First grade at the age of six. Is it worth it? Before? Later? In time! When to send a child to school Is it worth sending a child to school earlier

Not everyone is ready to reach out to the ear

- What changes do you notice in the behavior of first-graders?

– The last two decades have shown that first-graders have more problems. For the most part, they endure the school load worse. Mainly due to the fact that children are sent to school too early - physically and emotionally immature. Moreover, this immaturity does not necessarily depend on the calendar age.

Today there are many children who are not ready for school even at 7 and even at 7.5 years old in terms of their psychophysiological development. The individual timing of the development of the child has shifted: later maturation has become apparent. Therefore, not all children at the age of 7 must go to school. This is reflected in the Federal Law on Education. It has recently been amended. A norm has been added that allows sending a child to the first grade at the age of more than 8 years - at the request of the parents.

- That is, can a child be sent to first grade at 9 or 10 years old?

- No, we are still talking about entering school a few months later than eight years. And if a child at 10 years old is not ready for the first grade secondary school, then, probably, then he needs not an ordinary, but a correctional program.

- And why did the children begin to mature later?

- There is no single answer. Perhaps this is due to the general deterioration in the health of mothers and various complications during childbirth, which subsequently affect children. Today, deeply preterm infants are more often nursed, in which the development time may also slow down. bad ecological situation also affects. There are many factors here.

Parents often think: “My child reads, counts, he is praised in kindergarten. So, I'm ready for school." But they judge only by intellectual development, not taking into account the physical and psycho-emotional. And it often turns out that the child is physiologically unable to withstand the school regime! Four lessons in a row five days a week for an immature baby is an unbearable burden. These children cannot hold a working position for a long time - that is, sit evenly, calmly, with their hands folded. After all, sitting at a desk is not physiological at all, because the child develops in motion. And for him, this is essentially a physical activity. If he focuses on sitting up straight, he will not be able to think and solve the problem. In the end, he begins to fidget, spin, draw attention to himself, interfere with the teacher. Most often, such problems are faced by the so-called hyperactive children. Now many doctors and physiologists say that their number is increasing. Worldwide they are about 17%. But some sources write that in Russia there are already about 30% of such children.

How can parents know if their child is ready for school?

– There are three simple, though rather rough criteria. The first is the so-called Philippine test, which shows the degree of morphological maturity of the child's brain. The child should easily reach with his left hand to the right ear through the crown. A kid of 4–5 years old will not be able to cope with such a task, because his body proportions are such that his head is large, and his arms are still short. And if there was a half-height jump, then the child will reach, and, most likely, he has also matured morphologically. That is, the structures of the brain have matured.

Another indicator of maturity is the change of milk teeth. Children should have 4 to 10 permanent teeth by the time they enter school.

And the third criterion is a weight of at least 23 kilograms. It is believed that a very fragile and small child will not be able to cope with the school load. He and children's infections will get sick more often, miss classes, lag behind.

Most The best way to find out if the child is ready for school, contact a psychologist. We have a special testing program. We check not only intellectual readiness, but also look at the behavior of the child. For example, how he perceives the task, how distracted he is, whether he can sit still calmly. The child sits at the table in a swivel chair. Hyperactive immediately begins to swing, rotate in it. And it happens that a girl comes: she sits down, folds her hands and is silent - she listens. Girls generally mature faster, about a year and a half earlier than boys of the same calendar age. It turns out a paradox. Parents always want to send their boys to school early so that after graduation there is time before the army to go to university. And the boys mature later! School in general is a woman's realm. requirements in primary school- these are, basically, the requirements of discipline and accuracy. They are easier for girls to do. And the boys are bored of counting four cells from the left, some more from above, in order to beautifully write hooks ... And, as a rule, boys are more mobile. They are diagnosed with "hyperactivity" 4 times more often than girls.

Gymnasiums for special parents

- Should a child be able to read, write, count when entering school?

