Parents of younger children may wonder why an older child would want to play with a younger child, so when they hear about it their initial reaction may be fear and doubt. This is normal given mainstream education’s practice of age segregation. In the conventional schooling environment, it is not “cool” for older students to associate with anyone younger than them so any student who does so is seen with suspicion. But age-mixing is one of the most natural things for kids to do. Not only is it safe, it is one of the key ingredients that make the Sudbury model so successful. Young children learn so much from older students, and older kids become more confident and more responsible when they can freely mix with younger kids.