Here's what I don't understand about red shirting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care what other people do? That's no way to go through life.

I'm not OP - Because if your child is two years older than mine in the same classroom, that's a problem for my child.

Can't do math.

DP. A child with a February/March/April/May/June birthday would be two years older than my September birthday DC for a portion of the school year.

Yes, a child redshirted with a February birthday would turn 7 midway through kindergarten, but at that time, a non-redshirted September child would be 5.5. The February child is roughly 18 months older than a September child, not 2 years. Regardless, outside of private schools, redshirting of the spring birthday kids is quite rare, so I really don’t think this is something you’ll have to worry about.

I know of two children who were redshirted with birthdays during the school year, not during the summer. My kid doesn't think in terms of 5.5 compared to just-turned-7. Just 5 compared to 7.

You're correct that mostly redshirted kids are just 12-13 months older than my DC, not 18 months. In upper elementary grades, the differences are not so large anymore.

But, really, it doesn’t matter that a child thinks another kid is two years older. If the difference is 18 months, it is still 18 months no matter what a child thinks. And those cases are few and far between. With most kids, it is a 12 or 13 month difference in age, which makes very little difference in the classroom. You will always have about 12 months between the oldest and youngest anyway, and another 4-8 weeks will not have a substantial effect on what happens in the classroom.

People need to make the decisions that are best for their own children.

If there’s no difference then just sent the kids on time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Redshirting parents think they are beating the system. They aren’t. When you’re a kid, you want to be older and when you’re an adult, you want to be younger. Redshirting benefits someone in elementary school (most of the time) but starts to hurt them as they hit high school and graduate college. It stinks to lose another year to school. You spend YEARS in school and this isn’t including grad school. Why make your kid go through that just so they are a little bigger or faster in kindergarten? Kindergarten hardly matters. One less year of retirement savings does.

My parents were of this mindset, too. I ended up graduating college at 21...and had no clue what I wanted to do and wasn’t ready to hit the work force. So I went to law school and never used the degree. It doesn’t help to push someone who is not ready.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My August boy went to school on time and is doing great. We met with the school psychologist before making the decision and he strongly urged us to send him. He said red shirted kids might have a leg up in K-2 ish but by the time they are in middle school they start to feel uncomfortable with how much bigger and developed they are than everyone else. Also, by the time they are in high school, they look like they don't belong anymore. 20 is too old to be in high school.

If your school psychologist said this to you, I’d contact his supervisor.

Seriously. Either the PP is making this story up or she’s in a crappy school whose staff members don’t understand literally the most basic math possible?

If you redshirt a September kid, they would be 7 when they start so 20 as a senior.

If you’re too stupid to understand basic math, the STFU about anything related to school. You just don’t get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care what other people do? That's no way to go through life.

I'm not OP - Because if your child is two years older than mine in the same classroom, that's a problem for my child.

Can't do math.

DP. A child with a February/March/April/May/June birthday would be two years older than my September birthday DC for a portion of the school year.

Yes, a child redshirted with a February birthday would turn 7 midway through kindergarten, but at that time, a non-redshirted September child would be 5.5. The February child is roughly 18 months older than a September child, not 2 years. Regardless, outside of private schools, redshirting of the spring birthday kids is quite rare, so I really don’t think this is something you’ll have to worry about.

I know of two children who were redshirted with birthdays during the school year, not during the summer. My kid doesn't think in terms of 5.5 compared to just-turned-7. Just 5 compared to 7.

You're correct that mostly redshirted kids are just 12-13 months older than my DC, not 18 months. In upper elementary grades, the differences are not so large anymore.

But, really, it doesn’t matter that a child thinks another kid is two years older. If the difference is 18 months, it is still 18 months no matter what a child thinks. And those cases are few and far between. With most kids, it is a 12 or 13 month difference in age, which makes very little difference in the classroom. You will always have about 12 months between the oldest and youngest anyway, and another 4-8 weeks will not have a substantial effect on what happens in the classroom.

