Starting School For 18 Months Toddler This Soon?

[tangcoral]

Seems like those who can afford it are starting school for thier kids as early as 18months (1.5years)?

And very common to see 2 years old toddlers attending school regularly.

Is this currently the normal practice for kids back in the US or possibly in UK?

Yes it was some 30 years ago but I and most others started school when we were 3- 4 years old.

Or is this just an expat thing to start as early as possible?

I'm clueless.

[Boo]

Are you sure it is school & not just a normal nursery as most kids with working parents or those who want their kids to do more than just stay home go to in Europe/US etc? Just an example; My son (nearly 3) was out of childcare for 2 months & crawling the walls (not to mention me tearing my hair out too ) till I signed him up at the local nursery. He now attends 9-4 5 days a week & loves it. They play, sing songs, do activities & some basic alphabet & counting everyday but more importantly he socialises with other kids of the same age group. He comes home with a new song or story every day & lots of talk of his 2 favorite friends there.

He was also in full time childminder care in UK before our move back to LOS when he was 8 months old till 2.5 years as we both worked full time & he was very happy there too. The only difference I see with nursery/pre kindy here is that they usually have some kind of uniform which can look very grown up on a toddler.

[tangcoral]

To clarify, I meant pre-school. Is nursery the same thing?

[Boo]

I understand pre-school to mean ages 3 & up, anything before that is just organised childcare.

The schools/centers I looked into classified it as; ages 1-3yrs Nursery. 3-5yrs Pre-school (or kindergarten) & 5-6yrs as reception (first year of proper school grade) & beyond.

I have never seen or heard of one that accepts children as young as 18 months in a "school" scenario although many schools offer the Nursery, preschool & reception years as well as providing schooling up to end of senior high-school within the same campus.

[tangcoral]

Hi boo, I think you hit it on the nail. Thank you for clarifying for me.

I believe what I was looking at was a nursery however they call it school either that or they don't mention the word Nursery..

The one I went to visit was Magic Years and Rose Marie academy.

In fact rose marie accepts starting from 10 months.

thanks for the reply

[Boo]

Glad I could help. I actually had the same confusion when I started looking for my son too . I still find the whole babies in unifroms quite disturbing but also in another way quite cute too.

First day my son put his on I was in tears & he was 2yrs 8 months, normally in UK parents don't get to see that till their kids start reception class at 5 so he looked ever so grown up but still so small.

But it does save on wear & tear on home clothes so I am converted now.

[thaiozy]

gooday all

This subject has been on my mind since i have a young lad

Obviuosly having grown up as an Aussie i am still trying to get my heaad around that thai kids have to start school at a very young age of 3 years.

We all know the world is different, so i was talking to the wife concerning this & explaining that i thought it was to early as the way they do it in auss is to (in some cases) go to Pre - School for a couple of days for a year at the age of 4 years & then enter Kindergarden at the age of 5 years.

The wifes reply was that they start grading them from that age & if we were to start our son in the later years he would have to go back & start with the 3 year olds (not know how true since first child, but not know thai way either

)

So at the end of the day do Thais beleive in sending the kids to school so young will improve their education OR are they better of at home with mum till the scenario above

[Boo]

to the best of my limited knowledge, you wife is mistaken, they don't start grading them at 3, as I said before, where they go at 3 isn't school it is nursery or preschool & the actual grading process for school years doesn't start until age 4.5 - 5years when they start reception class primary school.

[Firelily]

if you mean Thai school, kindergarten - yes, they do start teaching them reading, writing, assigning homework and grading them from Kindergarten 1, which is for kids who already had their 3rd birthday. grading means percentages in some schools, four times a year, and kids are told they are being tested!! they are often whacked if they don't know something. not all schools allow this though. however, only grade 1 (after 6th birthday) is compulsory. but kids who cannot read and write Thai at a basic level by then will have a very hard time. if you want your kid to go through the Thai school system, get him into school for the second term of K2 the latest, first term of K3 is he is a genius. or stick with international schools. as for having to go back with 3-year-olds - not true, kids are placed into a class according to their age. we always have kids in K2 or K3 who never attended school before and have loads of catching up to do not only academically, but how to socialise, behave etc.

[g00dgirl]

Obviuosly having grown up as an Aussie i am still trying to get my heaad around that thai kids have to start school at a very young age of 3 years.

They don't have to, don't think they have to, but many do. My impression is that parents think they will become smarter and many parents also have no other option if both have to work.

Is it good, I don't think so. I advise you to read lots of studies and opinions about early institutionalized chilcare and the effects.

My sister in law is a Thai primary school teacher, she agreed with me that many of those kids who start being taught too much and too early once they are 5, 6 are already tired of learning, lost their natural curiosity and just participate because they have to.

[girlbetterknow]

At my school Harrow. They have drop in child care from 6 months - 3 years old. The children learn as well as play. Though not sure you will know much at 6 months.

[fletchsmile]

Obviuosly having grown up as an Aussie i am still trying to get my heaad around that thai kids have to start school at a very young age of 3 years.

They don't have to, don't think they have to, but many do. My impression is that parents think they will become smarter and many parents also have no other option if both have to work.

Is it good, I don't think so. I advise you to read lots of studies and opinions about early institutionalized chilcare and the effects.

My sister in law is a Thai primary school teacher, she agreed with me that many of those kids who start being taught too much and too early once they are 5, 6 are already tired of learning, lost their natural curiosity and just participate because they have to.

Can't comment on Thai schools as I wouldn't put my kids in one unless I had no other choice of school.

As for "school" our daughter started just after two years. They have from aged 15months I think. Pre-nursery, nursery, kindergarten etc... We mainly did it so she could socialise with other kids as previously her main interactions were with adults, and with a second baby on the way it had obvious logistic benefits too in easing the Mrs workload. Our daughter loved it from day one. She's obviously learning stuff too ABC numbers etc, which in my view is just a bonus. No way could we provide her with the same level of social interaction with other kids, and stimulation by keeping her at home among adults.