In kindergarten, teachers and children should be really focused on wanting to create a love and joy of learning—not creating an attitude that school is an unhappy place to be. Children who are ready (as in "school readiness") are curious and want to explore. You want your child’s first contact with school to be happy and not set a negative pace for the rest of the school career! The school system should be able to help you decide if your child is ready for kindergarten. Most districts will give a free kindergarten readiness test to help you see whether he is ready. Look for a supportive, nurturing kindergarten teacher who wants your son to succeed in school and who truly loves teaching young children. If you're not sure whether he is truly ready, you may want to keep him in a child care setting for one more year. Some children with late birthdays are inappropriately labeled as having learning disabilities when in fact they are just young. Those same children generally exhibit leadership skills the following year since they are older and do much better.

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