Advantages and disadvantages of delaying Kindergarten another year?

Question

My son will be five in July. My husband and I can't decide if we should send him to Kindergarten or wait another year. Besides being a boy and having a late birthday; he also has Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder. The school said that they could accomodate him, give him an IEP, put him in a smaller class, and give him a one-on-one aid, but I am still not sure what would be best. He is in a great preschool now where he could stay another year. My husband and I just are not sure what would be best for our son. He does not like change, accademically I think that he is ready, but socially and behaviorally no. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of waiting another year?

Kindergarten in my town is a full day. 8:20-3:00.

Answer 1

In the end, the decision is up to you... you know your son the best.
Sending him to Kindergarten now might be a good choice. If the school says they will get him on an IEP, and they put him in a class with an accomidating teacher - then all should be well. Just make sure the school sticks to whatever plan they develop. If nothing else, he can repeat Kindergarten if he needs to. K is definately better to repeat then a grade down the road.
However... if you think that socially and behaviorly he's not ready, then look at your preschool. Can your preschool offer him the knowledge he needs to be ready? Are they willing to find more challenging work for him to do so he is academically challenged? Are they able to encourage him to participate in social situations? Are they capable of adapting to his behavioral needs (alternate behavior modification techniques - reward charts, etc)? If they can't accomidate to make his experience worth your time, then move on to Kindergarten. Make sure you are occationally checking in with the teacher to monitor his progress and that the goals on the IEP are being met.
Good luck with your decision! And best of luck in the coming year!

Answer 2

what does his preschool teacher think? she spends a lot of time with him in a formal classroom setting and should be able to give you some insight.

if the school is willing to help then you should send him. july isn't a really late birthday and if he is ready academically then he is off to a good start. he'll have plenty of time to get adjusted with his small class size.

my son was born on august 28th and the cut off here for schools is august 31st. he was born a month early too SO he should be in the next grade. i was nervous about sending him but i am going to do it anyway.

also look at his physical size...is he a big boy? if so, waiting another year might make him feel different then the other children. how are his motor skills?

i really believe sending him is the best thing. sd

Answer 3

In my opinion, you should keep him home for another year.
Boys especially do not cope as well being sent early.
I think a advantage of waiting another year would be that he would be well and truely ready for school, and probably would not have as many problems with school work or being with other kids. I dont see any disadvantages with waiting.

My brother has done much better being sent a year later, and we cant imagine him being in a grade higher! He is just handling it so much better then the kids who have been sent early. The differance is there.

Anyway, it is your decision in the end :) I am sure you will make the right choice, as you and your husband would be the only people able to judge if he is ready or not.

emily.

Answer 4

I teach kindergarten and agree with everyone who has posted on here. I think that sending him to kinder right now is a good decision. He will need time to get used to the school environment without falling too far behind (delaying him another year could eventually put him even further behind in the long run), and exposing him to change sooner will help him adapt quicker. Also, it sounds like the school is prepared to accommodate him now, which is a very good sign. With budget cuts or who knows what, you may not have that option in the future.

Best of wishes to your son and his acedemic future!

Answer 5

I taught 4 year old pre-school for 20 years.Keep him in 4's another year. It is more important to look at the social devolopment and maturaty than academics. I frequently recommended that children be held back and I was NEVER told that they were sorry that the parents held a child back . I recently saw a mother of one of my former students that I recommended to be held back. Her son is a freshman in college and made the dean's list.She thanked me and said he has done so well in school because they pepeated kindergarten! The only disadvantage would be if he/she ia really big for his age and would tower over his classmates next year.

Answer 6

Before you make this decision, please spend some time observing in the classroom where your son would be placed. This would give you some basis for understanding how his day would be there. If he is very resistant to change, then perhaps the extra age year to mature will prove beneficial. Yet, if the program seems to be similar to his current preschool then the change will not seem too drastic. I wish your son much success where ever he may be next year!

Answer 7

I was born seven days after the cutoff, and although I'm one of the oldest in my class, I feel as though I'm at an advantage. My brother was born within the cutoff, but my mom kept him back anyway. Developmentally speaking, boys mature slower than girls anyway, so if you're worried about his performance in school, give him another year to mature and the change might be easier for him.

Answer 8

A late b-day is in september you should send him so he's with kid's his own age the school will test him for iep witch is a awesome program my oldest child{9th grade}is in it and my 5th grader is in the process of going in it now see you need to find out early if he has any problems and the school will let u no what to do for a alternitive.send him in the fall when it start's so he's not the new kid and Kindergarten is only for half a day.

Answer 9

He could always do kindergarden twice if he had to. Then you wouldn't have to pay for preschool. It would also get him in the learning environment that he will be in for years to come quicker. I'd send him.

Answer 10

u shud send him to KG immediately otherwise how will he be able to adapt to the school surroundings....
in an year he will atleast accomplish himself, get an idea of what school is all about, make friends, carry the atmosphere well and learn new stuff!!