Cut off here is 5 by September 1st. I feel like my kids are the perfect age with birthdays in March and April. I don't know anyone here who redshirted their kid unless there were significant/valid concerns about social maturity. And the two moms I know in that situation sent their kids to private kindergarten and then decided wether to repeat K in the public schools or move on to first grade.
I like that idea of sending to private K and then re-evaluating. If I'm ever in that situation I will remember this!
This is actually what youngest brother did. 1/2 day kindy one year at a catholic school and full day kindy the next at a public school.
I've actually thought about this when planning for baby #2. If I get preg in Nov., it will likely have an August birthday and will be one of the youngest in the class (Sept. 1 cutoff here).
I have a Sept. b-day and was always the oldest in my class. I loved being able to do things first (getting my license, drinking, etc). DH has a July birthday and didn't mind being one of the younger ones in his class. I guess it's just what you're used to.
Post by biblionerd on Aug 23, 2013 16:18:14 GMT -5
No, I do not agree with holding them back unless there is some developmental issue. I was 4 when I started kindergarten and was always the 3rd from youngest in my class until graduation (small school so everybody knew everybody!). I never minded it and actually did very well.
I was THE youngest in my grade. As ruby412 has said, the PA cutoff is Sept 1st. My birthday is Sept. 1st. I was not held back. I was the youngest in my grade. The only thing I wasn't allowed to do was skip a grade...I was too young already... I graduated #3 out of a class of 150.
I loved being known as the youngest, it was great.
In grad school I did a research paper on Academic Redshirting and they said it has very little impact on elementary school (even if immature) but by middle school it is very obvious. The research is usually against academic redshirting- especially with differentiation these days
When I went to school the cutoff was Dec 31. My birthday is Dec 17. My mom knew it was changing to Sept 1 soon after and my brother is 2 years younger (Dec 14). She held me back to make us 2 years apart in school as well. It was fine for me but I wouldn't do it
I won't be holding Maggie back. Cutoff here is October, I believe, so she'll be far from the youngest. My b-day is late Feb and I never felt behind my classmates emotionally. My younger brother is an October b-day and my mom started him in K at 4. At the end of the year, the school and my mom agreed that he wasn't emotionally ready for 1st grade and he went to "Junior 1st" for a year, so he actually had 14 years of K-12 school instead of 13. Anyone else have that option growing up?
So does that mean kids are older or younger? Like do you have to turn 6 by December?
It means the December birthday kids are the oldest I think?? My youngest friends had November birthdays.
December 31st is the cutoff for NYC public schools. A lot of private schools are changing to an August cutoff because of all the red-shirting.
Red-shirting is no longer allowed in NYC public schools. From a NYT article in April:
Starting this fall, children will be expected to start kindergarten or first grade in keeping with their birth year. Kindergarten, which had been considered optional, is now mandatory, although parents can home school their children or send them to a private school for the year. Children with birthdays in the kindergarten range who are not enrolled in public kindergarten will still be expected to enroll in first grade the next year, with exceptions requiring the approval of the superintendent, rather than the school principal.
Both of my kids will be the oldest in their year. Our cutoff is April 30, so DS1 will be "legit" the oldest, but DS2 we'll "hold back" but we're only talking 3 weeks difference as he is April 6th.
They are 3 years apart in age, so I wanted them 3 years apart in school grades as well.
That said, red-shirting isn't nearly the same issue here - it's not widespread and if people hold back their kids it's just usually a few weeks at most. Not months.
Another mid-October girl here who started at 4. I HATED being the youngest and being the last to get my license and turn 21, though being the last to hit 30 made up for it a bit. When I started college at 17, I ran into lots of annoying red tape because I needed parental permission to open a bank account, be treated at the health center, change my meal plan, etc. And then there was that frat party I got kicked out of for saying I was 17... I promptly turned 19 the next night
I was so glad to have a spring baby and not worry about making the start age decision.
I was talking with a friend about redshirting the other day. I thought that the only reason people did it was for the academic advantage, but she said it's so kids are bigger for sports. She's from Texas
I was talking with a friend about redshirting the other day. I thought that the only reason people did it was for the academic advantage, but she said it's so kids are bigger for sports. She's from Texas
It's pretty common in the smaller towns here in Oklahoma with boys for the sports reason. I was shocked at how old some of my high schoolers were when I taught in a rural district.
I started K when I was 4...turned 5 in October of the school year. I was always amongst the youngest and graduated high school at 17.
Me too, though my birthday was in January so I was actually born in a different year than my classmates (they were all 85,I'm 86). It never bothered me.
