How old will your child be when they start college?

prefect
Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:32:43 +0000

I think if there is a compelling reason to start kindergarten late, then parents should start their child late. However, from my observations of my community, there is rarely a compelling reason. Usually, it is simply “I don’t want him/her to be the youngest in the class” or I want him/her to be a better athlete in high school. When one of my kids was in elementary school, about 60% of the kids in the class were held back a year by parents. Some will start college at 19 1/2. With so many kids starting school late, I think it creates a vicious cycle so that the age of what’s considered young for a grade keeps changing and what’s considered mature/immature for a grade keeps changing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the average age of Kindergartners here inch towards 7- right now there are so many kids who start kindergarten at 6+, that parents will realize that 5 years 11 months or 6 years 1 month is on the young side for kindergarten. We all try to do the best for our kids, and I realize that there is not one right answer for everyone. However, it does seem to me that many people where I live have an irrational fear of having their child be the youngest in the class.

As far as starting college, I think kids can do well starting at a variety of ages. It really depends on the kid. Some 16 year olds are highly self disciplined and motivated and some 19 year olds will just want to party. Hopefully, parents and children can be honest with themselves and figure out the best path.