CHILDREN are starting school unable to say their own name, drink from cups and use the toilet, a new report has found.
Teachers told The Times Education Commission some kids joined reception class having drunk only from baby bottles.
Half were not toilet-trained and some were still eating baby food, while others used dummies or were brought to school in buggies.
But telly nanny Kathryn Mewes, whose daughter Olivia, five, needed speech therapy at reception age, says parents should not blame themselves.
Kathryn, of Channel 4 show Three Day Nanny, said: “I’d say half of children aren’t ready by school age because some have only just turned four and they mature at different ages.
“I won’t blame the pandemic. It’s just likely that most children will be behind in one area or another.
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“Harriet, six, my eldest, is an August baby and by the time she started school, she was just out of nappies, didn’t speak overly clearly and as I put her in her uniform, I cried.
“And on my youngest daughter Olivia’s last day of nursery, her teacher said to me, ‘Your little one has to grow up.’
“As I pushed her home in her buggy for her afternoon nap I thought, ‘She is absolutely right.’
“I spent weeks trying to prepare Olivia before she started reception class last September, teaching her how to go to the toilet, eat her lunch without using her fingers and to put her coat and shoes on.
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“On the first day of ‘big school’, I thought I’d done all my homework. Then I was told she needed speech therapy as teachers couldn’t understand a word she was saying.
“I don’t want another parent to feel the way that made me feel. To all those parents who go, ‘Oh, my child could already write their name when they started school’, good for you.
“There will be many whose kids are starting school this time and thinking ‘My child is still in nappies and I am terrified.’”
Kathryn adds: “There are three essential things children should be able to do: Dress, eat their own lunch and wipe their own bottom. Anything else is a bonus. It’s been a slog but a few things have really helped with my girls.”
REWARD FOR USING CUTLERY
KIDS should be able to eat adult food with cutlery by school age. Kathryn says: “I introduced a reward system for my girls to use cutlery.
“If your child doesn’t yet have the dexterity to cut up food, don’t panic. As long as they can use a spoon and a fork they’ll be able to stab a sausage to eat it and scoop up vegetables.”
BAN THE POTTY
KATHRYN believes it is essential your child can use the proper toilet.
She says: “Teachers aren’t allowed to wipe bottoms — and why should they? A four-year-old doesn’t need a potty. They need to use a proper toilet.
“Make, ‘wipe and wipe until it’s white’ (the toilet paper) your motto.
“Make sure your loo is accessible at all times and leave a step up to the sink so there’s no excuse not to wash hands.
“Add a marble to a glass jar each time your child uses the toilet by themselves.”
COAT FLIP METHOD
CHILDREN are expected to get their shoes and coat on and off by school-age. Kathryn says: “I used to dress Harriet as if she were a rag doll. Each morning she would lay on her mattress waiting.
“It wasn’t until I went swimming with a friend and saw her daughter, who was the same age, dress herself – fast as a whippet – that I realised something had to change.
“I put a rule in place: Nobody could leave their bedroom until they were dressed for school. I left their clothes out ready the night before.
“There were fights but I persisted and in three days, she was doing it by herself. Start with elasticated waists, give them shoes with Velcro and congratulate them.
“Use the flip-over coat method by placing your child’s coat on the floor with the inside facing up. Get them to stand facing the coat with their feet where the collar or hood are.
“They bend down and slip their arms into the sleeves, flipping the coat over their head as they stand up.”
SAY WORDS 100 TIMES
WHEN Olivia started school, teachers said her speech was behind.
Kathryn says: “From age two, Olivia had problems with speech and I began correcting words, which made her so frustrated she stopped talking altogether for a while and her sister did it for her.
“If a child is struggling with speech, schools will pick up on it and act but there are things you can do now.
“If they say something incorrectly, repeat the word back to them. Do not get them to say it back in the right way. That will only frustrate them.
“Children have to hear a word 100 times before they will try to say it in the right way.”
Kathryn recommends leaving comforters in bedrooms over summer so kids don’t want to take them to school, and 20 minutes a day of pencil use so they are ready to start writing.
REHEARSE SCHOOL WALK
TEACHERS revealed that kids are coming to school in pushchairs.
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Kathryn says. “Children don’t walk as fast as we want them to and that’s why parents often resort to buggies or bikes with boxes.
“You need to build up their stamina and your patience. Stamina comes with exercise. You’ll be surprised how fast they learn to move quicker.”
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