Redshirting - why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is motivated by challenge, don't redshirt. If your kid shuts down when things are tough, redshirt.

This is good advice. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Relatives pressuring"

This is the question which is most important. Why do yo feel pressured- why do you put yourself in a position where you feel pressured? Either you are asking for their opinion. You don't need to. Save yourself a lot of headaches in the future - discuss less.

I have not asked for their opinion. They gave it to me and wouldn't drop the subject. Have you never been subjected to an unwanted opinion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read this whole thread but my take is that everyone wants to redshirt because they think it will give their child an advantage. In short, being older/bigger gives you an advantage over your peers that accumulates over time and builds confidence and therefore makes child more successful later in life. I think most of this notion comes from Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers.

I also think it's total crap - just another way for hyper DC parents to try and give their kids a competitive advantage. FWIW, my DS is an August birthday and one of the youngest in his class. He's thriving - great feedback from teachers at conferences, loves school, lots of friends, no problems at all.

My child waited a year due to developmental issues - I wasn't looking for an "advantage" for her. I was looking for her to be at the same level as everyone else (rather than behind). That said and she is still struggling a bit. But if you met her - you may not realize all of this and might judge us for holding her back. Her issues are not immediately obvious and a lot of them have resolved over time. I think its an individual decision and you can't generalize.

I'm the PP you quoted and I am genuinely curious - what does "development issues" mean? I don't need to know about your child specifically but just trying to understand the range of non-academic issues that might lead one to redshirt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read this whole thread but my take is that everyone wants to redshirt because they think it will give their child an advantage. In short, being older/bigger gives you an advantage over your peers that accumulates over time and builds confidence and therefore makes child more successful later in life. I think most of this notion comes from Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers.

I also think it's total crap - just another way for hyper DC parents to try and give their kids a competitive advantage. FWIW, my DS is an August birthday and one of the youngest in his class. He's thriving - great feedback from teachers at conferences, loves school, lots of friends, no problems at all.

My child waited a year due to developmental issues - I wasn't looking for an "advantage" for her. I was looking for her to be at the same level as everyone else (rather than behind). That said and she is still struggling a bit. But if you met her - you may not realize all of this and might judge us for holding her back. Her issues are not immediately obvious and a lot of them have resolved over time. I think its an individual decision and you can't generalize.

I'm the PP you quoted and I am genuinely curious - what does "development issues" mean? I don't need to know about your child specifically but just trying to understand the range of non-academic issues that might lead one to redshirt.

She was not on track developmentally (example -barely walking at two) and had some emotional issues from being adopted from an institutional setting. Waiting was the right thing for her and her birthday was only a few weeks from the cut anyway. She has caught up developmentally for the most part at this point.

[Anonymous]

We redshirted our DS. He is SN and needed this both academically and socially. He is working on grade level for the grade he is in (with supports). Had he not had the issues he does I would not have held him back. My DD has a June bday. She went to k on time just as it should be.

[Anonymous]

do it. if in doubt give your kid the gift of time. We did. She would have never succeeded as she did if she had had to perform at her FCPS level. So glad we held her back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:do it. if in doubt give your kid the gift of time. We did. She would have never succeeded as she did if she had had to perform at her FCPS level. So glad we held her back.

What is "the gift of time", and how do you give it, without a time machine?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:do it. if in doubt give your kid the gift of time. We did. She would have never succeeded as she did if she had had to perform at her FCPS level. So glad we held her back.

OP here. Have you read any of my posts? If so, please tell me what you mean and why my kid would benefit from it?

[Anonymous]

OP, if there's no reason to hold him back (as you indicated in first post), dont hold him back. It's as simple as that. Your relatives suggest it because he's young (and I gather small) for his grade. If he were struggling academically or socially, it might make sense to hold him back. If he's not struggling, then no need to hold him back.

Don't listen to what otherworldly tell you about how to raise your child. Holding your kid back because some uninformed relatives suggest it makes no more sense than refusing to hold a kid back who needs it, just because some uninformed neighbor says you would promote all kids according to their birthdays.

[Anonymous]

Others, not otherworldly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is motivated by challenge, don't redshirt. If your kid shuts down when things are tough, redshirt.

I totally agree with this comment and it is the reason I chose not to redshirt my very short summer birthday boy, also youngest in the class. He was read academically and tends to focus and put in a much better effort when challenged. He also couldn't care less about being small and not athletic. When he is bored he tends to tune out. We didn't redshirt and I know that it is the best decision for now. However, I don't know about middle school. It is too hard to make decisions based on such an unknown.

[Anonymous]

OP - I think the "developmental issues" PPs are referring to run the whole range of actual medical issues (delayed motor skills, etc) to social immaturity. Sometimes these things improve with an extra year, sometimes they do not.

I'd just pay attention to your child. Does he seem capable of getting along with other children his own age? Does he seem to be ready to tackle the K curriculum? If yes, then why hold back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Others, not otherworldly

Also don't listen to what otherworldly people tell you. Beings from other planets give lousy advice.

(Thanks for the smile, PP.)

[Anonymous]

Knowing what I know now about redshirting, I would redshirt regardless of the circumstances. Redshirted kids have a huge advantage from k-12. It's an advantage there free for the taking. We made a mistake by not taking advantage of that opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Knowing what I know now about redshirting, I would redshirt regardless of the circumstances. Redshirted kids have a huge advantage from k-12. It's an advantage there free for the taking. We made a mistake by not taking advantage of that opportunity.

Not true:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/dont-delay-your-kindergartners-start.html?_r=0