I agree with this. My nephew will start Kindergarten and then turn 6 years old a week later. I don't think that's too old. Now, turning 7 would be a little extreme.
If he started kindergarten at 4 and turned 5 a week later, then his senior year of high school he would be 17. He wouldn't turn 18 until right after his freshman year of college started. I think that would be very hard. He would have a whole year of college where his friends could go to bars and he would still be waiting on turning 21.
It is not horrible. Most people not of age in college still find a way.
i just know I felt so bad for the guy I interned with in DC who was not 21 he missed out on all the fun stuff because he couldn't go to the after hours events and parties.
Admittedly, I'm a little tired of all of the anecdotes about red shirting or nearly red shirted kids. Children are complex creatures and to me, it makes no damned sense to assume that the reason your child is struggling in school is because you shouldn't have sent them or whatever.
I'm probably not explaining myself well. At the risk of being a hypocrite for sharing an anecdote of my own. My daughter struggles in school. She usually does. It takes a a great teacher who connects with her to make it easy for her. But it's usually a struggle. I'm just not sure I can say with 100% confidence despite her having a July birthday that it's sending her on time that's the issue.
My son has done great in school and has sailed through breezily. He had to wait a year because he has a November birthday and missed the cut off. Does he do well because he had another year to mature? I honestly do not think so. He has exactly the right personality for the typical school system. I do believe he would have done just fine if he were able to have gone a year sooner. His personality just works for formal education.
So if I believe that one child's personality is a large contributor to their success in school then why would I blame age and not attribute the difference in personality to the other child's struggles?
I mean I've watched them grow up. Getting older only does so much.
It is not horrible. Most people not of age in college still find a way.
i just know I felt so bad for the guy I interned with in DC who was not 21 he missed out on all the fun stuff because he couldn't go to the after hours events and parties.
Where I went to college, the seniors kept the underclassmen stocked with booze, and all the good parties were held on campus, where I never heard of anyone getting carded. Is this not normal?
i just know I felt so bad for the guy I interned with in DC who was not 21 he missed out on all the fun stuff because he couldn't go to the after hours events and parties.
Where I went to college, the seniors kept the underclassmen stocked with booze, and all the good parties were held on campus, where I never heard of anyone getting carded. Is this not normal?
these events were at bars, in DC you had to be 21 to get in. At college, it was mixed but no it wasn't a given that a 21 yr old would buy for you. I was greek so 90% of the time an older sister would help me out for houseparties. but most of our going out was to bars and the bar tenders and bouncers were strict.
It would not really be an issue if the cutoffs were strict. I don't think making sure everyone turns 5 before they start is that big of deal (which is basically what moving the cutoff to Aug/Sept does). It becomes a problem when people with March/April birthdays consider delaying their kids.
Yes? I understand that?
I don't have enough education about education to know if the school systems as a whole moving up their dates is or is not a good idea. But I hear a lot of "I went to kindergarten when I was 4! Everyone now must be redshirting!" And I think much of that is due to changes in school mandates, not necessarily redshirting behavior.
Moving the date to Aug/sept seems like it should cause more people to try and get their kid in a year early. I can certainly see someone with a mid sept birthday thinking that starting at four and turning five a few weeks in is fine. It used to be fine. We have completely swing the other way.
It is not horrible. Most people not of age in college still find a way.
i just know I felt so bad for the guy I interned with in DC who was not 21 he missed out on all the fun stuff because he couldn't go to the after hours events and parties.
This was me because I started early. It sucked at the time but I certainly wouldn't say this is a reason not to start kids when they are ready.
Post by jeaniebueller on Sept 15, 2014 5:52:43 GMT -5
Cutoff in Michigan used to be Dec 1. My birthday is a December birthday and my mom started my in kindy anyway. I was fine. I made friends with a lot of people in the class behind me in high school and college so being the last to turn 16 or 21 was no biggie.
2 years ago, I was thinking we would redshirt Scarlett, as our cut off date was 9/30 and her birthday was 9/16. Our experience with Jackson (10/1) showed us people redshirted like CRAZY here because he, at one day past the cut off, was not one of the oldest in his class. He was middle towards the end. People were redshirting FEB birthdays. FEB.
Then our cut off date moved, so Scarlett is not eligible for K until 2016. Basically now, you have to be 5 by the start of K, and I think that's a decent rule with regards to the demands of K changing. However, Scarlett will be 4 tomorrow and is starting to read. Her preK teacher has told me three times now that she is blown away by Scarlett and what she knows (all her letters, their sounds, she can count to 100, etc.). She's also adjusting fine to school and follows all the rules, which for me, is a big part of preschool/K. But to get her to start early is an insane process here. We would have to have her qualified as gifted, and I think get her an IEP. I just don't think it's worth the effort, nor the risks of her being the youngest by 6m to a year. A few months is no big deal to me, or just being the youngest. It's when the rest of the class is clustered closer to a year older, which would be the case. I have an acquaintance who has done all this with her son who is Jackson's age (so he's in 3rd instead of 2nd), and her daughter who is Scarlett's age has the same birthday as Scarlett. They're doing the same thing with the daughter next year, so she'll be ahead of Scarlett by a year. So far, it's working out fine for them, and her son is excelling. Similarly, Jackson is excelling having started on time based on the cutoff date. I kind of feel like in our situation, we can't really go wrong, so we should just follow the rules and deal with the need for change when or if it comes.
Is this really an argument for holding someone back?!?! So they can get into a bar?
LOL How many of us interned in DC when we were 20?
