Do siblings ever factor into decision to redshirt?

[Anonymous]

My 4YO DD has an August birthday that’s a few days before our district’s cut-off (August 15). We haven’t decided whether we’ll send her to our neighborhood public school or private school for K. We’ll likely go ahead and apply to a few private schools, but I’ve heard from other parents that the privates in our area have a “soft” cut-off of 5/31 and that redshirting of summer and even spring birthdays is extremely common. We’ve also been told by her pre-school administrator that some private schools may encourage us to wait another year before applying for K given DD’s August birthday.

We’d be happy with our public elementary option and may very well end up there. However, we’ll likely want to switch to private for middle-high school (as long as that would be a good fit for DD).

I had assumed we’d send DD to K next year, but now I’m having second thoughts. She’d probably be better prepared to enter K after another year of pre-K. (I think she’s do fine academically and socially in K next year, but not sure that she’ll be ready for the more structured school day.) I know a lot can change between now and the beginning of next school year though, and I wouldn’t necessarily hold her back for that reason alone.

However, I have to admit that one of the factors I’ve been considering is that waiting a year to start K would increase the number of years that 4 YO DD and her younger sister (1 YO with a fall birthday) will be at the same school/on the same campus over the entirety of their school careers. Is maximizing the number of years that siblings are at the same school something parents consider when deciding whether to red-shirt a kid who is on the bubble? Or am I crazy to even be thinking about this?

DH and I both work full-time outside of the home, and it is obviously logistically MUCH easier for us to be doing drop-offs/pick-ups for both DDs at the same place and same time. Waiting another year to start K would likely result give us an extra 3-4 years of having both DDs at the same school. This factor alone makes red-shirting seem to make sense for our family.

On the one hand, it seems selfish to even be thinking about this since the decision about when to start DD in K should really be made solely based on what’s best for DD. On the other hand, having both kids at the same school for as many years as possible seems like it would make things much easier for our family. Am I the only one who has taken this into account?

[Anonymous]

Both things can be true. Yes it is selfish. And yes it might still be the best decision for your family.

I personally wouldn’t do it (and didn’t) but I know that some others would.

[Anonymous]

I would venture to guess there are always a lot of things that factor into decisions to redshirt or not. I'm sure siblings and logistics are often amongst them.

[Anonymous]

Yes siblings and logistics do factor in. I think it's nice to keep your kids closer together in grades. I also personally think it's better for your child to be older rather than younger in the grade. I have older kids and regret not redshirting. DC did and still does fine academically, socially and with sports but looking back there was no reason to rush.

I would also have my child for an extra year at home which is nice to think about as my child heads off to college soon.

[Anonymous]

Most people’s reasons for redshirting are pretty silly and come from a place of parental anxiety and need to control. Yours is no different.