Summer birthdays....do you redshirt them, or put them in the big leagues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The teasing issue seems irrelevant because kids are always going to be teased about something. Too old, too young, too tall, too short etc.

It comes down to your child's specific situation. I had put my DS with a May birthday in Kindergarten without holding him back. He was one of the youngest in the classroom. In addition, he learned to read later than his peers and school was also harder for him than his friends. The differences did not disappear by third grade. While his grades were good and he had good friends, it was always a lot harder for him. He needed constant help with his homework and did not always understand the teacher. When we switched him from public to private I had him repeat a year since the private school was far ahead of the public school. It was a great decision and he has really thrived this year. Now he is one of the oldest instead of one of the youngest. It seems to work better for him. Each child's situation is different and red shirting is not just to give kids a chance to dominate in sports and maybe academics. It just might be your child needs the extra time since schools have become academic at such an early age.

This I don't get. A kid with a May birthday? How is May even remotely a late birthday? Things are getting ridiculous. If your child has visible learning issues at an early age then I can see holding them back - if not, send them to school. Anyone with a spring birthday shouldn't be allowed to be held back - it's not fair to all the other kids who will be in their class the next year!

As someone with a May DS, I couldn't agree more with 2nd poster who suggests that redshirting gets out of hand when we start pushing almost 6 months back from the cut-off. When are the schools going to realize that it's the curriculum that isn't appropriate for the developmental age of the children in the class instead of vice versa?

My DS is among the youngest boys in his class (2 boys younger) with a May birthday. He is probably in the middle of the pack on reading and among the highest in the class on math skills. I'm not worried about sports, truthfully, but fortunately for him he is small and FAST, which works well for him with athletics

[Anonymous]

Well said. With the way things are going, soon you'll have seven or eight year old DCs enrolling in Kindergarten!

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I think that they should do away with it all and leave the cut-off dates as they are. You should be required to go into the grade that you age into period. No one has to wonder if their kid is ready. No one has to wonder if they will be too advanced. No one has to decide what is exactly right given so little information about the future. No one is trying to give their kid a leg up. It just is the chance of a bday, end of story. Back to basics everyone, imo. There are older kids and younger kids, but at least everyone will fall within the same year and not more than that.

[Anonymous]

Enable total domination on the playing field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I think that they should do away with it all and leave the cut-off dates as they are. You should be required to go into the grade that you age into period. No one has to wonder if their kid is ready. No one has to wonder if they will be too advanced. No one has to decide what is exactly right given so little information about the future. No one is trying to give their kid a leg up. It just is the chance of a bday, end of story. Back to basics everyone, imo. There are older kids and younger kids, but at least everyone will fall within the same year and not more than that.

I totally agree. I talked with a mother recently who was very conflicted as to whether to send her April birthday "on time" -not because of any concerns about his readiness in a general sense, but because he would be the youngest. A family member told me about a private school out of state where the parents of 4-5 girls in preschool with birthdays ranging from March to July got together and "held back" their daughters as a group. And apparently the strategy has "worked." Now, a few years later, these girls are perceived as having a "leg up" as to maturity, etc. compared to the rest of the class. Maybe you can't argue with results, but something just seems "off" about this to me.

[Anonymous]

My child turns 5 towards the end of September who will be repeating PK for a couple reasons. Moving from public to private and it was recommended...also, emotional immaturity is a bigger factor. We didn't decide this to be dominant in sports or academics but when we looked at maturity level didn't think we were quite there. Sooo, we will turn 6 in the beginning of K. I thought when DCPS changed the date it seemed to be rushing kids perhaps because PK is now more accesssible. PK is now the new K and K is now the new 1st grade. What's the big rush?

[Anonymous]

Yes, when you have April and May children and there are kids that are a year, or more than a year older in the class, it is out of hand. This is not uncommon, but it will be up to school administrations to put the brakes on it. Pushy parents will also want to give their little Johnny whatever advantages (perceived or otherwise) they can.

I remember growing up, there were younger kids in the class who excelled. That was a badge of honor. Now we are holding kids back rather than letting them achieve on their own within their own peer groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, when you have April and May children and there are kids that are a year, or more than a year older in the class, it is out of hand. This is not uncommon, but it will be up to school administrations to put the brakes on it. Pushy parents will also want to give their little Johnny whatever advantages (perceived or otherwise) they can.

