Ready for school???

My cousin is a preschooler. Her mother starts to think about the right time to start a six years old child in elementary school. However, what is the best time to start school? Usually, children begin school around seven years old in my hometown. Is that my younger sister old enough for school? Is that she should wait next year? These questions make my aunt feel puzzled.

In my opinion, education is right for every child. Age is not the most important factor of attending school. I advise my aunt thinking over my cousin’s socio-emotional mature and intelligence.

Social-emotional skills are the basis for getting along with other children. Through my academic study, I know that lack of social skills can bring out troubles in making friends, academic failures, concentration problems, emotional difficulty and behavioral difficulties. So, we can use related questions to check whether my cousin is ready for school or not, such as can she share her feelings with others? Does she like play games with other children? Is she easy for making new friends? Can she do somethings by herself (go to the restroom, dress up, eat, wear her clothes, shoes and pants)?

Moreover, intelligence can make children learn new knowledge easily. We need to observe my younger sister's cognitive development and check the following questions to make sure our decision.

Can she try to write her name? Can she recognize some simple characters, colors and shapes? Can she count numbers from zero to twenty?  Can she pay attention on story time or playing time for about fifteen minutes?

Through these questions, we need to carfully consider about our children's skills and abilities and make a great decision on choosing the best time to start our child in school.