Clicky poll and dead horse: Cut off date birthday

[curbsideprophet]

Sept 23, 2015 17:32:05 GMT -5 @starry said:

Sept 23, 2015 17:26:02 GMT -5 @sessalee said:

9/30. Options are good. No one would fault you for waiting a year if they weren't ready.

YOU PEOPLE WOULD

I think even we would be okay with letting that slide. If you are within a month of the cutoff I don't really have issues with you waiting a year. When we start talking 4-6 months from the cutoff then I have issues.

We have a Sept 1 cutoff. DD was due Sept 7 and I was hoping for a Sept baby to avoid the issue. She came in late Aug. she turned four this year and we plan to send her on time next year.

[anna7602]

Sept 23, 2015 17:48:56 GMT -5 @vicmo said:

I think that if the vast majority of parents are red shirting kids from August and September, I'd strongly consider following the herd. It's nice to be moral and rule following but I dunno, being the youngest by more than a year is kind of unappealing. Like, being the one parent who goes against the grain just to make a point? Meh.

This is why I can't move anywhere else in the US with my August baby. Redshirting doesn't happen in our district anyway, but, more importantly, he's not even on the edge here. Cut-off is Dec. 31st.

Eta: also, our cut-off date means that lots of 4-yos go to Kindergarten. It hasn't seemed like a big deal to DD's friends with fall birthdays.

[zarapipe]

Sept 30. That is DD2's bday and I wish our cutoff was Oct 1 and not sept 1

[Cicero]

Sept 30. M was born two weeks after the cutoff and I resent that I don't really have options.

[brady2012]

My brother was born on the cutoff date so they gave my parents the option. They chose to wait. He was on the small side and also needed time to mature. It's always good to have options.

Both my kids are summer birthdays with a Sept 1 cutoff. They will go on time partly bc they are attending a PreK in their elementary school and do before and aftercare with the school aged kids. I figure that should be a solid prep for kindergarten.

[skib]

So, I don't really think about the age in kinder when I think about this question; I think about the age they will be when they graduate from high school. I would not want to send a 17 year old child off to college. I'd much rather they be 18-almost-19 when they're a college freshman than 17-almost-18.

[bananapancakes]

Red shirting just doesn't happen here. Our cut off is December 31st and I don't think I know a single person who didn't send their kid the year they were eligible. We also do two years of kindergarten (mixed ages) so I have kids in my class born December 2011 and January 2010. I think at least 7 or 8 of my kids are just 3. Yes, it's sometimes obvious who the younger ones are but it's really not a big deal. They learn from the older ones and it evens out by grade 2 or 3. I've never understood the obsession with this.

A friend of mine was due January 2 and she did everything in her power to get the baby out before the cutoff. She was born December 29 and started kindergarten at just over 3.5. She's doing great and mom saved a year worth of day care costs!

[longtimenopost]

This baby barely made cutoff and I'm glad she did! Sept 1 cutoff, Aug 29 birthday. She will start K at 4 if we still live here.

[Susie]

I could conceivably have this choice to make: due 11/21, expecting to go late, and OB will let me go until 12/5. Cutoff date is 12/1.

It may or may not be flameworthy (I did get some on GotP when I brought it up for thoughts), but I'm leaning toward an induction on maybe 11/29ish if I haven't had her yet.  I'd be 41 weeks by then.

I would like to have the option of one less year of daycare if it works for her developmentally to start K at 4 years+10 months, partly because that may mean one year sooner that we can afford to have #2. If I were having a boy I would probably be more inclined to pass on the induction, since I think a boy would be less likely to be developmentally ready for K at <5 years.

Of course she could come early, on time, or just less than 9 days late, and then it won't be a choice.  That would be nice.

[imojoebunny]

My son, I would like for him to be born on September 30th. My daughter, October 1st. That can change though. I was very close to the deadline in my county, I graduated early, and was a sophomore in college before peers graduated high school. I struggled according to my mom in early elementary, but I don't remember it that way. I was thrilled to head to college at 17, and graduate before turning 21.

[djc315]

Well I'm all for Sept 30, but I also would submit a waiver to send mine early (assuming he is ready).

My mom said she wishes we were 4 yrs apart vs 3 for college cost purposes.

[Deleted]

I really don't think it's a big deal for a kid to be one of the youngest. I would plan to send at 4 anyway.

[frlcb]

Sept 23, 2015 18:12:20 GMT -5 @choco said:

September 30th and send the kid the first year eligible. Any minimal benefit you gain is evened out by 2nd/3rd grade. Engaged parents are what makes the difference and I am pretty confident we will be as engaged as possible.

DS1 will always be one of the youngest even with his June birthday and a 9/1 cutoff. However, he benefits tremendously from having older peers to model his behavior after. I am a firm believer that kids can handle a lot more than people give them credit for. Unless the child's teachers and doctors are telling me not to, there is no reason to keep the child an extra year.

