Son stays while his friends move on

Being the youngest in his class, my 4-year old son will remain in kindergarten for another year while most, if not all his classmates will move on to primary year one this September(he will only be 4years and 9 months then). How do I explain this to him in a positive manner when asked and without hurting his feelings. I'm sure he will ask me 'Why'. Although at 4 they are young and will forget things pretty quickly, I feel it's still important to tell him the truth rather than to tell a white-lie. The only comfort is that his younger brother (who will be 3 by then) will be attending K1 in the same kindy as he is and I am thinking of using the 'You can take care of your little brother' as the reason.


Also, is it better to keep him in the same time session where he would see some of the younger children whom he currently see from K1 or to request for a change. He's currently in the PM session and so will his younger brother.


Any suggestions on how to approach the child on this would be greatly appreciated.

Your suggestion sounds perfect and well thought out.Why not tell him the truth that he needs to stay put becoz he is still too young to move up and at the same time that you trust him enough to take care of the little brother.dun think 4 yr olds are bothered that much so long as they are preoccupied with tracters and bulldozers.