Why is redshirting so rare if it's so advantageous?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, year round schooling with rolling admission dates will mitigate it. Compare 4 year olds with 4 year olds and 6 year olds with 6 year olds.

But only if they have the exact same birthday, otherwise there will be an age gap which means everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s actually kinda impressive she’s kept this thread going for so long. Hats off to ya, crazy lady.

It is entertaining for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one gets bonus points for being 'the youngest."

Yeah, but they might get sympathy from outsiders. For some people, sympathy is more important than any kind of award a teacher could give them or any kind of job an employer could give them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I’m redshirting my July daughter

Ditto. She's 4 and my youngest child and she's not happy about that. She's always the youngest in the class too and she's more immature. Another year of childhood seems like a great gift to give her.

She isn't less mature. You are not comparing her to her actual peers and kids a year younger. You are doing it for her, not you. You aren't giving her an extra year of childhood. You are taking away a year of being an adult and forcing them to continue being a child.

It's not robbing them of a year of adulthood, it's making sure they are as ready and a prepared as they can be to get the most out of their education. It's not a race.

I agree that education isn't a race. You know how you sometimes hear about a 12-or-13-year-old heading off to college? It's the parents of those kids who view education as a race, not the parents of the kids starting college a few weeks shy of their 18th birthdays.

So, if I have a late August vs. late September child/birthday, what exactly is the difference between a month? You may be robbing them of a year of adulthood by forcing them to be kids an extra year when they are 18/adults.

Most people given the choice would likely prefer another year of being a carefree child.

What about another year of retirement?

[Anonymous]

Do any public schools have pre-1st anymore?

That is common in private schools and used to be an option where I grew up in upstate NY.

[Anonymous]

I greenshirted because my kid is brighter, faster, healthier than the average kid and of course he is a high achiever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one gets bonus points for being 'the youngest."

Yeah, but they might get sympathy from outsiders. For some people, sympathy is more important than any kind of award a teacher could give them or any kind of job an employer could give them.

I doubt it’s sympathy, likely more exasperation and frustration if they can’t keep up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I greenshirted because my kid is brighter, faster, healthier than the average kid and of course he is a high achiever.

It would serve you right if he hated you for the rest of his life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I greenshirted because my kid is brighter, faster, healthier than the average kid and of course he is a high achiever.

It would serve you right if he hated you for the rest of his life.

I have a fall birthday child that we sent so very young for the grade. We have talked abut it and they feel they are in the right grade. I have a bright kid who is in advanced classes as it is. We looked at privates and child said no as several said they'd have to stay back a year due to age.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I’m redshirting my July daughter

Ditto. She's 4 and my youngest child and she's not happy about that. She's always the youngest in the class too and she's more immature. Another year of childhood seems like a great gift to give her.

She isn't less mature. You are not comparing her to her actual peers and kids a year younger. You are doing it for her, not you. You aren't giving her an extra year of childhood. You are taking away a year of being an adult and forcing them to continue being a child.

It's not robbing them of a year of adulthood, it's making sure they are as ready and a prepared as they can be to get the most out of their education. It's not a race.

I agree that education isn't a race. You know how you sometimes hear about a 12-or-13-year-old heading off to college? It's the parents of those kids who view education as a race, not the parents of the kids starting college a few weeks shy of their 18th birthdays.

So, if I have a late August vs. late September child/birthday, what exactly is the difference between a month? You may be robbing them of a year of adulthood by forcing them to be kids an extra year when they are 18/adults.

Most people given the choice would likely prefer another year of being a carefree child.

What about another year of retirement?

Childhood is far from carefree for most kids. I was so glad to be done and go off to college to get away from my parents. I finally thrived away from them and my sibling.

[Anonymous]

True story:
Friend redshirted her July birthday son, even though he was bright, tall, and emotionally mature. 2 months into kindergarten, the teacher called a meeting: "I have no peer group for your child. He reads fluently, does advanced math, and is socially mature. He is bored in kindergarten." They moved him to a first grade class, which was a better fit academically. But, he missed out on the "fun school" part of kindergarten--making crafts, post office, story time, etc. In retrospect, the mom wishes they had just sent him with his correct age group.

[Anonymous]

We held our son back (July birthday) because he has ADHD. His preschool was completely full of boys with obvious ADHD who had summer birthdays. A good decision (and it's not because he's not smart--most ADHD kids are billiant/creative but prefrontal cortex takes longer to develop in those kids). The strong hunch about ADHD was confirmed at age 6 with official neuropsych diagnosis. But it wasn't at all surprising. It had nothing to do with intelligence or size (both off the charts).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We held our son back (July birthday) because he has ADHD. His preschool was completely full of boys with obvious ADHD who had summer birthdays. A good decision (and it's not because he's not smart--most ADHD kids are billiant/creative but prefrontal cortex takes longer to develop in those kids). The strong hunch about ADHD was confirmed at age 6 with official neuropsych diagnosis. But it wasn't at all surprising. It had nothing to do with intelligence or size (both off the charts).

If you think he's smart, why didn't you have confidence in him to compete against kids his own age?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m redshirting my July daughter

Ditto. She's 4 and my youngest child and she's not happy about that. She's always the youngest in the class too and she's more immature. Another year of childhood seems like a great gift to give her.

She isn't less mature. You are not comparing her to her actual peers and kids a year younger. You are doing it for her, not you. You aren't giving her an extra year of childhood. You are taking away a year of being an adult and forcing them to continue being a child.

Meh I'd rather my kid enter adulthood mature, ready for the next step, and with confidence than launching them too soon. I'll take my chances with the gift of time rather than roll the dice and find out that it would be an uphill battle and struggle by forcing them before they were ready because of an arbitrary cutoff. You only get one chance to get it right. I know people who regret sending the kids on time when they were young and immature, I don't know anyone who regrets redshirting. It's not robbing them of a year of adulthood, it's making sure they are as ready and a prepared as they can be to get the most out of their education. It's not a race.

I second this. Parents who try to rush their kids may ultimately end up setting their kids behind. We sent our December-born son to K at 4 because we didn't want him to be "behind" in school. He was fine until he started college at 17. He had a much harder time adjusting to college than his older classmates, and as a result, dropped out after 1 semester. He enrolled at a community college the following fall, where we were hoping he would be able to transfer back to a university after 2 years. Unfortunately, he didn't get great advisement while at community college, and ended up taking 3 years to transfer instead of 2. He's now a 23-year-old senior, set to graduate this spring. However, if we had given him another year before Kindergarten, college would've probably gone smoothly for him and he probably would have graduated last spring. By starting him too early, he ended up being a year behind. As has been said repeatedly, nobody regrets redshirting but many people, S/O and I included, regret not redshirting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We held our son back (July birthday) because he has ADHD. His preschool was completely full of boys with obvious ADHD who had summer birthdays. A good decision (and it's not because he's not smart--most ADHD kids are billiant/creative but prefrontal cortex takes longer to develop in those kids). The strong hunch about ADHD was confirmed at age 6 with official neuropsych diagnosis. But it wasn't at all surprising. It had nothing to do with intelligence or size (both off the charts).

If you think he's smart, why didn't you have confidence in him to compete against kids his own age?

Why do you think this is a competition?