“Schools do not have the right to demand this. But in practice... When I examine children before entering a lyceum or gymnasium, 99% of them already know how to read. If the child will fall in this one percent of illiterates, how will he feel in a class where everyone reads? After all, the teacher will focus on the majority. But in ordinary schools, not in lyceums-gymnasiums, there are more children who are not familiar with the alphabet. I think you can safely send a non-reading child there.

– It turns out that schools are highly polarized. Are there strong ones for prepared children, and are there weak ones for everyone else?

- It is clear that in lyceums and gymnasiums the load is more serious. They, if I may say so, have their parents, who are very highly motivated so that their children enter this particular field. educational institution. Such parents prepare their children in advance: they take them to courses, they study on special benefits. The main thing at the same time is that parental ambitions do not prevail over the interests of the child. Because few people, unfortunately, are guided by the individual characteristics and terms of maturation of their child. More often other reasons are taken into account. For example: “It would be nice to do this year, because next year new houses will be settled and there will be more applicants.” Or: "The neighbor's child goes to first grade, and so do we, so that it is easier to take and pick up from school." These parents get what they want. Sometimes even before the age of six and a half they are sent to school. And as a result, they doom their own children, teachers and themselves to torment. In September-October, a lot of parents come to our Center with complaints that the child is distracted in the classroom, cannot remember and do what the teacher says. That teachers complain about him because he interferes with lessons.

How do you help these children?

– It is impossible to speed up the process of maturation of the brain. It is best for such a child if the parents pick him up from school and send him back to the first grade next year. But they usually don't want to take it. Therefore, we discuss with them how to prepare homework, which circles are better to attend. If a child has behavioral problems, we take them to correctional groups. We have a commission that selects educational route to kid. If he can't handle the usual general education program, then he is recommended correctional school. But all this is with the consent of the parents.

Correcting the consequences of a child going to school early is much more difficult than preventing them. Because the child develops a certain negative reputation among classmates, self-esteem falls ... And the parents are to blame, who were guided by their ambitions or convenience!

According to my estimates, today in almost every class there are at least 2-3 people who were sent ahead of time and they are not yet “ripe”.

The holidays are over. The enrollment of children in school is in full swing, and many parents, no, no, and even think about whether to send their child to school early. Most often, this question arises for those whose children on the first of September will be more than six and a half, but less than seven years old, that is, before the parents of preschoolers born in autumn, winter, or early spring. And the poor moms and dads are breaking their heads: should I give it back now, or is it still at seven and a half, or even almost eight years old?

Battle of arguments

Supporters of each option have their own arguments. Those who believe that it is necessary to give the child to the first grade earlier, cite the following:

• To study and so eleven years, and if only at eight (well, or almost) she goes to school, she will finish at nineteen! Nightmare!
• The child is already ready for school, and he is not interested in kindergarten.
• If he goes later, everyone will laugh at him.
• Let it be better to follow the elders than to study among the younger ones.

Supporters of the opinion that studying is not a wolf, will not run away into the forest, and therefore it is better to send the child to school later, counterarguing in response:

• Let the carefree childhood last longer.
• Being able to read and write does not mean being ready for school.
• The little one will be teased.
• A six-year-old at school will simply be trampled.

These are the main statements of representatives of each side, but there are a great many arguments both for and against. And what do teachers, psychologists and other specialists think about all this? Let's try to find out.

The agony of choice

Let's not be cunning, dear parents, and honestly admit to ourselves that often in children we realize our dreams and ambitions. After all, it is much more pleasant to tell all relatives, friends and colleagues that a six-year-old went to school than to explain to them why the child is already seven, and he still goes to kindergarten. However, experts in their conclusions are extremely unanimous. According to most of them, you should not rush and send your children to school too early.

