Opinion: Why the fuss over changing the school age?

Should children be able to start school at 4 years old? Some think so. Photo/Getty

The announcement that children who are close to turning 5 years old could soon be allowed to start school before their birthday made sense to me.

I was honestly surprised by the amount of negativity the move attracted. Age, after all, is only a number and all children are different.

A child who isn't ready for school at 4 years and 364 days old won't suddenly be ready to don a school bag the next day because she or he hits that magic number.

Other children are ready for school much earlier. They've outgrown kindergarten and are just waiting for their birthday to leap straight into schooling.

The proposed change is only for eight weeks before the child turns 5; we're not going to get a flood of youngsters knocking on the doors of the nearest school on their fourth birthday.

It's an option that would mean schools can choose to bring in groups of new entrants together at the beginning of the term, rather than having them show up piecemeal throughout the year by themselves.

Don't forget, children in this country aren't required by law to attend school until they turn 6.

If a parent is concerned that their 4-year, 44-week-old child isn't ready to start school, they're perfectly entitled to wait out those extra eight weeks, or even longer if it's in the best interests of the child.

This kind of flexibility is a great thing for young children; it allows them all to move at the pace that's best for them.