I belong to the school of the thought that formal schooling should start at the age of 7. I abide by Rudolf Steiner and have done that for my two children. For me preschool year should start at the age of 5. In my school parents come for inquiry of admission for children as young as an year and half. And once the child settles down, there is a constant demand to increase their timings of stay in the school. This might be beneficial for parents especially when they are both working. But is it really beneficial for the child?? I have witnessed a mad rush to push children at an inappropriate age for learning and making them "smart ". But on the contrary, I find children lacking life skills which you need more than academics to be really smart.
I hold an opinion that child needs the warmth of a kin and nurturing environment of a home more than school in the initial years of life. This is very crucial for the holistic emotional as well as cognitive skills. Skills taught at school can be built once the child has reached a certain emotional maturity and cognitive strength in his first environment of learning.
Feel free to agree or disagree.