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good2bhappy

LT thread inspired me to start this one
I have a daughter who is 3 years and 3 months.
I plan to send her to a bilingual school.
She seems very young for her age but I am concerned about her not going to school and mixing with other children.
What age do you think is a good time to start?
Is 3 years and 3 months too young?

kingwilly

mate i would say too young. imo

but....

play groups at age 3 or so are great for socialisation.

if your daughter has no chance to socialize and the school is reasonably priced and convienient location.

then ok, go for it.

real school should start at ages 4.5 - 5

kingwilly

early years or kindegarten take 3 year olds,

its considered a great earner in thailand, money for old rope actually.

waiting till she is 4 will not harm her either!

Loy Toy

My kids started officially at 4.5 but went to a pre-school nursery for 4 hours a day from the age of 3 mate (at the Regents).

I think the interaction with other kids is a must!

good2bhappy

Thanks KW and LT

This is my concern
She is learning her alphabet Thai and English and he numbers etc as well as hand eye coordination at home

Marmite the Dog

We're looking to start the little 'un when he is 2.5

kingwilly

I 100% agree.

But Early years at school is not the only option for this.

The Fresh Prince

I started full time at school when I was 3. My parents talked the school into it to give them time for their messy divorce.

The worst part was that I had to hold back a couple of years and let all of my mates move up into the senior part of the school whilst I was stuck there waiting until my age matched what was required by the government to move.

phunphin

my guy came from thailand speaking only a few words of english, now after less than a year at preschool, he speaks mainly english and his social skills are a lot better, kids need to interact with other kids , they learn so much ... just being around other kids and adults.

..... the wife is interested in opening a preschool/ daycare in her home town, the quality of day care in thailand is pretty poor.

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number of the beast

Marmite the Dog

Yeah, me too.

Jesus Jones

More important for the kids to bond with their parents at that age.

good2bhappy

Having worked in Thai schools I have seen these little ones seperated from their parents for the day.
some of them look so sad
Just thinking how my daughter would feel, would love her to be a bit more independent but I supose that has to be learnt sometime and the hard way

mediamanbkk

My 'kids' are both in their thirties and we started them at playschool/kindergarten from as soon as we could get them in. The kindergartens were happy to take them providing they were 'dry' ie not in nappies anymore and at least potty trained. Apart from the socialising with the other kids I would say it gave them a genuine desire to learn and discover things. Both now have good degrees and good jobs (well my daughter just had a baby so she is not working right now) I do know of some kindergartens where you can stay with your child for the first few days and gradually decrease your time with them. Bonus: It is amazing how many things that kids bring home made from toilet rolls!

good2bhappy

I miss Blue Peter

DrB0b

My son went to bi-lingual kindergarten when he was just over 18 months old. He's three soon and has just started pre-school. He understands and speaks English, Thai, and Kom Muang. His English is weaker than his Thai and Muang but he can still speak fairly complex English sentences and has no trouble understanding any English speaker. He loves going to school now and when we pick him up in the afternoon he likes to show us around the school, show off his friends and toys and tell us what he's done during the day. He's happy, confident, boisterous and full of curiosity.

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Mr Brown

My son (14 months) gets upset if his mother goes to the toilet for two minutes. This attachment seems to strong at the moment

Loy Toy

My

My kids are in the same boat Bob and Thai is certainly their favoured language, followed by a few dlelects and then English.

Their English is quite good but Thai is mostly spoken around the house but all 3 can read and write English.

Now it's down to business and with regard to written Thai.

I will take over the task of continuing with the English lessons at home so wish me luck oh and thank god for spell check!

DrB0b

Don't worry. That's perfectly normal behaviour, will probably continue like that for another couple of years.

Mr Brown

Thanks

Sakeopete

We started our son at 2 1/2 full time from 08:00 - 15:30, the first week was very hard with all the young kids up to 5 y/o crying. After that though its all good my son loves school.

JoGeAr

We brought our young fella to Aus in Oct 2006 when he was just over 3 and put him into a child-care centre starting in 2007. His English was very basic when we arrived but through interaction with the other kids it picked up rapidly. He is now fluent in both Thai and English.

Since he was born after June 30 he wasn't allowed to start school until this year. He will turn 6 in August. He is now in 'Prep Year' and will start Grade 1 next year.

He absolutely loves school and every day during the term break he asked if he could go to school that day. Same every weekend. That will change !!

Thungsongsausage

I started taking my eldest son when he was 18 months to the local kindergarten i worked at 3 days a week. He has a few crying days to start with but has been fine with school ever since (2 years ago)
My younger son is now 16 months old and the thought of him going to school before he is 3 shocks me because he is a lot more immature than his older brother.
I would say it all depends on the maturity of your child and whether they like it or not!! There shouldn't be pressure to send them to school by a certain age.

phuketbound

I don't have kids, but I remember starting nursery school at age 3. It is definitely too young for regular school (4-5 years).

Even if you have her in a daycare, this is at least giving her some socialization skills. Play is an important part of learning to share, and interact at this age.

hillbilly

I think most everyone is getting confused about the term 'school'. If you want, regular school generally starts at about 5 years give or take a year. Really does not make that much of a difference.

For a young child, attending school generally means pre-school/reception. This is just a good time for learning social skills at that age. Varies from the age of 2-5. Really depends on the child's maturity and parent's maturity.

Jet Gorgon

You got one started already? Congrats. Hope she takes after the Midget.