When should I sign my child up for tuition?

Can anyone be too young for tuition? At what age should we send our kids for tuition? These are questions on the minds of most parents of young children. As young as K1, children are expected to read, write and count. If a preschooler is still unable to do any of the above, it is natural for the parent to be worried and start considering the possibility of tuition or enrichment classes for the child. In fact, the market now offers all kinds of enrichment classes for children as young as 4 – phonics, logical thinking (programming/robotics), writing, abacus – you name it you have it. There are all kinds of classes to develop any kinds of skills you like your child to have. If a child requires one-one attention, the parent may consider sending the child for tuition. Is 4-5 years old too young an age to begin tuition? When should parents start to sign children up for tuition? We have some advice here.

Child’s Aptitude

The very first factor we assess would be the child’s aptitude. If a child is already competent in his studies, he does not need to go for tuition at such a young age. He may like to start tuition to excel in his PSLE, and can always start at Primary 5 at the earliest. Anytime before that, as long as he is catching up well in school, more time should be spent on free play and outdoor activities rather than going for tuition classes.

You can consider sending your child for tuition anytime before Primary 5, as young as K1, if your child is behind his peers in his studies. If your child is behind his peers, he needs more time to catch up on the areas he is weak in, be it writing, understanding questions, reading, or concepts, etc. If you are familiar with the syllabus, you can spend more time with him to catch up with his school curriculum. However, if you are neither familiar nor patient to teach your child personally, it may do the both of you good to just hire a tutor to help him. Many parents ask – “How do I know if my child is behind his peers or not?”. The best way to find out would be a talk with his teacher. If his teacher does not think he is lagging behind, then you have no cause for concern.

A good tutor at an early age can help your child set his foundation right so that the path upwards is easier for him. When your child can perform well at a young age, his confidence will grow and this results in a positive loop effect for his school performance. Children with higher level of healthy confidence generally perform better than those with little confidence in school.

Child’s Learning Needs

Let’s say your child is behind the rest of his peers in his schoolwork and definitely needs help catching up. However, is tuition the best way to catch up? This will be the next factor to consider. Not everyone thrives with additional tutoring! This is because there are many reasons why your child is behind the rest of his peers, and you need to find out what the reason(s) are. Perhaps you are going through a tough time in your marriage and your child is affected. Perhaps you have filled his time with too many enrichment classes that he doesn’t have enough rest to learn well. Perhaps he is encountering bullies in school that is affecting his ability to learn. You need to figure out the real reason behind his inability to catch up. After that, you can accurately determine if your child can perform better with tuition. If your child genuinely requires one-one help to understand concepts better, or to practice more reading and writing, then yes hire a tutor for him.

Goal-Oriented Tuition

If your child comes to you (regardless of how young he is) and tells you that he would like to have a tutor for a certain subject, just do him a favor and get a tutor for him! This child likely knows what he wants. Not only that, he probably also knows where his weakness lies and needs to address those weaknesses with the help of a personal tutor. Such tutoring may not be a long-term contract. The tutor may not be needed once your child has met his needs. Communicate openly with him, get his feedback and give him your support. Your child understands his own learning needs more than yourself. For such a self-initiated child, your trust and support is all he needs to perform.

Find a Personal Tutor

To find a personal tutor for your child, look no further than Edu Aid Tuition Services. Talk to us about your requirements and budget. We have a quality pool of tutors for every subject and every level. Satisfaction guaranteed!