Nope I not the original poster. |
My mother actually started me a year late for kindergarten because I was close to the cut off and frankly I felt no ill effects and no one made fun of me. Barely anyone knew my birth date anyway. I do think kids who were held back a grade once they started school sometimes were made fun of. |
The truth of the matter is that in Montgomery County (especially the expensive zip codes), boys are being held back (and starting a year later) in record amounts. Some girls are held back, but not nearly in the same percentage as boys. Most of the this is based on a book suggesting that the older boys will have more success in school and later in life. Even the author of the book has now suggested that the whole process is ridiculous and does not offer the advantages that he once promoted. This is particularly true when so many boys are being held back that they are really not older than their classmates (they are all a year behind).
I'd go with your gut. You know your child. There is very little evidence that holding your child back will do any harm, and there is very little evidence that putting them in on time will do any harm. It just doesn't really matter that much for most kids. |