Should I keep my child with a September Birthday back from entering Kindergarten?

Question

I have a son with a September birthday. His pre-school teacher suggested keeping him back. he is on the small side but an inteliigent kid, he can't write many of his letters/numbers. We have flip flopped with this decision all summer. The start date is soon. Any suggestions.?

Answer 1

edit: sorry - I answered before I had a cup of coffee

I would go ahead and put him in Kinder - Pre-K taught him the social skills he needed to get by in Kinder, which is where he will learn his letters and numbers and maybe some reading before he enters first grade. You can always hold him back next year to give him a chance to mature a little, but don't hold him back without giving him the chance to rise to the occasion, first. He may surprise you.

In a lot of places there really aren't any criteria for going to kinder except age. I have a friend whose kids are in a private school, and they require the child to know how to read before first grade, but all the schools I have ever put my kids in (and that is three of them going to three different school systems because of military moves) and the schools I went to myself have only required that a child be five years old by the cut-off date to enter kindergarten.

There really isn't that much of an academic load in kindergarten, so I doubt he's going to have a hard time.

Answer 2

I don't know what it's like where you live, but where I live, your child has to turn 5 before September 1st to be automatically in kindergarten. My daughter's birthday is the 17th but she's a smart kid, so we didn't want to keep her out another year. Here, kids who don't make the cutoff date can still take a test to see if they meet the criteria. So we tested her and she got in. She's going into second grade this year, and we've never regretted it...she's never had any problems even though all of the kids are older than she is. I'd try to talk to the kindergarten teacher and see what kinds of things your son is expected to know in order to start, and if you feel he can do it, I would go ahead and start him. He could always repeat kindergarten if it turns out not to have been the right decision, but if he IS ready, it would be a shame to keep him out for another year. It's not like he's THAT much younger. Good luck with your decision!

Answer 3

I would speak to who would be his kindergarden teacher and take their advice along with the preschool teachers. The kids have to meet a certain criteria before they are allowed to enter kindergarden, is your son able to do all of these things? If so, then I would put him in. Since you said he is an intelligent child, maybe preschool wasn't challenging him enough. Remember, you can always work with him at home to help with the reading/writing. If he is having trouble with anything on the kg list, I would put him in a year of pre - k. Also, speak with the school, if you put him in kindergarden and he isn't able to keep up, could he step down to the pre-k, or do they know of any supplimental programs for him to attend to help him out. Good luck with everything and know that whatever decision you make will be the right one!!

Answer 4

I would go by what the pre-school teacher suggests. I don't go by age. I am the mother of 8 and all children are differant. It is a lot harder to start them and then have to pull them back because they were not ready then just give them extra time. I am not saying this just because of when his birthday is because I have children that were born September and October that still started kindergarden when they were 4. When my kids know all their shapes, colors, letters, phone number and address and can write their names and such I could not hold them back just because of a birthdate but just as much you shouldn't send a child just becuase they can based on their birthday. Hope this makes sence and good luck to you. Remember also that if you start him and he struggles you are setting him up to dislike school forever!

Answer 5

Yes, my son is a Sept. 1 birthday. He is in six grade now and I held him back he is getting A's and B's on his report cards now, in my state they won't let kid with Sept. bdays start school. I live in IL if I were you I would wait until he is really ready to go to school. If you are a stay at home mom try working with a few hours a day on letters and numbers. Good Luck

Answer 6

YES YES and YES!
Especially since he is small for his age. Two of my sons had Aug. birthdays, one was small for his age. I don't regret this for a moment. It is better to be the oldest kid in the class rather than the youngest one. Both of my boys had their drivers permits for their entire freshman year, and Licenses their full sophmore year. It was a tough decision at the time, but I am really thankful we did it.

Answer 7

My oldest son has a winter birthday so he started at 5, but my youngest is in sept. too and he is small but bright. Do you mean he will be turning 5 this september? We (my husband and I) think we will wait another year and that way he will be ahead of the game.

Answer 8

I would keep him in preschool
Listen to his teacher
I have know people who regret there decision of not keeping there child back. I never met anyone who regret the other

I would of kept my child back, if I could, I did not have a choice. She has a spring birthday. She was not ready

I assume you life in a state that you have the decisions

Answer 9

absolutely not my daughter could not write anything at all before she started kindergarten but she did just great also just because his b-day is late does not mean that he can not do the work if you keep him back u will be teaching him to give up and not trust that he is smart enough just encourage him to do his best

Answer 10

Talk to the K teacher - she'll best be able to judge, since she knows the levels and knows what in general kids are capable of that age.