Tell me about redshirting your late summer/fall birthday son before Kindergarten

[Anonymous]

I’m hearing of kids doing this in 8th grade too

[Anonymous]

VA, Md and DC have sept 1st age 5 cutoffs for K. Just start on time, he’ll be among the oldest.

Are you in a state with Jan 1st or Sept 30th or something? If so, do whatever you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m hearing of kids doing this in 8th grade too

Yes you can repeat a grade when older and changing schools entirely. Or do a gap year before college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you in the NY metro area? We were in a disctrict with a December cutoff when we lived there. One of my ds's friends had a December birthday. They were in preschool together. The mother ended up sending him to public on-time for K, and then had him repeat K at catholic school as a 5yo who turned 6 the december of his K at catholic year. Her oldest was also a December birthday. She sent him on time (so 4 turning 5 in K) and said it was a mistake she did not want to repeat for her younger boy.

December cut-offs are very unusual. I would hold him back regardless, but even more especially if there's a chance you might move to another state at some point. My dd has an 8/23 birthday. We sent her to school on time, but I do see how much younger she is than her peers.

I would have a late September birthday kid start K at 5 rather than 4, especially for a boy.

OP here. Yes, we are in NY. I don’t think we are planning to move, but the fact that most neighboring states and states across the country have September 1st cutoffs make me think that it’s something to consider for us. But we do know fall boys in his current class going to K on time, and just feel like he’ll be emotionally young if he starts on time, and older and physically bigger if we hold him back.

You make no sense.

Your kid will be 5 about five months before the cutoff and you don’t think you’ll ever move.

Find something else to worry about that’s more tangible.

[Anonymous]

This reminds me of a mo who wanted to move to Florida so her uncoordinated kid could be a pro at sports year round.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you in the NY metro area? We were in a disctrict with a December cutoff when we lived there. One of my ds's friends had a December birthday. They were in preschool together. The mother ended up sending him to public on-time for K, and then had him repeat K at catholic school as a 5yo who turned 6 the december of his K at catholic year. Her oldest was also a December birthday. She sent him on time (so 4 turning 5 in K) and said it was a mistake she did not want to repeat for her younger boy.

December cut-offs are very unusual. I would hold him back regardless, but even more especially if there's a chance you might move to another state at some point. My dd has an 8/23 birthday. We sent her to school on time, but I do see how much younger she is than her peers.

I would have a late September birthday kid start K at 5 rather than 4, especially for a boy.

OP here. Yes, we are in NY. I don’t think we are planning to move, but the fact that most neighboring states and states across the country have September 1st cutoffs make me think that it’s something to consider for us. But we do know fall boys in his current class going to K on time, and just feel like he’ll be emotionally young if he starts on time, and older and physically bigger if we hold him back.

You make no sense.

Your kid will be 5 about five months before the cutoff and you don’t think you’ll ever move.

Find something else to worry about that’s more tangible.

The public schools have a Dec 31st cutoff along with this particular private. The rest of the private schools have a sept or Oct 1st cutoff. So in our area many kids his actual age will be a year behind and some will be “on time”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This reminds me of a mo who wanted to move to Florida so her uncoordinated kid could be a pro at sports year round.

Zero aspirations for any athletic careers for my kid. Just want them to be confident and well adjusted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you in the NY metro area? We were in a disctrict with a December cutoff when we lived there. One of my ds's friends had a December birthday. They were in preschool together. The mother ended up sending him to public on-time for K, and then had him repeat K at catholic school as a 5yo who turned 6 the december of his K at catholic year. Her oldest was also a December birthday. She sent him on time (so 4 turning 5 in K) and said it was a mistake she did not want to repeat for her younger boy.

December cut-offs are very unusual. I would hold him back regardless, but even more especially if there's a chance you might move to another state at some point. My dd has an 8/23 birthday. We sent her to school on time, but I do see how much younger she is than her peers.

I would have a late September birthday kid start K at 5 rather than 4, especially for a boy.

OP here. Yes, we are in NY. I don’t think we are planning to move, but the fact that most neighboring states and states across the country have September 1st cutoffs make me think that it’s something to consider for us. But we do know fall boys in his current class going to K on time, and just feel like he’ll be emotionally young if he starts on time, and older and physically bigger if we hold him back.

You make no sense.

Your kid will be 5 about five months before the cutoff and you don’t think you’ll ever move.

Find something else to worry about that’s more tangible.

The public schools have a Dec 31st cutoff along with this particular private. The rest of the private schools have a sept or Oct 1st cutoff. So in our area many kids his actual age will be a year behind and some will be “on time”

Don’t worry, everything is faster in NY.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP, I have a second half of September boy who is now a rising 8th grader. We agonized over the decision to send him on time. Ultimately, we held him back because he was both immature and very small physically. He has ADHD and even now is kind of immature for his age in many ways. On balance it was the right decision. He was always the oldest or one of the oldest kids in his class but that never seemed to bother him. If he had been big for his age the decision would have been harder. There was another redshirt in his class a couple of years who was almost gigantic and did kind of stick out like a sore thumb.

On the other hand, he had a friend with a Sept 29 or 30 birthday who was not redshirted and seemed to be doing just fine.

Trust your gut as to what is right for your kid.

[Anonymous]

We redshirted our boy born in August. He's entering 5th grade.

Pros:

He's academically successful despite a learning disability. The extra year bought us time to teach him to read before kindergarten, which he needed because he really struggles in a classroom setting.

He fits in with his peers, where I think he'd struggle with older kids.

Lacrosse is based on graduation rather than birth year, so he's always been one of the bigger kids.

Cons:

To this day, he still complains that I held him back. When people asked his grade last year, he'd say, "4th, but I'm really suppose to be in 5th grade, but my mom held me back." I've explained to him the reasons so many times in the most positive way I can, but he still holds it against me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We redshirted our boy born in August. He's entering 5th grade.

Pros:

He's academically successful despite a learning disability. The extra year bought us time to teach him to read before kindergarten, which he needed because he really struggles in a classroom setting.

He fits in with his peers, where I think he'd struggle with older kids.

Lacrosse is based on graduation rather than birth year, so he's always been one of the bigger kids.

Cons:

To this day, he still complains that I held him back. When people asked his grade last year, he'd say, "4th, but I'm really suppose to be in 5th grade, but my mom held me back." I've explained to him the reasons so many times in the most positive way I can, but he still holds it against me.

Interesting. My daughter HATES being the youngest (August 16th birthday in a Sept 1 cutoff state) and wishes she was held back. All of her friends who were reasonably redshirted (i.e. July and August birthdays) love it.

[Anonymous]

I remember agonizing over this decision but sent my kid "on time." Was one of the youngest throughout, and most with birthdays in his same birth month were a year older bc they had been redshirted. Primarily noticed differences in middle school age when some redshirted boys hit puberty faster and looked like men amongst boys.

[Anonymous]

If your child is smart, don’t redshirt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't do it. You want your kid to be 19 at graduation? Since you asked.

As usual DCUM anti-redshirters cannot do math. It’s like clockwork.

[Anonymous]

I have a high school kid with a September birthday who was unintentionally redshirted. He is happy with it. He also thinks he would have been fine if he had not been redshirted. He thinks parents who obsess about redshirting are weird, lol. He has friends both older and younger.

Just a tip, as a warning, DCUM anti-redshirters as a group are pretty loony. So be careful about taking advice here too seriously.