People need to make the decisions that are best for their own children.

If there’s no difference then just sent the kids on time

Why? What’s the rush? Give the kid another year of age-appropriate environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My August boy went to school on time and is doing great. We met with the school psychologist before making the decision and he strongly urged us to send him. He said red shirted kids might have a leg up in K-2 ish but by the time they are in middle school they start to feel uncomfortable with how much bigger and developed they are than everyone else. Also, by the time they are in high school, they look like they don't belong anymore. 20 is too old to be in high school.

If your school psychologist said this to you, I’d contact his supervisor.

Seriously. Either the PP is making this story up or she’s in a crappy school whose staff members don’t understand literally the most basic math possible?

If you redshirt a September kid, they would be 7 when they start so 20 as a senior.

If you’re too stupid to understand basic math, the STFU about anything related to school. You just don’t get it.

Ok... I feel bad for him/her so I will explain. If the cutoff is September 1st and parents decide to redshirt one of the already oldest kids in the class (I have never heard of this happening), then that kid will turn 19 at the beginning of senior year. What is much more likely is that when the cutoff is October 1st, that same September birthday kid would be the youngest and start K at 4 (about to turn 5). If redshirted, this kid will start K at 5 (about to turn6) and willstart senior year at 17 (about to turn 18). This child will not be 20 until sophomore year in college. Get it now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Redshirting parents think they are beating the system. They aren’t. When you’re a kid, you want to be older and when you’re an adult, you want to be younger. Redshirting benefits someone in elementary school (most of the time) but starts to hurt them as they hit high school and graduate college. It stinks to lose another year to school. You spend YEARS in school and this isn’t including grad school. Why make your kid go through that just so they are a little bigger or faster in kindergarten? Kindergarten hardly matters. One less year of retirement savings does.

My parents were of this mindset, too. I ended up graduating college at 21...and had no clue what I wanted to do and wasn’t ready to hit the work force. So I went to law school and never used the degree. It doesn’t help to push someone who is not ready.

I started a 5-year grad program at 21, and have been working in that field for almost 20 years. Not sure you can necessarily blame lack of direction on being younger in your cohort.

Perhaps your parents pushed you toward law school, but that wasn’t your real interest?

[Anonymous]

Private schools need to be more open about their cutoff dates because I think some have unofficial cutoffs like June. If a parent follows that then to me it’s not really redshirting and is totally appropriate. If a child goes to a public school or a private school that doesn’t have a different internal cutoff then call it what it is - getting a leg up for your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My August boy went to school on time and is doing great. We met with the school psychologist before making the decision and he strongly urged us to send him. He said red shirted kids might have a leg up in K-2 ish but by the time they are in middle school they start to feel uncomfortable with how much bigger and developed they are than everyone else. Also, by the time they are in high school, they look like they don't belong anymore. 20 is too old to be in high school.

I know no redshirted children who are 20 in high school. 19 yes, 20 no. Please go back to school and learn math properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private schools need to be more open about their cutoff dates because I think some have unofficial cutoffs like June. If a parent follows that then to me it’s not really redshirting and is totally appropriate. If a child goes to a public school or a private school that doesn’t have a different internal cutoff then call it what it is - getting a leg up for your kid.

The laws allow it for many states — it’s not breaking the rules.

If you don’t like the rules, then change them. Don’t bitch about other people who are, in fact, following the rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My August boy went to school on time and is doing great. We met with the school psychologist before making the decision and he strongly urged us to send him. He said red shirted kids might have a leg up in K-2 ish but by the time they are in middle school they start to feel uncomfortable with how much bigger and developed they are than everyone else. Also, by the time they are in high school, they look like they don't belong anymore. 20 is too old to be in high school.

If your school psychologist said this to you, I’d contact his supervisor.

Seriously. Either the PP is making this story up or she’s in a crappy school whose staff members don’t understand literally the most basic math possible?

