Redshirting - What is a reasonable birthday cutoff?
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Anonymous
| Obviously the redshirting debate has been beaten to death here, but if you had to boil it down simply to the 'line' at which redshirting is acceptable, what date would that be? Just the flat cutoff month assuming all else equal. August, September, October, other? |
Anonymous
| Doesn't matter what it is because those people with bdays close to it will still hold them back. It's a question of relative age. |
Anonymous
| I think anytime that's after the end of the school year. If a kid is 6 for all of Kindergarten that seems reasonable. A child turning 7 during K just looks weird. |
Anonymous
Eta. I did not redshirt my late May son even though I would have liked to because that would seem outside the norm. If his birthday were a month later, right after the end of the school year, I would have done it. |
Anonymous
I have to agree with this. If your child turns 7 in K that's too much. |
Anonymous
| Whatever the school sets. Rules exist for a reason. |
Anonymous
| The "acceptable" date cutoff is a moving target. It's all about not having one of the youngest or smallest or least mature kids in class, but someone has be that kid. So shift it to someone else. August, September, October- that doesn't matter. Just don't let it be "my" kid. Move the cutoff date and you just have a different unhappy group of parents. |
Anonymous
I think it depends actually. If it's a neurotypical kid then yes 7 in K might appear odd. If it's a kid in a special program who is extremely immature and has other LD's then it may not be so odd. |
Anonymous
| November 1st to 15th. Holding back September and October kids is extreme as many kids are ready. |
Anonymous
| The kid that turned 7 in my ds's k was just plain sad. |
Anonymous
| Man, my kid won't even turn 6 in kindergarten. I understand what some parents choose to redshirt, but it just makes it harder on folks who don't. |
Anonymous
Why? |
Anonymous
Because my son will be 18 months younger than some other kids in his class. He is way on the shorter side and other kids tower over him. He's in a Montessori pre-school with mixed age kids, which, in general, I love. But the older and taller kids routinely end up in leadership roles and get the most time and attention from other kids and, to some extent, the teachers. This kind of works in Montessori because it's everyone's turn eventually. But it's going to suck that for the first half of public elementary he will likely be the tiniest, least mature kid in the class. By far the most likely reason I would consider red shirting has nothing to do with my son's personality; I would consider doing it only because other parents are as well and I feel like I need to help my son keep up. And that's too bad. |
Anonymous
Neither of mine did either and they were fine. Spring and summer redshirting is ridiculous and out of control. Delayed or struggling children should be held back. Merely "young" children should not. Parents of advanced children don't even consider it. |
Anonymous
Delayed kids should move forward depending on the delay. They cannot progress being held back with younger kids and not being exposed to much. |