And by age 27, students who had more experienced kindergarten teachers were earning more money than their peers who had less-experienced teachers in kindergarten. When younger kids fare worse than older kids in the same, single-grade classroom, and older kids are viewed as more advanced, it’s often because adults tend to compare children to one another. The relatively older children may appear to behave better than the relatively younger children, especially as kindergarten classrooms focus more on academics and offer less time to play. Here are five ways families can help support their kindergartners, especially those who are relatively younger than their classmates. Be positiveParents and educators can direct focus as much as possible on encouraging and praising the positive performance of relatively younger children in the classroom.