I’m the poster you are quoting. In theory I can appreciate the concept that as they get older there are different considerations. I don’t see how holding a kid back controls who his friends are though. You can hold your son back and he can still end up friends with older boys. Not sure what “huge mistake” could be so it’s hard to address more but holding your son back doesn’t absolve anyone from choosing who to associate with and whatnot. And my oldest is in his second year of college so I’m not just talking about older kids hypothetically. |
OP here. Yeah one of the reasons Im now thinking of this is bc Im hearing of all these June-August kids being held back and tbinking that my ds would then be a year younger than so many of his peers for the long haul (if that is in fact what os happening) so I was just trying to gauge how much of the norm it is for June kids to be held back with Sept cut offs. We shall see! |
| I’m in VA (FCPS). I know a few redshirted June birthday children, mostly boys, but it’s definitely not the norm or even particularly common. Redshirting in general tends to be more common for boys, and for children who were in part-day preschool (and at home with a parent, grandparent, nanny, etc. the rest of the time) as opposed to full-day daycare/preschool. We have an August birthday boy and did redshirt, and it was the right decision for him but I know other kids that have started on time and did fine. |
| It’s not just a date thing, it’s a date followed by a take a good look at your own child thing. With a June bday girl who is a third child in the family, I would not hold back unless there is a very compelling reason or your teachers or private school admissions (if you’re in that situation, of course) brought it up. |
| I held back my late June DS. No regrets. |
+1 My June boy is 17 months younger than his older brother. He will have (and already has) plenty of experience dealing with someone who is a year plus older than he is. He would have been a complete nightmare if we had held him back. A nightmare! |
Can you say why you decided to do it? And what grade he's in now? |
The first part of your answer was superfluous and unhelpful. |
| June birthday in a nova district. Definitely one of the youngest. June is a weird month in which to be born. |
DP. I think it was helpful. It shows that some kids with late summer birthdays are able to keep up, and may even need acceleration. In other words, all kids are different. They shouldn't be held back simply because they're young for their grade. |
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It's entirely kid-dependent. I know a few June and July kids held back, and their parents are so glad they did (slight developmental issues, but more that their kids were really ready for K when they went, and that in turn set them off on a stronger path than if they'd gone younger).
My youngest is a late May baby, and unless something really changes, he'll absolutely start on time. |
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We started my late July daughter on time, no regrets. There are a good number of summer birthdays in her class, and one classmate who moved here from out of state whose birthday is in September after the cut-off.
With a June birthday, I don't think there would be students "more than a year" older than your kid. I mean, they'd have to be holding back MAY kids for them to be more than a year older. There will be some August kids who are almost a year older than your 5 year old June child, but I'd be very surprised if there's a kid more than a year older (unless by a couple days). Almost all the red-shirted kids I know are August birthday. |
| We are in FCPS and did not hold back our boy with late July birthday. He is in AAP now. Birthday/age alone is not a good indicator of being ready for school (or excelling at it). |
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I'm a mom of 4 elementary kids all with summer bdays, 2 (my twins) were held back. My criteria is:
-only if the kid's birthday is AFTER the school year ends. I don't want my kid turning 7 in Kindergarten. -only if the kid is pretty delayed in 1 or 2 important areas- developmental, knowing letters, numbers, emotional, impulse control. but not social maturity- all 5-7 year olds are immature to varying degrees. - greater propensity for delays with boys |
| We are in Arlington. We didn’t hold back my July birthday son. I know very few people who held their kids back. There are lots of July-Sept bdays in my son’s grade who started on time. |