Parents should remember that no two children are the same. Even if all the peers of your child are already preparing for the first grade, this does not mean at all that you should certainly strive for this. preparatory group kindergarten where your preschooler goes, and being six years old does not at all guarantee that the child is ready for school. By the way, fluent reading and the ability to add two-digit numbers in your mind also do not guarantee anything. Because psychological readiness and physiological maturity are also necessary.

Ready - not ready?

How do you know if a child is ready for school?

If we have already begun to speak frankly and engage in self-digging, then let's continue in the same spirit. Most modern parents are quite educated people who have read several (a couple, a lot - it is necessary to emphasize) books on child psychology, and therefore they themselves can quite clearly understand what their child is like. Unless, of course, blind parental love does not close your eyes. Therefore, to begin with, honestly answer yourself whether this particular child, in your opinion, is ready for school. If you have even the slightest doubt, if there was a second hitch before the life-affirming “yes!”, then do not rely only on your opinion, consult with experts.

To begin with, talk to the educators, they often see our children for a long time, have the opportunity to observe them in different situations, and if we add impartiality to this (after all, blind love does not blind their eyes) and experience, then their point of view will be very important.

Doubt the objectivity or want to hear the opinion of other experts? Then you have a direct road to psychologists, neurologists and neuropsychologists. Ask them to diagnose. Perhaps its results will be unexpected or even unpleasant for you. But in this case, it is worth listening.

With one of our sons, we went to classes with a neuropsychologist. They were also visited by a girl who at that time was six years old, in September her mother was going to send her to school. Watching the girl and mother, I came to two conclusions. First: the baby is not ready for school. Second: the mother understands this, but is afraid that it will be too late to send her daughter to the first grade at almost eight years old (the girl’s birthday is in October).

In a conversation, we somehow touched on this topic, and in response to the request of the interlocutor, I gently expressed my position. And to my surprise I saw in the woman's eyes not resentment, but relief. It turned out that she also thought so, but she did not find support from her husband, or among relatives and friends. Everyone insisted that the girl needed to go to school urgently. After all, she is not sick, there is no developmental delay, she can read and count. And no one understood that, despite these indisputable facts, the girl was not ready for school. I became the first person who understood what an attentive mother intuitively guessed.

The neuropsychologist, after diagnosing, also agreed with us. On my advice, my mother talked to the teachers, their conclusions were the same: to study early, period. As a result, the child went to school at almost eight years old. What parents (including dad, who insisted on his point of view before talking with a neuropsychologist), are now only happy.

You do not have the opportunity to consult with experts? Take advantage of tests that determine school maturity, they can be found in special literature or even on the Internet. There are comprehensively ready for school. Do not be lazy, carefully study them and honestly admit to yourself whether everything is within the power of your child.

How to be?

If experts believe or tests show that the level of knowledge, skills and abilities of the child is more or less comparable to what a first grader needs, be sure to pay attention to those points that still cause difficulties. During that time, you will have time to pull up a lot.

Pay more attention not even to reading technique and speed verbal arithmetic, namely for household and psychological readiness. Problems with learning rarely begin due to an undeveloped intellect, much more often due to social problems, underdevelopment fine motor skills restlessness, inability to concentrate. These challenges can and should be addressed. It is important not to wait for the weather by the sea, but to identify the problem and begin to deal with it. Fortunately, if your child is now six years old, there is still time.

Do experts or test results indicate that a preschool child is not ready? Take it for granted and give the child and yourself another year. Don't give up, stick with it. Most likely, during this time a lot will change, and the baby will finally mature to school. And then the years of study will not become an ongoing nightmare for him and for you.

And as a final chord, two more stories from my practice:

History first. An amazing pattern

Now children under six and a half years old are not taken to the first grade. In any case, this should be the case, although, of course, anything is found, but these are still exceptions, not practice, while most preschoolers become first-graders not earlier than six and a half years. However, just a few years ago, teachers had to work with those children whom their parents sent to school at the age of six, or even incomplete six years. As a rule, there were not many of them in each class, two or three.

