5 Tips for Parents of New Kindergartners Who Are Younger Than Their Classmates

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5 Tips for Parents of New Kindergartners Who Are Younger Than Their Classmates

By Gregory Fabiano

July 26, 2022
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A good kindergarten experience sets kids up for success in school and into adulthood. Students in are more likely to go to college than students from larger classes. And by age 27, students who had more experienced kindergarten teachers were who had less-experienced teachers in kindergarten.

One factor many parents consider is their child’s age when starting kindergarten, based on how close their age is to the cutoff date for enrollment. The ages at which kids are eligible to start kindergarten differ and . Most commonly in the U.S., a child who of a given year can start kindergarten that year. But most states don’t actually require a child to start school until later, .

Evidence shows that children who are relatively young for their kindergarten class – those who are only a few weeks or months older than the cutoff rules require – are at increased risk for , , and having .

Students who start kindergarten younger are also more likely to be rated by teachers as in kindergarten and .

When younger kids fare worse than older kids in the same, single-grade classroom, and older kids are viewed as more advanced, it’s often because adults tend to compare children to one another. The relatively older children may appear to behave better than the relatively younger children, especially as and offer less time to play. Together these differences are called the “.”

As a result, some families choose to , .

I am a who studies how to best support children in school settings, particularly those at risk for behavioral challenges like ADHD. Here are five ways families can help support their kindergartners, especially those who are relatively younger than their classmates.

1. Learning opportunities

Relatively older students have had more time to . To help younger kindergartners catch up with their older classroom peers, families can offer additional learning experiences. This includes and . This can be started during the preschool years and throughout kindergarten.

2. Be positive

Parents and educators can direct focus as much as possible on of relatively younger children in the classroom. If the feedback is mostly negative – in which the relatively younger child is always told to “hurry up,” “pay attention,” “do it the right way,” and all other variations of directives that include words like “no,” “don’t” or “stop” – they may to follow instructions. To combat this, educators and parents can focus on emphasizing all the things the child is doing right, rather than wrong. A good goal is to be mindful of directing at least .

3. Set tailored goals

Parents of relatively younger children can meet with their child’s teacher early in the school year to discuss individual goals for the child. That meeting can discuss the child’s current strengths and skills, as well as areas in need of growth. The adults can establish reasonable, achievable goals for the child each week or month. That can help offset possible relative comparisons that .

4. Track progress

To follow up with the goals set at the beginning of the year, a on behavioral or academic progress can help parents and teachers work best together. Waiting until the end of the school year is too long and leaves no time to change course if goals need to be modified. Frequent check-ins also provide opportunities to reward and praise the child for success.

5. Keep perspective

Educators and parents may find it useful to remember that kindergarten is only one year of what is almost two decades of education for children on a college track – and as children get older.

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

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Gregory Fabiano is a professor of psychology at Florida International University

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                <h2>5 Tips for Parents of New Kindergartners Who Are Younger Than Their Classmates</h2>

                <h2></h2>

                <p class="sans">By <a rel="author" href="/contributor/gregory-fabiano/">Gregory Fabiano</a></p>

                <img src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Kindergarten-classroom-The-Conversation.jpg">

                <p>This story first appeared at <a href="/">The 74</a>, a nonprofit news site covering education. <a href="/about/newsletters/?utm_source=republish-button&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=republish">Sign up for free newsletters from The 74</a> to get more like this in your inbox.</p>
                <p>A good kindergarten experience sets kids up for success in school and into adulthood. Students in  are more likely to go to college than students from larger classes. And by age 27, students who had more experienced kindergarten teachers were  who had less-experienced teachers in kindergarten.</p>
<p>One factor many parents consider is their child’s age when starting kindergarten, based on how close their age is to the cutoff date for enrollment. The ages at which kids are eligible to start kindergarten differ  and . Most commonly in the U.S., a child who  of a given year can start kindergarten that year. But most states don’t actually require a child to start school until later, .</p>

<p>Evidence shows that children who are relatively young for their kindergarten class – those who are only a few weeks or months older than the cutoff rules require – are at increased risk for , , and having .</p>
<p>Students who start kindergarten younger are also more likely to be rated by teachers as  in kindergarten and .</p>
<p>When younger kids fare worse than older kids in the same, single-grade classroom, and older kids are viewed as more advanced, it’s often because adults tend to compare children to one another. The relatively older children may appear to behave better than the relatively younger children, especially as  and offer less time to play. Together these differences are called the “.”</p>
<p>As a result, some families choose to , .</p>
<p>I am a  who studies how to best support children in school settings, particularly those at risk for behavioral challenges like ADHD. Here are five ways families can help support their kindergartners, especially those who are relatively younger than their classmates.</p>
<h2>1. Learning opportunities</h2>
<p>Relatively older students have had more time to . To help younger kindergartners catch up with their older classroom peers, families can offer additional learning experiences. This includes  and . This can be started during the preschool years and throughout kindergarten.</p>
<h2>2. Be positive</h2>
<p>Parents and educators can direct focus as much as possible on  of relatively younger children in the classroom. If the feedback is mostly negative – in which the relatively younger child is always told to “hurry up,” “pay attention,” “do it the right way,” and all other variations of directives that include words like “no,” “don’t” or “stop” – they may  to follow instructions. To combat this, educators and parents can focus on emphasizing all the things the child is doing right, rather than wrong. A good goal is to be mindful of directing at least .</p>
<h2>3. Set tailored goals</h2>
<p>Parents of relatively younger children can meet with their child’s teacher early in the school year to discuss individual goals for the child. That meeting can discuss the child’s current strengths and skills, as well as areas in need of growth. The adults can establish reasonable, achievable goals for the child each week or month. That can help offset possible relative comparisons that .</p>
<h2>4. Track progress</h2>
<p>To follow up with the goals set at the beginning of the year, a  on behavioral or academic progress can help parents and teachers work best together. Waiting until the end of the school year is too long and leaves no time to change course if goals need to be modified. Frequent check-ins also provide opportunities to reward and praise the child for success.</p>
<h2>5. Keep perspective</h2>
<p>Educators and parents may find it useful to remember that kindergarten is only one year of what is almost two decades of education for children on a college track – and  as children get older.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184727/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
<p><em>This article is republished from  under a Creative Commons license. Read the .</em></p>

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