When Should Children Start Preschool?

You may feel insecure when it’s time for your children to start preschool. This is an important but difficult step for parents to take, especially if it is their first child.

Parents are responsible for teaching their children during the first years of life. The home is the safest place for children to begin developing their biological abilities, such as eating, drinking, learning to walk, and even communicating.

Many parents therefore feel anxious when their child is to start preschool, as the child is then away from all the comforts of home for several hours, sometimes for the first time.

Parents’ work obligations often lead to their children having to start preschool. But you must also take into account your child’s development.

2 years of age, the best age for children to start preschool

Between the ages of 18 and 24, children begin to become more independent. They have learned to walk and can say a few words. They have often played with other children and may be away from their mother and father for a while. Preschools help them develop their independence and prepare them for a more formal education.

It is when they begin to develop their values ​​and interests, both in school and in their free time. It takes some maturity to meet these new challenges.

In Sweden, it is the municipalities that are responsible for offering childcare in preschool or with a day mother from the time the child is 1 year old. The child must be offered childcare while the parents work or study, as well as at least 15 hours per week if the parents are unemployed or on parental leave with younger siblings.

Preschool for everyone at 3 years of age

From the autumn term of the year a child turns three, children in Sweden are entitled to so-called general preschool.  This activity consists of at least 525 free hours per year in preschool. This applies regardless of the parents’ employment and the family’s situation in general.

Children who are enrolled in activities other than preschool, such as educational care, must also be offered general preschool. For these children, the preschool should be seen as a complement to the other activities and collaborate with this.

When should children start school?

In Sweden, school starts from the age of 6 when the children start in preschool class. This is a compulsory activity and children are required to attend school from the autumn term of the year in which they turn six. Compulsory schooling can be postponed for one year if the child’s guardian so requests, and there are special reasons.

School is a right for children between 6 and 16 years. Compulsory schooling ends at the end of the spring term in the tenth year after the pupil has begun to complete compulsory schooling. For most students, this is when they have completed year 9. The school is compulsory and paid for by the state for those who choose general education.

High school education

Upper secondary education is voluntary and takes over after year nine and generally lasts for three years. The upper secondary school is only open to students who have completed their compulsory school education and who begin their upper secondary education during the period up to and including the year they turn 20.

Young people can choose between practical and vocational education or more academic ones.

The path that each student chooses largely depends on when and where they start going to school. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to your child’s specific needs, talents and interests.

Monitor your child’s progress at home to decide when he or she should start preschool.