"Redshirting" your Kindergartener?

Question

Meaning hold them back and start them in School a year late.

It is becoming more common. My son is a late July Birthday. If we start him next fall, he will be BARELY 5 years old. If we hold him back, and make him start the following year.....way down the road he will be 18 before he even starts his Senior Year in High school.

What are your opinions on this practice, of starting kids in Kindergarten a year later?

Answer 1

Wait! I have been teaching preschool for 12 years and in the case of almost every late summer born child advise the parents not to send them on. It does not matter what they know academically. What matters most is social and emotional development. Children who start kindergarten early often fall behind. They cry more, have a hard time making friends, playing games, following directions, being on the playground. The other children often see them as the "babies." Also, a lot of children who start kindergarten early are held back. They see their peers move on. They feel something is wrong with them because they were left behind.

Over the years I have contacted many former parents who decided to send their child on early. A lot of these children had the problems I mentioned. EVERY parent who sent their child on regretted their decision!

Also think about his later years. He will always be the youngest. He won’t be able to play sports (they have a cut off age). He'll be a 16 year old in high school with 18 year olds. He will forever try and catch up.

Give him the "gift" of another year! Enjoy him for another year. Good luck!

Answer 2

Studies show that if you send them young the likelihood is they won't complete their education..of course some do, but the majority don't. It isn't when they are 4 or 5 that problems start to arise, but when they are in 10th grade and are a year younger than their peers and are not able to do the same things (eg..drive), nor do they have the same social maturity as their older classmates.
When the time comes to enroll him why not speak to your son's preschool teacher to see what he/she thinks about his readiness, or find out from the kindergarten teacher how old the other children will be and maybe have the teacher do a school readiness assessment
There is no shame in keeping your child back and having them start when they are really ready....but it is an individual thing reliant on your child, his nature, his height/weight, and his level of social maturity.
I personally think they should start kindergarten the year they are turning six..but again, it relies on the individual child.
Good luck whichever you decide.

Answer 3

I agree with Mommabears3cubs. I didn't start 1st grad until I was 7 because my parents felt I just wasn't emotionally ready to be away from them all day. I think it was a great decison and I actually graduated when I was 17. When I started school I knew how to read already and do some basic math and that put me at a great advantage.

I started my son in kindergarten when he was five, just a year ago and I have to say that boys deffinatly develop at lot slower than girls do. It was a rough ride at the beginning, lots of days that he had behavior problems. It got better toward the end of year and luckily my son goes to an excellent and small Christian school so his teacher was able to give special attention to his needs and show alot of love.
I think that it is a good idea to keep them back a year if you just don't feel that they can handle it. Better that way than constantly being in the principals office for hitting or pinching or something silly like that.

Answer 4

My little girl will turn 6 just a month after starting Kindergarten. She wasnt allowed to start last year because she wasnt quite 5 at the time. So now she is going to be 6 years old throughtout most of Kindergarten. But I figure, she'll be the first in her class to get her driver's license when the time comes, so *shrugs*. She'll be ahead on most things, at least in Kindergarten. She already knows her alphabet, simple addition, can read a bit, knows sght words, etc. So I dont think it would be so bad. Its so funny, a few days between birthdays can make such a difference as to when they can start school. We dont have a choice in the matter and we're ok with the way it will work. So I think if you feel its best for your son, it wont be a big deal at all. As a mom, we are forced sometimes to choose what we think will be best for our kiddos. In this situation, I think you're good in going ahead with this.

Answer 5

I think it's a terrific idea, for several reasons. First another year of development can only help the child before entering Kindergarten. An extra year at that age, can result in maturity beyong what a child starting kindergarten at the normal time.Also, a child who is younger than the rest of the children is a prime target to be picked on by other children "I'm older than you" really can bother a child. If you think about it a child who is an "old" 5, that is, almost 6, will have a huge advantage over younger children, some of whom can still be four years old at the start of Kindergarten. Hold him back.

Answer 6

My daughter just finished Kindergarten and when she started she was 4. She has a late October birthday. To make a long story short looking back at it now I would have waited to start her. Kids can tell, all year she kept saying how all her friends were turning six when was she. She was fine maturity wise but some of her skills weren't there yet and the teacher kept telling me at all the meetings we had to remember that she was so young. So at the end of the year we decided for her to do "K" again. She needed it. Many of my friends also pointed out to me that looking down the road keeping her back was a smart thing to do because she would be a whole year younger than all her peers and that could cause alot of peer pressure when it came to things they could do and she wouldn't be able to yet like driving and drinking. Its really a personal choice you really know your child the best can they had school at a young age? It's really up to you. Good Luck!

Answer 7

You could start him in kindergarten, then if it is too overwhelming for him you could pull him out and try pre-school instead. It really depends on the child. My son's b-day is the end of Nov. and turned 6 in kindergarten. Last year when he was 1/2 way through 1st grade, he was bumped up into 2nd grade because he was too far ahead of the other kids his age. His maturity and his book smarts are outstanding for his age. On the other hand, my daughter who will turn 6 in January, is starting kindergarten this fall, but had to have 2 1/2 years of pre school to catch her up. If you feel he isn't ready, then maybe he isn't, but I would suggest trying first, because he may be more ready than you think.

Answer 8

My son is going to be 5 in October and I feel mentally he is ready this year, but emotionally he isn't. Fortunately he can't start until next year anyway. I do believe that boys mature at a slower rate. It is a very difficult decision to make and one that should not be made lightly. You have to look at your child and his needs. Is he ready emotionally? That is the biggest question. The good thing about "redshirting" is that the older boys are the ones that are always wanted on sports teams, cause they are bigger and older. I am an August birthday and I was started too early and ended up being held back in first grade. Better to be started late then have to say you got held back or flunked.

Answer 9

As an elementary school teacher, I see it time and time again. With boys especially, give them the gift of time. You won't regret it in the vast majority of cases. Boys are usually later to mature and very often can benefit from a few extra months before they begin school. Your son will have more confidence, be ready to read, listen for longer periods of time, and you will never wonder if you should have waited to enroll him when you did. Of course, you know your son better than anyone and there are exceptions to every theory. One thing is for sure...he will absolutely love getting his driver's license before many others in his class. And in the long run, being 6-11 months older than many of his classmates doesn't even register as a blip on the screen. Good luck with your decision. Time is a gift to a child.

By the way, starting your son a year later in school is FAR more beneficial than having him repeat kindergarten over again. He will gain so much more from time spent with his family in an informal setting than sitting through two years of the same curriculum and routine in kindergarten. If you want a somewhat formal school experience before beginning kindergarten, do some research and enroll him in a quality half-day preschool program. Just don't start him in kindergarten before he's ready with the intention of having him repeat the same grade over again. The teacher will thank you for that, and your child is sure to be a leader amongst his peers.

Answer 10

My son has a November birthday and still was not ready for kindergarten when he was 5 going on 6 due to some mild developmental delays in communication and social maturity. We made the extremely difficult decision to hold him back even one MORE year and he started kindergarten when he was 6 going on 7. He's nearly 1-1/2 years older than some of his youngest classmates but it was the best decision we ever made for him. He excels in school academically, and because of his delays (he's high functioning autistic) is socially more in line with his classmates as well. Most of the parents (at least of boys) in our school system hold them back if they have summer birthdays. Kindergarten is much more fast-paced than it was when we attended. But every child is different so it's a decision best made according to your child's needs.