Did a 180 and decided to redshirt my child- question for parents who decided to do the same

[Anonymous]

I have never said this before on DCUM, but I think this one is a troll. Too many DCUM-baiting details here.

[Anonymous]

OP, no one who is secure in their decision would blather on so much. I assume you want your kid to be the best everything and this is the only way you think it's remotely possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I don't want to share everything I just shared on this post with new parents or even new friends. I'd rather other parents just not ask or def not grill me about it. How can I do this? How do I do birthdays? I like having big birthdays and I still want to proud when my child turns 6, 7, 8, etc thoughout his school career. Should I try to hide his age or just have a short quick answer ready? I was thinking of saying we might move back to a state I grew up in- which now has a 31 July cutoff. I thought about mentioning my son was bon early by csection (true).

I just really don't want to go into this long explanation about our personal experiences. At the same time I don't want other parents to think ill of my child or me. Some people are very opposed to redshirting.

I agree w/ the PP that this seems too ridiculous to be true. But, I have to ask OP: why such a long post on DCUM a if you don't want to go into details about a personal experience? Way to keep your decision low key. Also: "I don't want other parents to think ill of my child or me," -- that ship has sailed. And WTF does an "early Csection" have to do with anything? That has to be most bizarre reason ever for red shirting 5-6 (or 7!) year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, no one who is secure in their decision would blather on so much. I assume you want your kid to be the best everything and this is the only way you think it's remotely possible.

+100 on the blather. But sounds to me like DC was bullied, and is scared to start a new school with the big kids. While most of us would enroll him anyway, and address the bullying and self confidence issues, look for kindergarten meet ups and other ways to connect with kids from his new school, take him on a tour of the new school and let him meet the teachers, etc (that is, parent), mommy has decided to keep her precious little snowflake all safe and secure with her and protect him from the big bad world (side note: and throwing rocks and cutting his hair: Yikes-- what a terrible place to send your kid! No wonder he's screwed up).

So tell them the truth: your kids was too scared of kindergarten to start on time, And you validated those fears, and made the situation worse instead of better.

[Anonymous]

LMAO-- when was the last time everyone on DCUM agreed on anything? I think Jeff created OP as a brilliant team building exercise.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't matter one little bit, OP.

My son repeated K, then skipped ahead when he was older. His development was really not linear, actually he is gifted yet learning disabled, and we struggled to do what seemed right at different stages in his personal growth.

You know your child best. It might be tricky to change, but it doesn't have to be a permanent decision.

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't think the problem is your ds being young, being born in May...I have to ask what kind of school he's at where kids are throwing rocks at him and cutting his hair???

Two of my kids started K at 4 (my state's cutoff was dec 31) and that never happened to them. I think you have a school problem, not an age problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never said this before on DCUM, but I think this one is a troll. Too many DCUM-baiting details here.

Yes, half way through i was like, yeah, troll. I think it's either a straight up troll, or someone opposed to redshirting trying to create a fake situation.

We redshirted. No regrets at all, and nobody has looked at me askance. It's so arbitrary, and this whole deal of kids an entire year older is really an exaggeration. Here's a math problem for you all:

I have two kids. One was "redshirted" and one entered K on time. They both entered Kindergarten at 5. The difference in their ages at the start of K?

They both started the school year the week of Aug 25. My son, born on August 29, was redshirted. He entered K at 5. He turned 6 toward the end of his first week of K. My daughter also entered K at 5. She turned 6 five weeks into the school year. If they were the same year, they would have been one month apart in age, one starting "on time" and one not. How is this the end of the world? The start times are arbitrary.

Really, though, DCUM is the only place this comes up. Most of the people I know with late summer b-days either redshirted or seriously thought about it. I know a few who did not redshirt and regret it. Everyone i know who redshirted, including us, is glad they did.

[Anonymous]

Question regarding red shirting, is pre-first still a thing? Could you send a kid on time and then repeat k or whatever if he or she isn't ready? That was my husband's path and it seems like a balanced solution all around...

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you want to redshirt your kid and not have people know you redshirted your kid. People will know. My middle schooler knows who was redshirted and who wasn't, as does my high schooler. They know how old their friends are and when their birthdays are. They knew in elementary school as well.

If you don't want to discuss it with people, then don't. Either tell people you consider those questions rude, or come up with a a canned response.

[Anonymous]

At some point, probably around 5th grade, kids will start asking him which grade he had to repeat.

[Anonymous]

Is this the the bobcat boyfriend person writing? I detect similarities.

[Anonymous]

If red shirting is common in your area, plenty of kids in my son's class who turned six in April, June,,July and August. We are in Maryland so no 4 year olds in his class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this the the bobcat boyfriend person writing? I detect similarities.

??? That sounds intriguing. Do post a link to the thread...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this the the bobcat boyfriend person writing? I detect similarities.

I'm sure there is more than one person who uses absurdly long numbers?