I’m starting my late July birthday child (boy) in kindergarten on time.

[Anonymous]

My mid July son has been totally fine; it was the right choice. Your son will do great! You know what’s best for him.

[Anonymous]

I'm sending my late August boy on time.

In my older children's classes there have always been summer boys who were among the youngest and they were not worst students nor the ones with the most discipline problems that I heard about. As far as I have heard through the school rumor mill, it's always a handful of redshirted summer birthday boys who have the behavior problems. It seems these boys are bored out of their gourds because, duh, they are too old for their class!

I'd rather my kid be challenged by the work than constantly getting in trouble because he's too physically and cognitively advanced for the class and acting out as bored boys do.

[Anonymous]

Yay. Good for you. Red shirting is for rich people.

[Anonymous]

Good. I was 17 when I graduated from high school (also a July birthday) and this is normal to me.

[Anonymous]

My child has a late July birthday and I started him on time. I am mostly okay with it. Except he started last year and it was virtual most of the year. If I knew then what I knew now, I think i would have held off but ONLY because of virtual school. He is fine academically now (and identified as gifted) but he probably needs more help socially after basically not having kinder and ending preschool early.

BUT if life had been normal I think he would be fine.

[Anonymous]

We sent our late July girl (she's in 1st now) and have no regrets. Sure we could have held her and then she would seem like an absolute genius in kindergarten. But she's where she belongs, so she's just above average. And I'm ok with that. I was one of the oldest (fall birthday) and everything came really easy and it was hard when I went to college and I actually had to work at things and study.

I think it's a little strange that there will be kids that turn 8 before she turns 7 (including one of her besties), but I've never considered my DD out of place when I see her with her friends. Most people would never guess she's young for her grade - she's smart, polite, mature and tall. There was no reason to hold her back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my community it's the opposite, there is literally one boy who is red shirted who has an August birthday- but he is tall for his chronological age (so the tallest, easily, in first grade this year in his class since he is the oldest). He is also relatively bright, and very athletic. He stands out as clearly older, and there is every now and then a "... how old is he?" comment. All of the other August kids I know were sent on time (sept 1 cutoff). I have some sort of hard to shake grudge against the mom of this kid, because her kid is kind of exclusionary and not particularly nice towards my kid, who is a July boy who was sent on time so in his class but almost a year younger. He will say things like , "you can't come into my fort, I don't want to play with you" and invite in the older boys. I feel like he has a sort of "king of the castle" attitude and in my opinion it probably comes at least in part from being the oldest, tallest, and fastest kid in the class- because, no s***, he is supposed to be in the next grade up. I don't really think his attitude is going to do him a lot of favors in the future and I feel like his parents could have avoided it by just sending him on time, where he would have been middle of the pack in second grade.

Wow you’re incredibly judgmental of a child. Sad for you

+1

That is really sad. I have a hard time imagining what sort of mental state I would have to be in to write that kind of nasty rant about a child. It wouldn’t be a good one, that for sure.

NP I think you are overreacting. I didn’t see a nasty rant at all. Just a parent unhappy about a kid who is being exclusionary to their kid. Perhaps the criticism hit too close to home and that is why you are defensive?

To answer the question - I have an August girl in a wealthy part of Fairfax County and literally everyone I know with July-Sep birthdays is redshirting. Boys and girls! It’s messed up. I’m going to send on time and hope for the best. She would be bored in another year of pre-K. If I had a boy I would more seriously consider redshirting, but luckily my younger boy is an October birthday.

No, I didn’t redshirt. I just think DCUM anti redshirt parents are pretty universally nasty, and that post demonstrates it. It’s over the top and mean about a very young child.

But I guess as a DCUM anti redshirter you are fine with nastiness.

You sound pretty nasty.

There are very few good reasons to redshirt and when you say your child is immature, at that age, what does that mean and who are you comparing your kids to? And, if they are so immature, what are you doing to fix it.?

I’m not the one writing nasty rants about a child. That’s the anti redshirters.