Thank you Thank you Thank you. I will never understand the argument of holding your kids back to give them time to mature, but then you are sticking them in a class of kids a year younger. How will that make them more mature? They will instead just act like the kids a year younger than them.

Redshirting in Georgia is ridiculous. My son, with a February birthday, is the 2nd youngest boy in his class. But I have faith it is getting better, because my daughter has more summer birthdays in her class than my son has ever had. People are wising up.

[Deleted]

We don't have red shirting in Canada. Although some parents skip junior kindergarten.

Question
In the older grades, do the other kids ask questions? I know we had a boy in our grade in grade 7. But his birth year was different than the rest of us. Everyone asked him 'did you fail?' Kids are dicks. He had travelled with his family for a year (talk about privilege) but sometimes kids don't ask and just point and laugh.

Also the kids on your soccer team and baseball and Boy Scouts (usually divided by age) are all going to be a grade different than you). Is this just so norm?

[anna7602]

Sept 24, 2015 8:10:53 GMT -5 @hannymaren said:

Also the kids on your soccer team and baseball and Boy Scouts (usually divided by age) are all going to be a grade different than you). Is this just so norm?

Most of the sports and extra-curriculars around here are divided by grade, but again, it's really hard to redshirt here. Nonetheless, for DD's Brownie troop, for example, all the girls have to be in 2nd grade to join. 

The only school around here that has any kind of earlier cut-off is preschool. The kid does have to be 2 to start, so if your child has a fall birthday, they have to wait for a January start date (v. September). It ends up meaning that a kid does one semester less of preschool overall, but still starts pre-K and K on time, which is NBD academically, but is more expensive to keep daycare/nanny for that extra time. I am happy to now be in the 12-month countdown to starting DS in preschool v. being in a 16-month countdown. 

[iheartbanjos]

I sent my 4 year old to kindergarten this year. It has not been easy. She attends a pretty academically rigorous school in an area that many people red shirt. I was an even later birthday when I was her age, but the expectations are much higher for her. The first day, they were very surprised that she wrote her name in all upper case letters and that she couldn't read. We work a lot at home, and she now writes with lower case letters and knows about 30 sight words. I worry about how much pressure she has on her. Part of me likes that she is being given a strong work ethic at such a young age, but part of me is sad that we spend so much time on school work.

Her sister is also an August birthday, and I am going to spend some more time thinking this through next time around.

[aspentosh]

Sept 30.

[frlcb]

Sept 24, 2015 8:19:38 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Sept 24, 2015 8:10:53 GMT -5 @hannymaren said:

Also the kids on your soccer team and baseball and Boy Scouts (usually divided by age) are all going to be a grade different than you). Is this just so norm?

Most of the sports and extra-curriculars around here are divided by grade, but again, it's really hard to redshirt here. Nonetheless, for DD's Brownie troop, for example, all the girls have to be in 2nd grade to join. 

The only school around here that has any kind of earlier cut-off is preschool. The kid does have to be 2 to start, so if your child has a fall birthday, they have to wait for a January start date (v. September). It ends up meaning that a kid does one semester less of preschool overall, but still starts pre-K and K on time, which is NBD academically, but is more expensive to keep daycare/nanny for that extra time. I am happy to now be in the 12-month countdown to starting DS in preschool v. being in a 16-month countdown. 

Yeah, boy scouts for sure is done by grade. Sports are done by age. 

[quickstepstar]

My older 2 are Sept 29th So I do like Sept 30!
That said, yes, I would rather Sept 30th birthday. I think right before they were born, my induction was set for Oct 1st, and we were thinking about moving to the area with Sept 30th cutoff, so then I was very happy to have gone into labor early by 2 days.
I am also happy that there is no red-shirting in NYC. My September babies are by far not the youngest (Dec 31st cutoff) and my November baby won't be either!

[doetwin]

Sept 23, 2015 20:26:14 GMT -5 skib said:

So, I don't really think about the age in kinder when I think about this question; I think about the age they will be when they graduate from high school. I would not want to send a 17 year old child off to college. I'd much rather they be 18-almost-19 when they're a college freshman than 17-almost-18.

Parents who don't want their fall children to go to college at 17 should just have their child take a gap year after high school. I understand there are other reasons for redshirting, but to do it solely because you don't want your kid starting college at 17 is just silly. It's 13 years away. And besides, how do you even know they'll want to go college? Most people don't these days. You should make a decision based on what your child's like now, not what you think they'll be like 13 years from now. Another good reason to send your child on time is that it leaves both doors. If, indeed, when they are 17, you still feel like they're still not ready for college, you can just have them take a gap year. And if you feel like they are ready for college, you can send them at 17, as they will have finished high school. However, if you redshirt and it turns out that they were ready to go at 17 after all, they won't be able to go at 17 because they'll still have another year of high school to complete. So it's simple. You should send your kids on time, because you can always adjust later, but the same cannot be said if you redshirt.

