Poll - if you were the youngest or oldest of your school class..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is really more about long term impact going into K much younger than his peers and always being the youngest until he's college bound. So, if you were the youngest/oldest of your class, how do you feel your experience affected you from your age/grade level in school later in life? How did it impact you with grades, socially, professionally at a much later age? Do you think you would have benefited more if you were youngest/oldest?

I have an October birthday and went to school when September 30 was the cut off. Since I was tall for my age, my parents had me start a year (month) early, which put me a whole year younger than a few students, and about 6 months younger than most. Here are some of my experiences:

Sizewise, I was the tallest in my classes until boys started hitting puberty. I was my adult height in 7th grade.
I believed in Santa a little longer than most of my class. Or at least tried to, but was told about it earlier from the older kids.
I learned everything a little earlier, and in some cases this was ok. In others, my mom says she wishes I would have had an extra year as a "child".
While my friends were starting their periods in 6th grade, I faked starting mine so I could fit in.
Driver's license issue stunk. I was carted around by parents longer than my peers. I also wasn't able to work a part-time job like the others.
Finally, about sophomore year, I started gravitating towards people my own age. My best friends were a year below me in school. I found myself taking more electives to be with them. I was a straight A student, but I purposefully dropped Chemistry and some advanced math so I could take classes with my friends.
Socially, I was always a little out of place with the older kids. My parents were somewhat strict, so between that and the age difference, I was really late in even being allowed to spend time with opposite sex or start dating. Our state changed drinking age to 21 from 18 when I was a teen. All my classmates were grandfathered in to the old rule, while I was stuck with the new rule - so yeah, that stunk. So I was either DD or breaking the law.

I know it seems all the above has a negative spin on it, but really I'm not at all bothered by it now. I survived. lol

[Anonymous]

My kids (both boys) are among the youngest, if not the youngest in their respective grades. Both are doing fine academically, socially and athletically. Yes, there are kids 16 months older in each grade, but you wouldn't know it physically or in any other way. It will be more apparent when drivers licenses etc happen, but you can't control that.

I do like the idea of a gap year between high school and college if it seems necessary.

[Anonymous]

I was the youngest and my experiences paralleled 12:41, only I didn't have the sense to hang out with kids younger than myself in high school. Instead I tried to keep up with drinking and driving illegally... I could do the school work just fine, but socially its was much harder.

I disliked it so much that my daughter missed the cut off by only two weeks was academically ready to start Kindergarten but I just kept her on track and I am really glad I did. She's a bit shy and being older has really helped her socially.

Maybe it's because of my bad experiences that I have such a negative viewpoint about this one situation... but she is in the HGC and one of her friends skipped a year and she is a full year or even more younger than her classmates. Her mom is an uber-helicopter and still dresses her in these horrid lands-end leggings and babyish Hanna Anderson clothes, the kid isn't allowed to choose any of her own after school activities. Her mom is still treating her like a younger child, just like mine did, and socially it's okay now, but when she gets older it is going to cause her problems.

[Anonymous]

I was one of the youngest and it totally didn't matter. I was ready for school when I started.

God only knows what my mom would have done with me that year if I hadn't gone to kinder.

[Anonymous]

My DH and I were both the youngest, due to b-day (me) and skipping (him). For me, it was terrific -- no academic or social problems, and I hit puberty nice and early, so it would've been horrible to have been the lone 5th grader in a D cup. For him, it was disastrous socially. I know this plays into terrible gender stereotypes, and I'm not willing to generalize to all kids, but that's our story.

We have a Sep. DD and are debating how to place her, with both of us projecting our own experiences onto her, which is probably not a fair approach.

[Anonymous]

I am a woman. I was near the youngest in my class. I moved to the US in 7th grade - I think my parents and school should have recommended I join the 6th grade instead. School was pretty tough for me socially and actually academically, although I ended up doing fine in high school and going to a good college. College was great socially and academically.

I wouldn't redshirt my kid unless there was a good reason based on the kid - immature, learning problem, etc.

[Anonymous]

I notice that when people talk about pushing their kids to go on time, so that kid is the youngest, they say the kid is "doing just fine". I mean it's like every post!

Then the parents of the redshirted/older kids chime in and their kids are "doing great!, we're so glad we did it..."

Interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I notice that when people talk about pushing their kids to go on time, so that kid is the youngest, they say the kid is "doing just fine". I mean it's like every post!

Then the parents of the redshirted/older kids chime in and their kids are "doing great!, we're so glad we did it..."

Interesting.

..."pushing their kids to go on time"?

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, this question makes me laugh.

You know your kid best. There are mature 4 year olds and immature 5 year olds.

My son is an immature 5 year with speech delays. So he's in an extra year of preschool. My daughter was the opposite - very mature and ready to tackle a full day.

So decide what's best for your child. Being academically ready is great, but if a child is immature, that immaturity will mask academic performance in many cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I notice that when people talk about pushing their kids to go on time, so that kid is the youngest, they say the kid is "doing just fine". I mean it's like every post!

Then the parents of the redshirted/older kids chime in and their kids are "doing great!, we're so glad we did it..."

Interesting.

..."pushing their kids to go on time"?

When kids have a late summer birthday and parents were on the fence about sending their child. It's technically "on time".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I notice that when people talk about pushing their kids to go on time, so that kid is the youngest, they say the kid is "doing just fine". I mean it's like every post!

Then the parents of the redshirted/older kids chime in and their kids are "doing great!, we're so glad we did it..."

Interesting.

..."pushing their kids to go on time"?

When kids have a late summer birthday and parents were on the fence about sending their child. It's technically "on time".

It's not just technically "on time". It actually is on time.

[Anonymous]

To OP - just because those around you are red- shirting, don't hold your DC back. If DC is well and ready, follow the county guidelines and send him to school. As it is, Kindergarden is mostly about learning to go to school. DC is an early Nov b'day - tested into 1st grade at age 5y 10mos after doing Kindergarden in Montessori - currently in 5th grade and doing fine. I started 3rd grade as a 7.5 y/o as I came from a country which had a Jan - Dec school year and had already finished half of 2nd grade. I did fine too.

[Anonymous]

I was a November birthday. Was one of the youngest. Always a little behind academically and socially. Had to work very hard to keep up. Would have done much better being a year older.

[Anonymous]

I'm female. I skipped 2nd grade and turned 17 shortly before graduating high school. But I also got my period when I was 11 and developed early. Physically I fit in well with the older kids. It was hard for me socially until junior high school when I met a new group of girls who were also bright and enthusiastic about school. And in high school there were more "nerdy" kids to hang out with. I have never regretted the acceleration and was grateful that my parents and teachers wanted to keep me challenged and interested at school.

My husband has a September birthday and was always one of the youngest in his class. And our son has a September birthday and is definitely one of the youngest in his class too (especially with the prevalence of redshirting and kids in his class who are a whole year older than him). Same thing -- it's been hard at times for him to be younger/less mature, but he has been more than ready academically and has excelled in school. He plays sports too. There is such size variation in middle school boys so he is not the smallest on his basketball team, or his soccer team.

Everyone is different. For me and my family, there is value in pushing ourselves to excel and dealing with a situation that may be hard at times but has other rewards.

[Anonymous]

I was the youngest because of cut offs, not skipping. Was top 5 in my hs class along with 3 other young fall bdays (2 girls one boy). The other boy was a spring bday. At Yale a lot of my class was on the younger side, at least in my circle. We were all somewhat nerdy but still had a lot of friends. I probably still would not have been homecoming Queen if I started k at 5 instead of 4.