovely to see him blossoming.

You may start losing your 'baby' soon Tinker!

WigWamBam · 05/10/2006 14:01

He will be the same age as my dd was when she started Reception, and believe me there was a huge difference between her being 3.4 and 4.4 - being young in his behaviour now isn't a true indication of how he will be in a year's time.

He'll be fine - don't worry! There wasn't a single child in dd's Reception year who wasn't ready to be there, even the very youngest ones.

Original poster
Tinkerboo · 05/10/2006 14:39

Thanks feeling better already! I think the letter this morning just made me panic. He does seem so much younger than DS1 did at the same age tho. My mum thinks it's me babying him, but I have no choice he is such a baby. Okay maybe it's me a bit . He is just so gorgeous (mostly) and I just want to enjoy him.

OP posts:
singersgirl · 05/10/2006 14:44

Both my boys are the youngest in their class, and both started when they were just 4 and a couple of weeks.

I felt the same about my DS2, who was still napping 2 or 3 times a week right until the end of nursery - not officially in his bed, but dropping off in front of the TV or in the pushchair (I always knew he wanted a sleep if he asked to go in the buggy to pick up DS1).

He was fine at school (although tired), but he does like to play the baby at home sometimes - last week when he was very tired he chose to watch an old Teletubbies video, for instance. I indulge him without trying to encourage it, IYSWIM.

And I would second everyone else who says that they change enormously between 3 and 4 - and of course between 4 and 5... But it is sometimes hard to feel that our littlest ones are growing up.

Original poster
Tinkerboo · 05/10/2006 15:07

Yes, saying how gorgeous he was tho, was a mistake, he has now woken from his nap in the mother of all bad moods, and is currently screaming, with not even the offer of TV able to placte him. Maybe I'll be glad when he goes to school after all!

OP posts:
Gobbledispook · 05/10/2006 18:15

Yes, I'm going to feel very sad I think when ds3 starts school - he will be 4 and a week

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