Children should start school younger than they do now. Which are the effects of the children school starting-age? First of all it’s important to define what the first year of school is. We define the first year of school as when students start to learn writing, reading and doing simple additions and subtractions. Most European children start school when they turn six and in Sweden, Poland and Finland they begin at seven. Instead in Australia children can start their actual first year of school when they are four years and six months old.
Those who support that children should start younger say that starting before means finishing school at a younger age and so to have more opportunities to work. Furthermore, they say that the younger the child is, the more easily he can learn, because his brain is more receptive, especially learning foreign languages. In contrast with this theory, some child psychologists warn that accelerating children’s learning could be counterproductive. Playing is the way a child learns what any adult can’t teach him. Starting school earlier would cut shorter children’s childhood and fast-forward them into a anxious state.
As a result the brain will turn off what it’s not enjoying, so they’ll be at school in body, but missing in spirit. Another point is that some studies would demonstrate that in the long-term there are no differences between those who start school younger and those who begin at the normal age. In conclusion, we can say that there is not a “ magic number”, a number when all children are ready to begin school. Every child should be considered individually, and always consider his wellbeing and his happiness first.