Post by EnchantedSoul on Aug 24, 2013 7:51:29 GMT -5
I have a late Sept bday and graduated HS at 17. I had no issues, except the college stuff Big Apple mentioned. DS1 has a 7/31 bday and we sent him to K at 5 (he'll graduate at 17 too).
Some folks we know held their late summer kids back but I don't really see a benefit. I feel like our March/April babies aren't in the youngest category, even with the Sept 1st cutoff. There will be several children 4 and 5 months younger than ours. That being said, we will not hold E back.
It means the December birthday kids are the oldest I think?? My youngest friends had November birthdays.
December 31st is the cutoff for NYC public schools. A lot of private schools are changing to an August cutoff because of all the red-shirting.
Red-shirting is no longer allowed in NYC public schools. From a NYT article in April:
Starting this fall, children will be expected to start kindergarten or first grade in keeping with their birth year. Kindergarten, which had been considered optional, is now mandatory, although parents can home school their children or send them to a private school for the year. Children with birthdays in the kindergarten range who are not enrolled in public kindergarten will still be expected to enroll in first grade the next year, with exceptions requiring the approval of the superintendent, rather than the school principal.
Oh so I just need to move NYC so it more clear cut! Wish the deadline was the same everywhere.
The cutoff is September here. Lincoln will start on time, I won't hold him back. My brother had to start a year late because his birthday was 8 days after the cut off. He was one of the oldest in his graduating class.
The cutoff here is September 1st. My birthday is September 8th and was always the oldest in my class. It was pretty cool to be one of the first to get my license and drive though.
I haven't read all the comments, so sorry if this is already out there...
i teach kinder in California. The kids would have to be 5 by December 2. After a ton of work, the state finally agreed to change the date. They stepped it up a month each year. This year, the kids had to be 5 by October 1. Next year is the final year, when they need to be 5 by September 1. Although, now that we start school halfway through August, it would be great for it to change to August 1!
I saw a couple comments about holding your child back or not. The best thing you can do is to give your chid the gift of time, if he/she does not appear to be emotionally ready for kinder. I have a couple of students this year who should not have started and will probably always be at the bottom of their class. It's not only an age thing for these two, but age plays a huge part in how a child acts and learns in the classroom. Luckily, all of us had sprung babies, so there won't be a need to hold them back.
I started K when I was 4...turned 5 in October of the school year. I was always amongst the youngest and graduated high school at 17.
Me too! October 4 here.
Tyler will start K at 5. No reason to wait a year with an April birthday. I can understand doing that with a November or December birthday in places where the cut off is December 31.
Tyler will start K at 5. No reason to wait a year with an April birthday. I can understand doing that with a November or December birthday in places where the cut off is December 31.
Me too! October 1st!
We are birthday twins. I was always young in my class too.
To me, April isn't very close at all to the late summer/ early fall cut of ages at all and it wasn't even a consideration. I don't want to have a June/July/early aug baby and be the end of the cut off. I would have hated being so much younger than friends, not be able to drive till later, or go to 18 to enter places and such.
We will not hold her back. I have a May birthday and was fine with being one of the younger ones.
Babydrake2 will be one of the older ones and that is cool with me also. DH and I both went thru puberty late and were super tiny in school so I doubt our kids have much of a chance. Seems to have affected him more as a guy, so I'm happy our boy will be a touch older.
I was talking with a friend about redshirting the other day. I thought that the only reason people did it was for the academic advantage, but she said it's so kids are bigger for sports. She's from Texas
That's why people did it in Kansas too!
I don't really understand red shirting unless the child is obviously behind, but people do it for other strange reasons.
The cutoff here is August31, though I think next year they're moving it to August 15. I guess if I had a kid really close to the cutoff, I would have to pay attention to how they were socially with peers and decide, but in general, I'm not for redshirting.
I'm reading all the stuff about it sucking to be younger, driving later, etc. I really don't know anyone in HS (or earlier) who complained about that at all honestly - I had no idea that was even an issue.
I think where it can be detrimental is in school sports, P.E., etc. My friend who is fairly athletic now HATED sports in school because he was always the little one - the cutoff here was in the fall back then (still is, but not sure when it will be for Max bc I just read it was Nov then Oct and now Sept in the last 3 yrs) - and my friend had a Sept bday so he was the littlest in his class and matured later than everyone.
We were talking about this the other day and his wife was just saying to him the other day that she thinks he could have gotten more out of it in school if he had been held back. I don't remember people doing that w/ kids back then though, at least not in our area (only if kids had developmental issues was that ever done.)
Max is starting (pre-)preschool in a few weeks and hopefully he can stay in this program and it will prep him for Kindergarden. We are not counting our chickens before they hatch - I think the more pressing issue for us is to try to figure out where we should live so we can get him into a decent public school/district.