I have no need to redshirt and didn’t. I just have no problem with it and, as I said, I think DCUM anti redshirters tend to be nasty. I sure as heck don’t feel the need to write nasty diatribes about a child on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my community it's the opposite, there is literally one boy who is red shirted who has an August birthday- but he is tall for his chronological age (so the tallest, easily, in first grade this year in his class since he is the oldest). He is also relatively bright, and very athletic. He stands out as clearly older, and there is every now and then a "... how old is he?" comment. All of the other August kids I know were sent on time (sept 1 cutoff). I have some sort of hard to shake grudge against the mom of this kid, because her kid is kind of exclusionary and not particularly nice towards my kid, who is a July boy who was sent on time so in his class but almost a year younger. He will say things like , "you can't come into my fort, I don't want to play with you" and invite in the older boys. I feel like he has a sort of "king of the castle" attitude and in my opinion it probably comes at least in part from being the oldest, tallest, and fastest kid in the class- because, no s***, he is supposed to be in the next grade up. I don't really think his attitude is going to do him a lot of favors in the future and I feel like his parents could have avoided it by just sending him on time, where he would have been middle of the pack in second grade.

Wow you’re incredibly judgmental of a child. Sad for you

If you read my post you’ll see I’m actually judgmental of his mom . I state it pretty explicitly. And no, I don’t particularly like her kid because he is rude to mine and treats him like he is a baby. But I clearly state I think it’s his moms fault not his! (Yes I should probably blame dad too but I don’t know dad, only mom)

Writes a ton of nasty stuff about a young child.

“Oh but I’m really just being nasty about his mom when I write a ton of nasty stuff about that young child! That’s totally fine! Not a problem! Also apparently he doesn’t have a father.”

[Anonymous]

Seriously who cares?
the cut off is 2 months later.
So what???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my community it's the opposite, there is literally one boy who is red shirted who has an August birthday- but he is tall for his chronological age (so the tallest, easily, in first grade this year in his class since he is the oldest). He is also relatively bright, and very athletic. He stands out as clearly older, and there is every now and then a "... how old is he?" comment. All of the other August kids I know were sent on time (sept 1 cutoff). I have some sort of hard to shake grudge against the mom of this kid, because her kid is kind of exclusionary and not particularly nice towards my kid, who is a July boy who was sent on time so in his class but almost a year younger. He will say things like , "you can't come into my fort, I don't want to play with you" and invite in the older boys. I feel like he has a sort of "king of the castle" attitude and in my opinion it probably comes at least in part from being the oldest, tallest, and fastest kid in the class- because, no s***, he is supposed to be in the next grade up. I don't really think his attitude is going to do him a lot of favors in the future and I feel like his parents could have avoided it by just sending him on time, where he would have been middle of the pack in second grade.

Wow you’re incredibly judgmental of a child. Sad for you

If you read my post you’ll see I’m actually judgmental of his mom . I state it pretty explicitly. And no, I don’t particularly like her kid because he is rude to mine and treats him like he is a baby. But I clearly state I think it’s his moms fault not his! (Yes I should probably blame dad too but I don’t know dad, only mom)

Have you ever thought that red-shirting was for the parents and not for the kids? So parents can be proud of their tallest, brightest, fastest first-grader?

100%

You people are such incredible weirdos. Have you ever considered that not everyone sees the world as some sort of bizarre competition? Is that possible in your world view?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey back with us in MS. That’s when parents post that they wish they had waited.

Totally agree. I'm a middle-school teacher with three kids of my own who are summer birthdays. We redshirted all three, going against the advice of preschool teachers. They're now in HS and college, and we have no regrets about the decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously who cares?
the cut off is 2 months later.
So what???

Six pages of people commenting care, dear. Here’s an idea! If a thread topic doesn’t interest you, don’t read it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey back with us in MS. That’s when parents post that they wish they had waited.

Totally agree. I'm a middle-school teacher with three kids of my own who are summer birthdays. We redshirted all three, going against the advice of preschool teachers. They're now in HS and college, and we have no regrets about the decision.

Basically, you put no thought in their development other than when their birthday fell. Wow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey back with us in MS. That’s when parents post that they wish they had waited.

Totally agree. I'm a middle-school teacher with three kids of my own who are summer birthdays. We redshirted all three, going against the advice of preschool teachers. They're now in HS and college, and we have no regrets about the decision.

Three times? Probably not something I would brag about. And more so, as you being a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Here’s the thing that bothers me… parents that red shirt always yammer on about “the gift of time” or “let them be little”. Or just automatically assume parents will redshirt a summer kid.

ALL of the problem kids in both kindergarten and 1st grade have been older kids. Yes, that’s completely anecdotal, in my experience it’s never been the youngest kids causing problems in class.