Kindergarten age must stay the same
Vancouver Island News Group - Nanaimo News Bulletin
March 1, 2008
Opinion - Marta Juorio, Nanaimo

To the Editor,

Re: Relief needed on child care, Feb. 23.

Relief needed on child care is an important venue to maintain the issue in the public mind and hopefully in the political agenda.

The creation of a kindergarten system should be based on children's needs, not on parental needs.

Lowering the age of admission to three is indeed controversial because one should wonder whether the school system is suitable for their needs.

There is a developmental and cognitive divide between three and four years old and the magic kindergarten starting age.

Children at five years of age are ready to comprehend rules and benefit from school. Younger children, on the other hand, need a balance of learning opportunities, freedom to explore and an environment where they are supported to carry out those activities.

Perhaps some effort should be put into supporting existing child care centers that are under pressure.

I entirely agree that yet another government study will only create another chain of reports since there are already plenty of studies on children's needs.