Australian children were forced to go to primary school at an early age because their parents were eager to get rid of rising child care costs.
However, this can do more harm than good, and forcing 4-year-olds to compete with 6-year-olds may put too much pressure on them.
International studies, including the University of Loughborough in the UK, show that many 4-year-olds are not ready for primary school at all. Their bodies are still growing, and they cannot sit quietly for long periods of time, let alone take pencils. Put on shoes and read.
In addition, each primary school teacher has more pupils to take care of than kindergarten caregivers.
Nevertheless, Australian News Corp. revealed that 1/4 of parents said child care fees were the number one factor in deciding when to send their children to school.
According to the new data, pre-school education is recognized as being received in the first year of formal primary school, while 30 per cent of preschool children are only three years old.
More than 52 percent of parents said their children "have learned to go to the bathroom and eat their own meals" as a minimum consideration for deciding when to send their children to school.
News Corp surveyed 1200 parents across Australia after teachers said the surge in the number of young children in pre-school classes was worrisome.
The age at which children start pre-school education varies from country to country, but many experts believe that some parents send their children to school early in order to reduce the financial burden of child care fees.
Parents are often unsure when to send their children to pre-school classes, and parents who send them to government-funded 15-hour pre-school classes usually have to have them attend pre-school classes for another year if they find that their children are not really ready to go to primary school.
According to News Corp, more than 65 percent of parents pay 200 yuan (less government subsidies) per week for childcare services.
By contrast, once a child goes to pre-school class, 44% pay only $1, 199.
Unlike many other OECD (OECD) countries, Australia does not have universal two-year pre-school classes, but only one year.
Several teachers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they had found more children attending school early. Some young children, they say, don`t go to the bathroom, distract from classes, or even express themselves or follow instructions.
"A lot of parents say,`Oh, kids will get used to it,`so the pressure on the economy will be reduced, but in fact, the child won`t get used to it."
Arlington (Dennis Yarrington), president of the Association of Primary School principals, says many principals have found that parents in some communities are sending their children to pre-school classes ahead of time because of financial pressure. "this is true in communities where parents are struggling to get affordable childcare services," he said.
Heisup (Correna Haythorpe), head of the Australian education union, said it was important that pre-school classes would not be used as alternatives to child care, and that it was important to introduce two-year pre-school classes across Australia.
(Amanda Rishworth), an opposition spokesman for child care, said it was not surprising that families wanted to save on child care. "as government fees continue to rise, 1/4 of households will lose support and by the end of 2019, the government will not have any commitment to pre-school education funding." She said.
Child care fee to keep up with monthly mortgage payment
Angela (Angela Sommerfeld) is well aware of the economic pressure that child-care fees can put on them. The single mother has a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Alicia, who is responsible for meeting all of her daughter`s needs-including child care. After deducting government subsidies, she pays her own 585 yuan a week and puts her daughter in child care five days a week.
The 40-year-old Wooloowin locals said that while money was not the number one factor in her decision when to send her daughter to primary school, "there must be this factor."
"now I pay as much child care as my monthly mortgage." She said.