[kdubs923]

Jan 17, 2016 19:40:29 GMT -5 doetwin said:

Sept 23, 2015 20:26:14 GMT -5 skib said:

So, I don't really think about the age in kinder when I think about this question; I think about the age they will be when they graduate from high school. I would not want to send a 17 year old child off to college. I'd much rather they be 18-almost-19 when they're a college freshman than 17-almost-18.

Parents who don't want their fall children to go to college at 17 should just have their child take a gap year after high school. I understand there are other reasons for redshirting, but to do it solely because you don't want your kid starting college at 17 is just silly. It's 13 years away. And besides, how do you even know they'll want to go college? Most people don't these days. You should make a decision based on what your child's like now, not what you think they'll be like 13 years from now. Another good reason to send your child on time is that it leaves both doors. If, indeed, when they are 17, you still feel like they're still not ready for college, you can just have them take a gap year. And if you feel like they are ready for college, you can send them at 17, as they will have finished high school. However, if you redshirt and it turns out that they were ready to go at 17 after all, they won't be able to go at 17 because they'll still have another year of high school to complete. So it's simple. You should send your kids on time, because you can always adjust later, but the same cannot be said if you redshirt.

Dude. Nobody gives a shit about your Gap Year Crusade.

[bcarp30]

I picked 9/30 because it's my birthday and an awesome day. But it also gave my mom options for if I was ready for school or not.

[karinothing]

doetwin why do you keep posting on old posts?

[nextbigthing]

doetwin has SERIOUS opinions about redshirting!

WTF?

[megs193]

Jan 17, 2016 19:40:29 GMT -5 doetwin said:

Sept 23, 2015 20:26:14 GMT -5 skib said:

So, I don't really think about the age in kinder when I think about this question; I think about the age they will be when they graduate from high school. I would not want to send a 17 year old child off to college. I'd much rather they be 18-almost-19 when they're a college freshman than 17-almost-18.

Parents who don't want their fall children to go to college at 17 should just have their child take a gap year after high school. I understand there are other reasons for redshirting, but to do it solely because you don't want your kid starting college at 17 is just silly. It's 13 years away. And besides, how do you even know they'll want to go college? Most people don't these days. You should make a decision based on what your child's like now, not what you think they'll be like 13 years from now. Another good reason to send your child on time is that it leaves both doors. If, indeed, when they are 17, you still feel like they're still not ready for college, you can just have them take a gap year. And if you feel like they are ready for college, you can send them at 17, as they will have finished high school. However, if you redshirt and it turns out that they were ready to go at 17 after all, they won't be able to go at 17 because they'll still have another year of high school to complete. So it's simple. You should send your kids on time, because you can always adjust later, but the same cannot be said if you redshirt.

WTF? Nobody cares! Stop resurrecting old threads.

[anna7602]

OMG, I fell for it again. WTF, old threads???

[curbsideprophet]

Jan 17, 2016 19:48:42 GMT -5 kdubs923 said:

Jan 17, 2016 19:40:29 GMT -5 doetwin said:

Parents who don't want their fall children to go to college at 17 should just have their child take a gap year after high school. I understand there are other reasons for redshirting, but to do it solely because you don't want your kid starting college at 17 is just silly. It's 13 years away. And besides, how do you even know they'll want to go college? Most people don't these days. You should make a decision based on what your child's like now, not what you think they'll be like 13 years from now. Another good reason to send your child on time is that it leaves both doors. If, indeed, when they are 17, you still feel like they're still not ready for college, you can just have them take a gap year. And if you feel like they are ready for college, you can send them at 17, as they will have finished high school. However, if you redshirt and it turns out that they were ready to go at 17 after all, they won't be able to go at 17 because they'll still have another year of high school to complete. So it's simple. You should send your kids on time, because you can always adjust later, but the same cannot be said if you redshirt.

Dude. Nobody gives a shit about your Gap Year Crusade.

As soon as I saw the second ETA and I realized this was an old thread I knew a gap year would be mentioned at the end.

[KaraOrNot]

JFC, doetwin. I just voted in this old poll.

[Deleted]

If I didn't think my child was mature enough to go to college with his peers I doubt I'd encourage them to spend a year doing fuck all with their time and my money.

[lilybug]

Special snowflake, doesn't matter to me.

I haveven 2 kids. One would have been ready at 4-turning-5. One definitely will not be ready then. So I think with either birthday, there's a 50/50 chance I'd have to jump through some hoops to get what my kid needs.

ETA dammit this is the second zombie post that has tricked me tonight, resurrected by the SAME person! Stop it!