Missing preschool age cut off

[Anonymous]

DS has a 9/2 birthday and every preschool around us follows the school calendar which has a cut off of 9/1. So DS is essentially stuck in a class with 1 year olds when he's just about to turn 2. Do I keep him out of preschool and just with a nanny until kindergarten? He's not great with little kids (takes their toys, pushes them around) but behaves very well with kids that are 2 and older. I also feel like he won't learn much from the younger kids. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Mine has a late September birthday and just misses the cut off. We aren't in DC anymore so we kept her home. She will start preschool this fall (when she will be turning 4) and she will be one of the older kids in her preschool. We were a little hesitant for her to be the oldest but think in the long run it will be better in school.
Also, I think being around younger kids can teach them just as much as being around peers or older kids (empathy, leadership, kindness)

At the ages your kid is at there is a much bigger difference in behavior but as he gets older things will change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine has a late September birthday and just misses the cut off. We aren't in DC anymore so we kept her home. She will start preschool this fall (when she will be turning 4) and she will be one of the older kids in her preschool. We were a little hesitant for her to be the oldest but think in the long run it will be better in school.
Also, I think being around younger kids can teach them just as much as being around peers or older kids (empathy, leadership, kindness)

At the ages your kid is at there is a much bigger difference in behavior but as he gets older things will change.

OP here. That's what I'm thinking too, just keeping him out until he's older. I definitely agree that being around younger peers will be great once he's 4 and over. Right now though, putting him with an 18 month old just seems a bit odd to me, there's so much that changes almost every week.

[Anonymous]

My September bday kid started preschool last year in a threes class. It was an older threes group however, restricted to kids born between September and February. Finding a school that breaks the classes up Ito older and younger may make you feel better. Really though, it isn't that big a deal. The class is likely to have other September and October birthdays, it isn't as if your child will be the only one in the older part of the cutoff.

[Anonymous]

Where do you live? We had that same problem but a school in NW Dc allowed DD to be with kids close to her own age even though she was born after the cutoff date. I don't think they mind at preschool

[Anonymous]

My son is also 9/2 birthday. I sent him to preschool, it's been great for him. If I were you, I'd be thinking about sending him so he can learn to socialize with the younger kids in his class. However, I'm sure a nanny would be a fine option also.

[Anonymous]

Mine is 9/10 and my solution was to do a lot of calling around. Some are firm about the cut-off, not others. You need to enlarge your search geographically and to programs which are more daycare-oriented but offer part-time options. Also you can look for programs called "young 2s" which typically start in the winter. I just saw an announcement today for a new program at Bradley Hills, if you're in MD. Also there are organized playgroups if socialization is your primary goal, like the one at Glen Echo Park. I think there's also one at Audubon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live? We had that same problem but a school in NW Dc allowed DD to be with kids close to her own age even though she was born after the cutoff date. I don't think they mind at preschool

Same with my kids. They were quickly moved into the classes that were most suited to their abilities.

[Anonymous]

I have an October baby. It's annoying because he will be 3, but in a 2's class this fall. Our preschool has an older 2s class. So most of the kids have birthdays within 6 months.

[Anonymous]

Don't worry about it. We had the same situation with our daughter who is very bright and multilingual and it felt awful at first holding her back in a way. But now we are happy - she has one extra year to play! Why not? What's the rush?

[Anonymous]

You can also look into Montessori, which has mixed age groups. There are some other pre-schools that have a early 2's and late 2's group, because of the developmental differences. My daughter has a 9/3 birthday and I basically just insisted that in order to enroll, I wanted her placed in the 2's class. Ultimately, they want the money and 24 hours birth difference, isn't that big of a deal.

It can definitely start to pose a problem when an older child is mixed in with the younger group, particularly when potty training begins. Your child might be ready to use the potty, but can't, because they are in a room with toddlers who don't have a bathroom. Or, your child starts using the potty, but sees the younger kids wearing diapers and starts to regress.

[Anonymous]

Skip a two year old class. Waste of time. Some have flexible start dates. We found a few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can also look into Montessori, which has mixed age groups. There are some other pre-schools that have a early 2's and late 2's group, because of the developmental differences. My daughter has a 9/3 birthday and I basically just insisted that in order to enroll, I wanted her placed in the 2's class. Ultimately, they want the money and 24 hours birth difference, isn't that big of a deal.

It can definitely start to pose a problem when an older child is mixed in with the younger group, particularly when potty training begins. Your child might be ready to use the potty, but can't, because they are in a room with toddlers who don't have a bathroom. Or, your child starts using the potty, but sees the younger kids wearing diapers and starts to regress.

9/5 twins. We did the same. They were in a daycare that moved kids as they hit the appropriate age (infants was 0-18 months, toddlers was 18-24 months, then 2's. When they were 2.5 we moved them to a 3-5 yo group in Montessori and that worked out very well for them, especially since they were so different. The mixed age group was great as the younger kids learned from the older kids and the older kids learned a little responsibility in showing the younger kids how to do things. When they got advanced enough, the 5 yos were moved to the pre-K class which is all 5's.

[Anonymous]

We found a preschool that would let my 9/6 and 9/29 kids start as soon as they turned 2 in a 2 year old class. For my 9/6 child, the first day of school happened to be that day so he started with his class. For my 9/29 child, my mom went to school with her for the two days a week until she actually had her birthday. They both did the 3's class the following year. Then they did a mix 3/4's class and then a pre-K year to get into the track with the kids that they would go to K with the following year.