I first paid attention to these children in my second year at school, as soon as I finally got used to it and began to gain experience. A wonderful girl came to one of my classes, let's call her Alya. She studied average, but was very nice, kind and charming. However, her classmates treated her somewhat condescendingly. The teachers were perplexed, because the class was good, before that, all the newcomers were accepted by the guys without any problems. And then suddenly this.

The class teacher, a sensitive and caring woman, tried to figure it out. Fortunately, her son studied in the same class, who eventually helped to understand what was happening. It turned out the following: classmates, having learned that the new girl was younger than most of them by a year, and some by almost two, considered her a “small fry” and, although they did not offend, they considered it below their dignity to communicate with her.

You find it funny? Now think back to school. If at the dacha or with my grandmother in the village we could easily communicate without noticing (well, or almost not noticing) the difference of several years, then at school, especially in the middle classes, friendship between representatives of different parallels was very rare. At this age, a year or two difference is a whole abyss, and a dismissive “small thing” thrown by one of the older classmates is a label.

After that incident, I began to pay special attention to the age of my students, among other things. And - incredible! - I repeatedly noticed that if there is a child in the class who is not only disliked, but shunned, then with a high degree of probability he is just the youngest. Those who are older than most of their classmates are more often respected and considered an authority. Of course, this pattern has its exceptions, but in my practice they did not occur so often, but confirmation of this observation is regular.

The second story. The hard life of a child prodigy

Igor went to school at the age of seven, but studied so well that in the middle of the second grade it was decided to transfer him to the third. The boy was happy at first. His parents and himself were flattered by this obvious recognition of success, ability and hard work.

Jumping from class to class, Igor quickly got used to it and still studied well. But there was no contact with classmates. As with Aley, he was considered too small. No, no one offended Igor, they were even proud of him and boasted to other classes. But until graduation, Igor was friends with the guys from his former class.

Of course, he made friends at the institute. However, once, in a conversation with me, he sadly remarked that he would prefer to study among peers and graduate from school a year later.

So, when deciding to send a child to school at six and a half years old, or still at more than seven, be sure to weigh the pros and cons and do not forget that all children are different.

By the way, my husband and I, having three sons born in winter, were also forced to choose when to send them to school. And each time they took into account everything that I wrote about above. As a result, our eldest son went to the first grade at seven and a half years, and the middle one - at six years and eight months. So far, it seems to me that we were not mistaken in doing just that. My youngest son recently turned five, and now I'm still looking at him. Because I don’t want to make a mistake and make life difficult for my child and myself. I'd rather step on the throat of my own ambitions and wait an extra year. Although it definitely won't be redundant.

Photo - photobank Lori

What is the best age to send a child to school? To date, the age of children who go to school varies from 6 years to 8 years. Many parents of 6-year-old children, seeing that the child can both read and write, he is very capable, send him to school. There are parents who understand that even at the age of 7 it will be difficult for a child to study even according to a regular, uncomplicated program. Such parents are concerned about the question, is it possible to send a child to school at 8 years old? The possible age of the beginning of training largely depends on the psychophysiological readiness of the child for learning. This component is one of the most important components of a child's readiness for school. Parents often pay attention to the intellectual readiness of the child. Determine if the child is ready schooling various tests will help. You can independently make them with your child at home, or you can ask for help from psychologists or teachers.

There is an approximate age specified in the law that allows parents to send their child to school. In the Law No. 273-FZ of December 29, 2012 "On Education in Russian Federation"(hereinafter referred to as the Law) and in the Decree of December 29, 2010 N 189 "On the approval of SanPiN 2.4.2.2821-10" Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for the conditions and organization of training in educational institutions”(hereinafter - SanPiN) it is indicated that the optimal age to start schooling will be from 6 years and 6 months and not later than the age of 8 years.

