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Parenting

18th Nov 2015

Delaying the start of school can ‘dramatically improve concentration’

Katie Mythen-Lynch

Delaying the age your kids start school could boost their grades significantly up until they turn eleven, according to new research.

Scientists have discovered that waiting a year before putting on that uniform can dramatically improve a child’s self control and concentration, reducing inattention in 11-year-olds by an incredible 73 per cent.

A Stanford University and Danish National Centre for Social Research study of 50,000 Danish children, whose parents submitted data when their children started school and again when they turned 11 clearly demonstrated that children who started primary school later had lower levels of hyperactivity across the board.

Professor Thomas Dee, of Stanford University, said that delaying the move to primary school ‘virtually eliminated the probability that an average child at that age would have an abnormal, or higher-than-normal rating for the inattentive-hyperactive behavioural measure.’

Children in Ireland tend to start school between ages of four and six, while most children in the UK and the US start at age six and kids in Latvia, Finland, Serbia and Sweden don’t enter the classroom until they are seven-years-old.

What age did your child start school? Join the conversation on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.