Oldest in the preschool class

[Anonymous]

My daughter is the oldest in her 2 year old class by several months. She is potty trained and speaking in full sentences; the other kids are still in diapers and know a few words. I’m not saying she’s “advanced” - she’s a normal kid - just older and farther along than her classmates. Is this going to hold her back this year? Could it be a benefit? Or not make any difference at all? I don’t think there is the possibility to switch classes; the next class you need to be 3 and it is a school year calendar.

[Anonymous]

Someone has to the be the oldest.

[Anonymous]

I substitute teach in a two year old room. She will be fine. The teacher tailors projects to each child's level. So while with one kid we may be trying to get him to just color in the lines, a more advanced kid will get the directions to color within the lines with certain colors in certain parts...so an assignment will involve more thought and practice. Actually it's great to have some older kids in the classroom because they are more apt to listen and follow directions and the other, younger kids see what is expected of them and will work toward those expectations. Like a kid who is older than 2.5 will grasp how to line up pretty quickly and not only model that behavior to others, but help others follow along. So look at this as an opportunity for her to learn leadership skills as being the oldest! It's awesome to see how everyone matures over the course of the year and helps each other out.

[Anonymous]

My kid was the oldest in her 2's room, then was the youngest in the 3's room (they switched where they cut off the rooms). She was very confident and did better as the olders, and struggeled when she was less able to keep up with her peers, some of whom were over a year older.

[Anonymous]

It's fine. As PP said, she'll sometimes be the oldest and sometimes the youngest and both experiences teach valuable skills. Besides, an older kid could always enroll, you never know.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't matter and not only that, as she ages up, some of the kids who are younger than her (by a few months) will advance past her on certain things. The age gaps seem large until kids hit 5 or 6 and then you realize it really doesn't matter.

-- parent of a kid who is always "the youngest" and who was stressed about it until I realized that it did not matter and would matter less and less with each passing year.

[Anonymous]

I'm found out the same today, OP, and have similar concerns. I'm actually embarrassed by how much this is upsetting me.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't matter. There is always an oldest and youngest. She is 2. The majority of her learning is going to happen at home anyhow.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was also the oldest last year in her room, this year she's one o the younger ones (Montessori, 3 to K.) It's just the nature of the beast.

[Anonymous]

This post is intriguing to me because all of the elementary school posts stress how desirable it is to be one of the oldest. Our kids are late summer and early fall birthdays so they were always the youngest in preschool and throughout school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post is intriguing to me because all of the elementary school posts stress how desirable it is to be one of the oldest. Our kids are late summer and early fall birthdays so they were always the youngest in preschool and throughout school.

I was thinking the same thing! I have older kids and by school age everyone wants the oldest kid. Ever heard of redshirting?

[Anonymous]

So slightly different perspective here but both my kids have winter (Dec/Jan) birthdays meaning they are way past the cutoff of Sep 1st. I specifically chose programs that had a 2.5 y/o option so that they were with kids that were in a similar age range. There still is an oldest and a youngest in the class but the biggest range it could be was 6 months, not a year. At age 2 or 3 there are pronounced differences between a just turned two year old and an almost three year old. Those differences become smaller at age 5 or 6. Look at sports classes. There's often a 2.5 - 4 year old option and a 3-5 year old option. Some 3 year olds are better in a group in a group with some two year olds because it their first time playing a sport and others can handle playing against 5 year olds. My DD could totally handle doing activities with 5 year olds when she was 3.5 but my DS is not there yet. It really depends on the kid.

I know some PPs mentioned Montessori classes with mixed ages but that curriculum is set up to handle mixed ages in one room. Its not the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is the oldest in her 2 year old class by several months. She is potty trained and speaking in full sentences; the other kids are still in diapers and know a few words. I’m not saying she’s “advanced” - she’s a normal kid - just older and farther along than her classmates. Is this going to hold her back this year? Could it be a benefit? Or not make any difference at all? I don’t think there is the possibility to switch classes; the next class you need to be 3 and it is a school year calendar.

Consider yourself lucky. My 7 yr old son is the youngest in his grade and it has tormented me that I sent him to be in that position because there were such big developmental differences in readiness for things the last couple of years. There is a boy 14 months older than him in his class. Its a very lucky birthday to have to put you as the oldest in the class. Enjoy that she will have one less obstacle in life!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter and not only that, as she ages up, some of the kids who are younger than her (by a few months) will advance past her on certain things. The age gaps seem large until kids hit 5 or 6 and then you realize it really doesn't matter.

-- parent of a kid who is always "the youngest" and who was stressed about it until I realized that it did not matter and would matter less and less with each passing year.

Is your kid in middle school yet? Doubt it.

[Anonymous]

This wouldn’t be ideal to me, but what can you do? Like PP said, someone has to be the oldest.