Excerpts from normative acts:

1. The optimal age for starting school is not earlier than 7 years. Children of the 8th or 7th year of life are admitted to the 1st grade. Reception of children of the 7th year of life is carried out when they reach by September 1 school year age not less than 6 years 6 months (clause 10.1 of SanPiN).

2. Getting the initial general education in educational organizations begins when children reach the age of six years and six months in the absence of contraindications for health reasons, but not later than they reach the age of eight years (clause 1, article 67 of the Law).

Thus, if the child is 6 years and 6 months old on September 1, then, at the request of the parents, he is admitted to school. It turns out that the Law indicates the approximate age of the beginning of training. In special cases, the age limits are shifted, and depending on the decision of the parents, the school has the right to take a child up to 6 years 6 months, and also after 8 years. If a child enters school at the age of up to 6 years and 6 months by the beginning of the school year, SanPiN recommends that the student be trained in compliance with all hygiene requirements within the framework of educational activities for kids preschool age(clause 10.2 SanPiN). What does this mean? This may mean adherence to the regime of the day, which includes sleep, walking, games, activities, breaks for meals. When compiling lessons, you should include game moments and take into account that this is the leading activity of a child of 6 years of age. It is necessary to take into account the need for physical activity during the day. If the student is enrolled in school at an early age (the student is not yet six and a half years old), then, in accordance with SanPiN, he must be provided with appropriate conditions for staying at school (grade 1 in a kindergarten, separate rooms for a bedroom). Early start of learning is a factor that can negatively affect the student's success in mastering educational program. Psychological and physiological immaturity will prevent successful learning child and adaptation at school, due to the high requirements for readiness for schooling. The most important thing is that problems do not start with a six-year-old child who must sit at a desk for a long time, be attentive and focused throughout the school day.

What should children be able to do when they come to school?

Can they refuse admission to an educational organization due to the fact that the child is already 8 years old or not yet 6 years and 6 months old?

The reason for refusing admission to school cannot be the insufficient age of the child. Rules for the admission of citizens to school and a list required documents cannot be changed depending on the age of the student. Parents of a child have the right to refuse admission to school only if there is no free places. If the child has the right to receive an education of the appropriate level, then he must be admitted to school.

Excerpts from the Law:

“In admission to the state or municipal educational organization may be refused only because of the lack of vacant places in it” (paragraph 4 of article 67 of the Law).

It should be noted that it is not allowed to test students and select preschoolers depending on the level of readiness for school. Diagnosis of readiness for school can be carried out only with the consent of the parents and after admission to an educational institution. Federal legislation also does not provide for the presence of a PMPK conclusion as a mandatory condition for a child under the age of 6 years and 6 months to enter school.

Moms and dads should not strive to send a child to school under the age of 7 years(at 6.5 years and even younger).

This opinion was expressed and substantiated by specialists from the Institute of Age Physiology Russian Academy education. Director of this scientific center Maryana Bezrukikh urged the parents not to rush to educate the child.

The law "On Education in Russia" allows parents to decide for themselves when to take their son or daughter to first grade, minimum age - 6.5 years. Experts in the field of age physiology argue that it is best to send a child to school from 7.5 years old, and sometimes from 8.5 years old.

They carefully studied the issue and came to the conclusion that children who are sent to school at the age of 6.5 are more likely to get sick, study worse, get tired more, have little interest in additional education. The load that starts from the first class, beyond the power of six-year-olds experts are sure.

The study was conducted in 15 Russian regions.

It affected 60 thousand children aged 6-7 years. Detailed study question showed that about 50% of the children who were brought to the first grade, have unformed speech, and 30% of children have underdeveloped motor and emotional development.

Ready for school, Maryana Bezrukikh and her team of child psychologists consider a child who has sufficient perseverance and, after 40 minutes of quiet sitting, is able to remember, fix new information and emotionally comprehend it.

Such children at the age of 6.5 years, according to statistics, alas, no more than 5%.