Redshirting- when to hold back?

[gabrielj]

I have a two year old boy with a June birthday. I'll almost definitely hold him back from K, unless he turns out to be extremely mature or a genius.

Whens the best time to "repeat"? He's in a two's program in preschool now. Should he repeat the two's, repeat Pre-K, or do a Transitional K?

Repearting the two's in some ways sounds ideal because he'll have no clue, whereas by 4/5 years old he will be aware that his peers are moving ahead. However, repeating the two's means I'm kind of committed to redshirting him.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

You are not going to get rational responses here. Be warned.

[Anonymous]

This depends on your preschool. This isn't a question that we can answer without a bit more detail.

[Anonymous]

OP here: more info- his speech is currently on the lower end of average , no motor skills issues ,he has older siblings , behavior etc is so far “typical” for a young two year old.

[Anonymous]

Wow! He is TWO and you have decided you will almost certainly redshirt him for a June birthday. I have heard people say that of two year olds with birthdays a few days before the cut off but we are talking June--months before the cut off. As for your actual question, is it is even an option in your preschool? At our preschool it was strictly by age. You would not put a 3 year old with 2 year olds just because you wanted to hold him back from Kindergarten for a year. And especially for a kid with older siblings, those 2 year olds would seem very young compared to your 3 year old. Just put him in the class for his age and start thinking about these things when he is 4.5.

[Anonymous]

Why would you hold back a June child?

[Anonymous]

Wait. I know a parent who originally planned to do this with their June birthday and guess what? When the child was 4.5 they realized he was more than ready to go to Kindergarten and it would have been wrong to hold him back. Fast forward a few years and this child is doing great on grade level (never held back).

His birthday is JUNE, not August. He will not be the youngest boy, especially in public school. Wait to decide until Pre-K year.

[Anonymous]

Two is too young to make the decision to redshirt your child. It seems you have no reason aside that you want him to be above the average.

Signed, Parent who redshirted her child

[Anonymous]

Wow. I am a big redshirting proponent, and even I think you're being ridiculous. I don't think a preschool would even LET you redshirt a 2 year old, barring an established diagnosis or clear delays! Let your kid stay with his age-mates, and wait until the summer before K to decide. If you truly believe that your child needs to be with a different age cohort, then I would recommend that you enroll him in a Montessori preschool with mixed age groups.

[Anonymous]

I have a June bday boy. He was a slow talker who “graduated” from speech at about 3.5. I started him on time and he’s done perfectly well. He’s in 5th now. It was right decision for us. I don’t see how repeating a year in preschool commits you to anything. Just start k on time if that’s what you want to do or wait if that’s what you want.

[Anonymous]

Answer: when he is 4, decide whether to enroll him in a TK or Jr K program or send him to public or private kindergarten

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a June bday boy. He was a slow talker who “graduated” from speech at about 3.5. I started him on time and he’s done perfectly well. He’s in 5th now. It was right decision for us. I don’t see how repeating a year in preschool commits you to anything. Just start k on time if that’s what you want to do or wait if that’s what you want.

That's not a slow talker if he graduated from speech at 3.5. That's a minor delay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a June bday boy. He was a slow talker who “graduated” from speech at about 3.5. I started him on time and he’s done perfectly well. He’s in 5th now. It was right decision for us. I don’t see how repeating a year in preschool commits you to anything. Just start k on time if that’s what you want to do or wait if that’s what you want.

That's not a slow talker if he graduated from speech at 3.5. That's a minor delay.

That’s what I meant by slow talker. There were no other dx’ed issues, but he was delayed enough to qualify for county services so I enrolled him. He likely might have been fine without speech therapy but of course you don’t know if that will be the case when first dx’ed.

[Anonymous]

I don't think I'd be making this decision or worrying about it at two. When my kids were two, kindergarten wasn't on my radar at all -- I was just trying to get them potty trained and off a pacifier.

But there are plenty of kids who miss the the September 1 cut off and repeat that last year of preschool. Your DS won't be alone. I'd hate to make the decision now, at 2, and regret it later. Take it from this mom of four, A LOT can change in the next few years. Both your DS's development *and* your thoughts on when to start school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'd be making this decision or worrying about it at two. When my kids were two, kindergarten wasn't on my radar at all -- I was just trying to get them potty trained and off a pacifier.

But there are plenty of kids who miss the the September 1 cut off and repeat that last year of preschool. Your DS won't be alone. I'd hate to make the decision now, at 2, and regret it later. Take it from this mom of four, A LOT can change in the next few years. Both your DS's development *and* your thoughts on when to start school.

Quoting myself to clarify: if you're going to make him repeat a year of preschool, I'd wait until the very last year.