Right Age to Start Schooling
March and April are the summer months in India. This is the time when parents look for the best schools for their children. This adds tension to the already stressful sunny days. There are so many schools, methods, and institutions, but ‘which one is good for my child’ is a common question among parents. Along with this, the question ‘what is the right age to start schooling for their children arises.
Usually, parents send their children to play-homes or crèches as early as one and half years. Most of the time, it is to make their children learn more and better. It could also be because of nuclear families, where there is no one to take care of the child or play with him or keep him busy while the parents are busy building up their careers. There are also instances of parents not thinking of schooling until their children are six years old. Such parents are either doubtful about the learning capacity of the young children or blame children for not being able to speak. Both are extremes.
The newborn child is only aware of the mother. Slowly he comes to know about the father and other members of the family. Later, when he is ready to walk, he comes to know about his immediate neighbourhood. It is around 2 ½ years that the child needs the third environment, that is school. Until 2 ½ years, the child will be happy being in his first and second environments.
There is one more dimension to it. The child from birth to 3 years is still creating himself. He has been provided with the unconscious powers of the Absorbent Mind, Home, Mneme and Sensitive Periods. Around three years, the non-conscious powers begin to subside as the conscious powers as intelligence, and willpower develop. It is at this age that many Sensitive Periods start and end. Therefore it is the right age to think about schooling for the children.
The children who have not started speaking who are otherwise normal have not been allowed to speak at home. Either nobody is at home to speak to, or the parents are occupied with their work. The children have not found an opportunity to exercise their vocal muscles. In this case, these children need an environment where they are exposed to a lot of talking. A school that is prepared according to the child’s needs is an excellent place to do this.
Thus the child needs the school (a prepared environment) at the age of three. At three years, the child’s conscious mind would be emerging, and he could be helped though he is still under the influence of unconscious powers. It is the right age to set right the deviations that might have occurred. Therefore the child needs to be introduced to schooling between 2 ½ to 3years.