A wiggly April/May birthday kid is more likely to be ADHD or other issue vs potentially just maturity im a wiggly August birthday. Those few months make a huge difference. |
So then why redshirt, if there is no disadvantage to being the youngest? |
For some kids there is absolutely no disadvantage. Not all kids are the same. And merely being the youngest isn't automatically a disadvantage. Nor is being the oldest an automatic advantage. |
And of course their is a disadvantage... the redshirted kids benefit from an entire year of development. Physical, emotional, intellectual. Please. |
A kid who doesn't need that year may be bored and disruptive. A kid who does need that extra time may be less disruptive and save everyone a lot of angst. |
Studies show that disappears over time. Redshirting isn't as beneficial or harmful as people think. It's basically a wash. Which is why it's not even a very uncommon practice. But you wouldn't know that based on the hysteria in these threads, never supported by fact, of course. |
^ it's a very uncommon practice. |
We arent talking about kids who dont redshirt, we are talking about kids who do. They get an advantage while the Apr/May inherit the disadvantage. |
Redshirting is most commonly practiced by white UMC boys. That’s how i know it’s beneficial, the most socially powerful group engages in it and now that same group is trying to gaslight people to look the other way so that they can maintain the unfair playing field. |
No matter what someone gets screwed, right? For some reason you don't care if i'ts July or August birthdays, just as long as it's not April/May? Who will already be months older than the August kids who start on time by September? I fall to see the huge disadvantage because April/May still won't be the youngest in class. |
Right, which is why I always think people who freak out about other people doing it seem really sheltered and privileged. They are unbalanced hysterics without exposure to any real problems in life. The only country where there was not a strong correlation between being young for grade and prescribing ADHD medication is also the same country where parents are encouraged to use their best judgment as to when their kids are ready for kindergarten entrance, and has pretty wide age bands in K classrooms as a result. What an amazing coincidence. |
This is a private school forum. And you're arguing about what's fair or unfair? This is happening at private schools, which many believe are a unfair playing field to begin with. A handful or redshirted boys barely scratches the surface. |
This is ridiculous. Kids can get all sorts of advantages. Some are related to wealth and age, others to birth order, environment, etc. My UMC white boy has a March birthday. At my daughters current private school he will be among the youngest. He is my third and while he is behind where his sisters were at his age, just having older siblings (and first at that) has helped him enormously. There are advantages that come from not being an only child (or for being one), for being the first born, the middle or last; from being young for grade and old for grade. Those specific challenges/advantages are true only for the specific kid they apply to. A young for grade child may need to focus and get more teacher’s attention to learn and tht cannot happen with a disruptive summer birthday child tht could have been redshirted… and many other examples like that. In my country, redshirted is not common, but skipping a grade is… is that bad? Does that put some kids at a disadvantage? I think leaving parents/children/teachers the ability to decide when to start school is a great way to fix some small issues.l kids might have. |
I would hold back an August boy. It's no fun to be the youngest boy.
As many have mentioned, the top privates are full of kids who were held back from June on. My kid is a September birthday and out of 100 kids he is probably at the 75% for age. Do what you want but this is the system you are playing in. |
Thank you, NP! And no one hysterical, just pointing out the fact that when summer bdays redshirt to gain and advantage/lose a disadvantage they are making the next in line take the role- April and May kids. I dont have an April/ May kid but this is still a fact. You could just own it and move on rather than try to rationalize. |