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so explain this kindergarten cutoff to me
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Anonymous
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The post about the best months to have a baby reminded me that I need to have this explained to me... our DD was born in Sept (days before the K cutoff) of '08. DS will be born this July/August of '10. I keep reading about people holding their boys back an extra year but not their girls. Is this normally the case? I always assumed DD would go to K the year she turned 5 (just days before the cutoff) and that DS would go two years later... is that right? I didn't want them to be only a year apart in school and holding her back because her b-day is just days before the cutoff would cause that to happen... hmmm....
(...not that I don't have YEARS to figure this out!!! Just wondering!) |
Anonymous
| If she is ready I see no point in holding her back. I think people are holding their kids back because they aren't ready and because Kindergarten is not like it used to be. There is a lot of required sitting and some children just aren't ready for that. |
Anonymous
| what's cut off date? |
Anonymous
| Do you even have the choice with public school of holding your child back? Thought that around here that wasn't really an option. |
Anonymous
I live in Fairfax County and it seems like everyone I know who has an August/September birthday boy does it. Some September birthday girls too. For me personally, my son is late-August and unless his preschool teachers start giving me a darn good reason, plan to send him to K when he turns 5. I feel like everyone does it b/c everyone else is doing it. I actually had a mom in my son's preschool class (who plans to hold back now in preschool) tell me she was holding him back b/c she doesn't want him to be the youngest kid to get his driver's license... which to me it's just lunacy to worry about this at 3 years old. |
Anonymous
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I also sent my August DD to school on time. She is thriving as a 4th-grader now and is one of the youngest in her class.
I wish more people would adhere to the cutoff. If your child has a real issue that truly warrants holding back, that's one thing. But this vague "I don't want him to be the youngest in the class" is ridiculous. There has to be a cutoff date, and as a result, someone is going to be the youngest kid in the class. It's a disservice to our teachers to ask them to teach to a class with a 16-month age span, as some people are holding back their June boys - that's 4 months before the FFX County cutoff. It's also not an academic advantage to be older than your peers, and I think a lot of parents are doing it b/c they think they're giving their kid a leg up, but they're not. All the redshirting studies show that kids who are held back may do a bit better through about 2nd grade, but by 3rd grade, there is no longer any advantage to having been held back. OP, just send your DD to school on time. (And to the other PP who asked if it's your choice to hold your kid back, yes, it is, and it's very easy to do; you just write a note to the school saying your child will not attend until next year. Pushing a kid into school ahead of the age cutoff, however, is extremely difficult in FFX County.) |
Anonymous
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My child will be born mid August, 2010. Help a completely clueless parent here, do I send her to Kindergarten right after she turns 4 or 5? (As she will have a birthday right before school starts.)
Thanks |
Anonymous
| If she's an August birthday, she will go to Kindergarten just after her 5th birthday. |
Anonymous
NP here. Does this mean she will be among the youngest or oldest in the class? |
Anonymous
| I hear ppl hold their kid's back so they won't be the youngest (ie the older kids will have mental and physical prowess that the youngest kid does not have yet)..It's a competition thing - from what I have heard. |
Anonymous
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DS has a late Sept bday and we expect to send him to school "on time." I have two friends with sons born the same year as DS, but in Aug, and one has already stated unequivocally that they are hold theirs back so that he's not the youngest.
I don't get it. If the situation down the line warrants such action....fine. But to decide now when the kids are only 1 and 2? Like others have said, someone always has to be the youngest. I have a feeling some folks will always avoid the cut-off, no matter the date. I wonder if the schools are going to start taking a harder look at this issues? I mean, if so many are/start holding back....doesn't it start getting ridiculous? I'm in northern va. |
Anonymous
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My son has a mid-Sept bday and he's always been ahead of the curve---verbally, intellectually, size-wise and ability to sit still. His preschool teachers tell me i'd be crazy to hold him back (red-shirt) him. However, the peanut gallery is something else. Every parent i talk to (those that don't even know my son personally) think we would be crazy to send him on-time for the mere fact he is a boy and has a late bday.
I sure could find alot to do with that $15k I'd be saving by sending him onto public... |
Anonymous
| will someone please tell me what cut off is? |
Anonymous
Depends on where you live. I know Fairfax County is Sept 30, but Montgomery County is August 31. Most privates follow this as well. |
Anonymous
| To all the PPs with September boys, I'm with you and mine is starting "on time." Unless there is something glaring about him that he needs another year to mature, develop, learn more preschool stuff, he will be starting K when he is 4.9 years old. So many people assume that he's a boy with a late birthday that we are holding him back. He just learned to walk a while back and is now learning to talk and you want me to discriminate on the poor kid already! |