Keeping the interns underage and out of the bars means there are at least a FEW tolerable establishments for the rest of us. Because seriously, is there anything more annoying than a bar full of 21-year-old interns ordering shit like Malibu band pineapple? I didn't think so.
LOL How many of us interned in DC when we were 20?
Keeping the interns underage and out of the bars means there are at least a FEW tolerable establishments for the rest of us. Because seriously, is there anything more annoying than a bar full of 21-year-old interns ordering shit like Malibu band pineapple? I didn't think so.
my son was one of the youngest in his kindergarten class. He wasn't ready for 1st grade at the end of K. so he went to Pre-1st. BEST DECISION EVER!!!
What is Pre-1st? Is that through your public school?
From what I've read the academic advantage caused by being older is gone by 3rd grade. We have back to school night this Wednesday so I'm interested to hear from our teacher how DD is doing.
my son was one of the youngest in his kindergarten class. He wasn't ready for 1st grade at the end of K. so he went to Pre-1st. BEST DECISION EVER!!!
What is Pre-1st? Is that through your public school?Â
From what I've read the academic advantage caused by being older is gone by 3rd grade. We have back to school night this Wednesday so I'm interested to hear from our teacher how DD is doing.Â
I don't know if public schools offer pre-1st but our private school does, it is just a year between 1st and k to get kids who aren't ready for 1st ready.
Back in my day we had begindegarten. So all the summer bday kids went to BK and then K the year they turned 6 in the summer. Do school districted do that anymore? We don't have it here.
I realized that was the reason we all were pretty much the same age in school or it felt that way to me. The spring bday kids were the youngest, but they were still 18 before we graduated.
I don't know if public schools offer pre-1st but our private school does, it is just a year between 1st and k to get kids who aren't ready for 1st ready.
my public school did this with me in the 80s. it was all very short bus though and no one was happy to be in pre-1st
Our school tries to play it up as this great thing for the kids and families and blah blah, but the kids who are in aren't happy either. They do everything with the K kids, so while all their friends have gone up to 1st they have to have lunch, recess, PE, etc with kids they don't know and who are a year younger. Our next door neighbor and my son's best friend is in pre-first, while my son is in first, and the next door kid tells me every day how sad he is to be in pre-first.
And in the class of 13 there are 5 kids born in Jan/Feb, so they will be turning 19 in the winter of their senior year of high school. Crazy.
Post by craftyone on Sept 15, 2014 11:09:31 GMT -5
My older son I debated holding him back. He has a mid-August birthday. Emotionally he probably should be in a lower grade, but I think he might be bored. The last 2 years he has been having weekly meetings with the school counselor (in a small group of kids in the same boat) to help him deal with his anxiety with him not 100% of the time being on the same playing field as some of his classmates. Luckily it is something the school has no problem encouraging doing.
My middle son is autistic and is well below where he should be emotionally or academically. He should of had a July birthdate and I 10000% have no issue holding him back this year for another year of preschool. I know we have to write a letter to the Superintendent staying why if we choose to do so, but I put my son in private school for the next couple years so I didn't have to write one.
I don't know, I can see it both ways. Is it more acceptable for the kid to be already in K and have to repeat K again?
I agree with this. My nephew will start Kindergarten and then turn 6 years old a week later. I don't think that's too old. Now, turning 7 would be a little extreme.
If he started kindergarten at 4 and turned 5 a week later, then his senior year of high school he would be 17. He wouldn't turn 18 until right after his freshman year of college started. I think that would be very hard. He would have a whole year of college where his friends could go to bars and he would still be waiting on turning 21.
It is not horrible. Most people not of age in college still find a way.
Well, I said "very hard." Horrible is much worse than very hard. Getting fake IDs IS hard!
Hey, I am a product of pre-first in the 80s(I had the first grade curriculum twice with the same teacher, but they called it pre-first). I graduated 8th in my class at 19 years old. I was never teased for being the oldest of my cohort, nor did I feel weird about it.
My son in a late October baby and we will be discussing his kindy readiness with his preschool teacher, pediatrician, and the school district. My husband is leaning towards wanting him stay in preschool one more year, but I am not sure it will be the best. I am not a fan of the late Dec cutoff. If we were in another state, we wouldn't be having this argument.
My little guy turned 5 just three days before school started (2 days before the cutoff). Despite going to preschool and doing wonderfully, he has cried and tried to leave with me the last two drop-offs. I'm cherry-picking this thread to assure myself I'm doing the right thing.
I agree with this. My nephew will start Kindergarten and then turn 6 years old a week later. I don't think that's too old. Now, turning 7 would be a little extreme.
If he started kindergarten at 4 and turned 5 a week later, then his senior year of high school he would be 17. He wouldn't turn 18 until right after his freshman year of college started. I think that would be very hard. He would have a whole year of college where his friends could go to bars and he would still be waiting on turning 21.
It is not horrible. Most people not of age in college still find a way.
One way around is study abroad. Went to Scotland for a year when I was 19/20. The sucky part was coming back and still had 6mos until 21; and then I still held my liquor better than everyone at my party because wimpy American drinks Not than anyone ever advocates parties during 'study' abroad in my profession...
My DD2 was born Aug. 13, and the cutoff here is Sept 1. We will start her in a little 2 year old jr. Preschool class next fall and see how she does. I think she'll be ok, especially being the 3rd kid in the family but we'll see. I would prefer not to hold her back, but I'd rather do it for kindergarten than have her repeat a grade later on.
When I was that age the cutoff was 12/1 and my bday is 10/24. I was always the youngest in my class, and was 17 at college for a couple months and was just fine.