Just another redshirting vent

[Anonymous]

Friendly acquaintance posted a "back to school" pic of her son complete with his age (6.75 years) and grade (Junior First/ Prep First/ whatever your private school calls it). This little boy has a late fall birthday!!! He is going to be almost 8 years old when he starts first grade. Meanwhile, my child has a July birthday and I cannot afford private so he will be starting K right after he turns 5 and starting first right after he turns 6. He and this child are going to be almost 2 full years apart while in the same grade. I KNOW, it doesn't affect me in the slightest especially since he isn't even at my child's school. But it makes me so angry! My child is a little socially immature and I am worried he is not only going to be chronologically the youngest when he starts real school but he is going to be socially young for his age too, making it so much harder for him if his classroom is full of kids who are 7 when he is only 5. Ugh. Vent over. Side note- does anyone know if redshirting is as prevalent in public schools?

[Anonymous]

Sigh. No one cares.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Sigh. No one cares.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both situations.

I know, that's why I titled it "another redshirting vent" so you could be free to scroll past it if you were tired of these posts. I unfortunately fail to see ANY advantages for my late summer bday boy though, to be honest.

[Anonymous]

Whine, whine, whine (and my kids are tiny for their age and in their correct age group).

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear, OP. That is unfortunate for everyone involved.

[Anonymous]

AAP skews younger. At least my September boy will (finally!) have some company, being the youngest.

[Anonymous]

Is this is Baltimore?

Poor kid, nearly 7 and still not in 1st grade yet.

[Anonymous]

Grow up. I was in a moms group with late summer/fall babies. 2 of the moms have extremely advanced September girls who are starting K this year, whereas my socially & physically immature August boy started K last year because of the cut-off dates. Those girls are always going to be ahead of my boy. But I know I chose not to redshirt him, so it is what it is.

Also private schools REQUIRE parents to redshirt.

So this really has f-all to do with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sigh. No one cares.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both situations.

I know, that's why I titled it "another redshirting vent" so you could be free to scroll past it if you were tired of these posts. I unfortunately fail to see ANY advantages for my late summer bday boy though, to be honest.

OP, my kid also started 1st at 5. Keep in mind that some studies have found that the benefits of redshirting tend to peter out over time.

Also, just personally, I'd rather my kid have to hustle to keep up academically and in sports, rather than to coast through several years of school without adequately being challenged because of being older.

I also started 1st at 5. I don't even think I realized other kids were younger. It was only a pain for a couple months in college, when I had to wait for my 18th bday to go out to bars/clubs with friends. Anecdotal, but being young actually meant that I started grad school at 21 and had a Ph.D. at 26.

I know a few studies also bear this out. Here's a New Yorker account of one such study:

The researchers discovered that relatively more mature students didn’t have an academic edge; instead, when they looked at their progress at the end of kindergarten, and, later, when they reached middle school, they were worse off in multiple respects. Not only did they score significantly lower on achievement tests—both in kindergarten and middle school—they were also more likely to have been kept back a year by the time they reached middle school, and were less likely to take college-entrance exams. The less mature students, on the other hand, experienced positive effects from being in a relatively more mature environment: in striving to catch up with their peers, they ended up surpassing them.

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/youngest-kid-smartest-kid

So it may not be as dire as you think!

[Anonymous]

I'm not familiar with "Junior First". Are you sure he won't be going into 2nd grade next year? He'll definately stand out as he'd be a full year older than the other kids.

[Anonymous]

That means he will be almost 20 when he starts his freshman year of college, which is how old I was when I graduated from college. I think it's just part of the larger problem of infantilizing our kids and extending their adolescence indefinitely.

[Anonymous]

What is "junior 1st"? What make you think he's going to do first grade again next year? That seems unlikely. I think you're confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sigh. No one cares.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both situations.

I know, that's why I titled it "another redshirting vent" so you could be free to scroll past it if you were tired of these posts. I unfortunately fail to see ANY advantages for my late summer bday boy though, to be honest.

OP, my kid also started 1st at 5. Keep in mind that some studies have found that the benefits of redshirting tend to peter out over time.

Also, just personally, I'd rather my kid have to hustle to keep up academically and in sports, rather than to coast through several years of school without adequately being challenged because of being older.

I also started 1st at 5. I don't even think I realized other kids were younger. It was only a pain for a couple months in college, when I had to wait for my 18th bday to go out to bars/clubs with friends. Anecdotal, but being young actually meant that I started grad school at 21 and had a Ph.D. at 26.

I know a few studies also bear this out. Here's a New Yorker account of one such study:

The researchers discovered that relatively more mature students didn’t have an academic edge; instead, when they looked at their progress at the end of kindergarten, and, later, when they reached middle school, they were worse off in multiple respects. Not only did they score significantly lower on achievement tests—both in kindergarten and middle school—they were also more likely to have been kept back a year by the time they reached middle school, and were less likely to take college-entrance exams. The less mature students, on the other hand, experienced positive effects from being in a relatively more mature environment: in striving to catch up with their peers, they ended up surpassing them.

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/youngest-kid-smartest-kid

So it may not be as dire as you think!

OP: thank you for posting that study. It makes me feel a lot better, actually. I really appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not familiar with "Junior First". Are you sure he won't be going into 2nd grade next year? He'll definately stand out as he'd be a full year older than the other kids.

No it's a transition year between K and 1st, I'm in the Baltimore area and a lot of the prep schools have this option

[Anonymous]

Sigh. No one cares

Most EVERYONE cares
why all the threads
year .. and year ... page after page after page

It's a problem