I remember growing up, there were younger kids in the class who excelled. That was a badge of honor. Now we are holding kids back rather than letting them achieve on their own within their own peer groups.

And likewise, pushy parents of little Janie will lobby to keep Johnny out of the class to preserve Janie's age advantage. If Johnny's parents shouldn't care, why should you?

[Anonymous]

When the cut off is in September and Johnny's birthday is May or earlier, everyone should care.

[Anonymous]

Your jumbo kid should be in the right grade instead of picking on age-appropriate children. Of course he excels--after all he SHOULD, if he's bigger and older than everyone else. My 10 year old would excel in Kindergarten too--that doesn't mean I should put him there nor would I brag about "how well" he's doing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, when you have April and May children and there are kids that are a year, or more than a year older in the class, it is out of hand. This is not uncommon, but it will be up to school administrations to put the brakes on it. Pushy parents will also want to give their little Johnny whatever advantages (perceived or otherwise) they can.

I remember growing up, there were younger kids in the class who excelled. That was a badge of honor. Now we are holding kids back rather than letting them achieve on their own within their own peer groups.

And likewise, pushy parents of little Janie will lobby to keep Johnny out of the class to preserve Janie's age advantage. If Johnny's parents shouldn't care, why should you?

[Anonymous]

Little Langley MADE us redshirt our May birthday son. That was their policy a few years back for almost all spring birthday boys. They told us we couldn't come back if we didn't do it, and they made the decision when the kids were THREE (made them repeat preschool before moving them to JK). We resisted but didn't have the courage of our convictions to say no and move on to public. Anybody know if they're still doing it now that the preschool head has changed? So just because a kid has been redshirted, don't assume it's because the parents wanted it. We didn't, and we still question whether it was the right call.

[Anonymous]

to prior poster - would you mind saying where your child is now in school / and whether that school has a similar policy (has your child now become among the oldest whereas at little langley i assume almost all of the spring/summer kids were held back so he wasn't the 'odd man out' in that sense). what have you found pros and cons? trying to make this decision for next year.
thanks.

[Anonymous]

PP, we moved from little Langley to the Heights, a boys Catholic school not much discussed on this forum. I actually have twins. Because it is in MOCO, which has a late cutoff, and because many kids come from parochial school or homeschool, there is a big age range. My kids are not the oldest, but there are kids who are more than a year younger. I sense that there is a pretty big range in maturity and academic readiness in the class, but I can't say that it's all age related.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your jumbo kid should be in the right grade instead of picking on age-appropriate children. Of course he excels--after all he SHOULD, if he's bigger and older than everyone else. My 10 year old would excel in Kindergarten too--that doesn't mean I should put him there nor would I brag about "how well" he's doing.

So you're saying that grade assignment should be done on physical size and/or academic ability? Because while all these parents of 4/5/6 year olds are up in arms, if you've ever looked at a group of 11-year-old boys you would know that the variation in size, academic skills, and nearness to puberty is huge, and not particularly related to their birthdays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Little Langley MADE us redshirt our May birthday son. That was their policy a few years back for almost all spring birthday boys. They told us we couldn't come back if we didn't do it, and they made the decision when the kids were THREE (made them repeat preschool before moving them to JK). We resisted but didn't have the courage of our convictions to say no and move on to public. Anybody know if they're still doing it now that the preschool head has changed? So just because a kid has been redshirted, don't assume it's because the parents wanted it. We didn't, and we still question whether it was the right call.

They no longer does this, if they once did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, when you have April and May children and there are kids that are a year, or more than a year older in the class, it is out of hand. This is not uncommon, but it will be up to school administrations to put the brakes on it. Pushy parents will also want to give their little Johnny whatever advantages (perceived or otherwise) they can.

I remember growing up, there were younger kids in the class who excelled. That was a badge of honor. Now we are holding kids back rather than letting them achieve on their own within their own peer groups.

And likewise, pushy parents of little Janie will lobby to keep Johnny out of the class to preserve Janie's age advantage. If Johnny's parents shouldn't care, why should you?

Who said anything about little Janie? If little Janie is an April or May birthday, then she should fall in the middle of the class from an age standpoint. Having kids a year older (or more) should not be an issue, yet it seems to be the pushy parents holding their kids back who are driving this movement. Your response does not dissuade the popular conception of the helicopter parent doing everything possible to buy advantages for your over-aged child.

Glad your 7 year old is enjoying and thriving in Kindergarten.