If you redshirt a September kid, they would be 7 when they start so 20 as a senior.

If you’re too stupid to understand basic math, the STFU about anything related to school. You just don’t get it.

Ok... I feel bad for him/her so I will explain. If the cutoff is September 1st and parents decide to redshirt one of the already oldest kids in the class (I have never heard of this happening), then that kid will turn 19 at the beginning of senior year. What is much more likely is that when the cutoff is October 1st, that same September birthday kid would be the youngest and start K at 4 (about to turn 5). If redshirted, this kid will start K at 5 (about to turn6) and willstart senior year at 17 (about to turn 18). This child will not be 20 until sophomore year in college. Get it now?

Someone explains on every thread but the idiots just don’t get it. It should be an automatic disqualifier for ever posting about anything related to education.

[Anonymous]

There are kids who are redshirted twice (and some redshirted kids are retained). This seems to be a specific issue for specific private schools, not an issue that my public school kid will ever encounter.

[Anonymous]

I understand this explanation but many parents in my community are putting their kids in kindergarten when they are already 6 and nearly 7 essentially sitting the kids out nearly 2 years. The kid should have started at 5, was 5 in the fall they should have started but the parent sits them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care what other people do? That's no way to go through life.

I'm not OP - Because if your child is two years older than mine in the same classroom, that's a problem for my child.

Can't do math.

DP. A child with a February/March/April/May/June birthday would be two years older than my September birthday DC for a portion of the school year.

Yes, a child redshirted with a February birthday would turn 7 midway through kindergarten, but at that time, a non-redshirted September child would be 5.5. The February child is roughly 18 months older than a September child, not 2 years. Regardless, outside of private schools, redshirting of the spring birthday kids is quite rare, so I really don’t think this is something you’ll have to worry about.

I know of two children who were redshirted with birthdays during the school year, not during the summer. My kid doesn't think in terms of 5.5 compared to just-turned-7. Just 5 compared to 7.

You're correct that mostly redshirted kids are just 12-13 months older than my DC, not 18 months. In upper elementary grades, the differences are not so large anymore.

But, really, it doesn’t matter that a child thinks another kid is two years older. If the difference is 18 months, it is still 18 months no matter what a child thinks. And those cases are few and far between. With most kids, it is a 12 or 13 month difference in age, which makes very little difference in the classroom. You will always have about 12 months between the oldest and youngest anyway, and another 4-8 weeks will not have a substantial effect on what happens in the classroom.

People need to make the decisions that are best for their own children.

If there’s no difference then just sent the kids on time

Why? What’s the rush? Give the kid another year of age-appropriate environment.

I’m all for doing what’s best for your kid. But, for most kids at this age, a kindergarten classroom is the “age-appropriate environment.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand this explanation but many parents in my community are putting their kids in kindergarten when they are already 6 and nearly 7 essentially sitting the kids out nearly 2 years. The kid should have started at 5, was 5 in the fall they should have started but the parent sits them out.

That’s not holding them out two years.

Thing is, it is perfectly legal to start your child a year late. It’s also perfectly legal to start your child a year early. School districts have policies allowing it. It’s not breaking any rule. It’s just choosing a different path.

Those who say a child will be 20 in high school really don’t know how to calculate ages and grades. If that happened around here it would not be due to redshirting. That being said, it could happen. Some kids with special needs stay in until they are 22. And some kids have medical problems that result in missing so much time that they can fall behind by a year or two and end up graduating at age 20. But neither of these relates to red shirting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This came up on the other threads but was never really answered. Now that people are starting to red shirt kids with spring and even winter birthdays, in order to get an extra year on the kids routinely being red shirted with fall and late summer birthdays, what does that do to the kids with the fall birthdays? It just sets everything back a year. Does that mean they're going to start red shirting two years in a row?

That’s not why people redshirt.

Why do they?

There are literally 50 pages of threads on this with dozens of stories of why people redshirted.

Developmental delays?