What Is the Right Age to Start Kindergarten?
How old is old enough for kindergarten in 1997? Who decides the answer for kids today? Last year, a kindergarten-teacher friend and I were talking about the opening days of school. She was excited, and exhausted, and very eager to meet the challenges of the new school year when she said of her new class of kindergartners, “I forget how young they are in September.” That got me thinking… Parents all over the country have been wiping their brows and many have been thinking, “Is Sara really old enough for kindergarten? Should I have sent her to kindergarten this year? Maybe I should have waited until next year.” It might surprise those parents that kindergarten teachers and school administrators are thinking, “Is Ted really old enough for kindergarten? Should he be in kindergarten this year? Maybe this child should have waited another year.” Regulations regarding kindergarten entrance age vary throughout the United States because each state determines its own rules. Many children enter
