Anonymous wrote:We are redshirting our August 27th girl. She is going to private preschool and will head to private K this coming fall right around the time she turns 6. All her classmates stayed another year. She is not a go getter, she is a bit insecure and the teachers think she will benefit from waiting. The way I see it is that in the DC private school scene she would be more among her peers if she waits one year since she was born 3 days before the cutoff, then if she went “on time” since several kids will be redshirted and liekley older than DD

Also, I din’t Think size should be a factor, but my DD quite tall

Anonymous wrote:OP here- Many have said if she were a boy, it would be a more clear cut decision to redshirt because of the very late birthday. Wondering why we are more hesitant to give this advantage to girls.

I'm the PP who said it was unbelievable. I have 3 kids, including 2 boys with September bdays, and our kids start school on schedule.

Unless there's a documented LD/SN, parents should not just decide that they will keep their kids home for another year so they're bigger faster stronger than the other kids. And even in the case of a LD/SN, sometimes they'd STILL be better off starting school on schedule so they can get the support they need.

In no other country is there this obsession with making sure your kid gets every possible advantage over every other kid, even if you need to cheat the system to get it. It's sad.

Funny that DCUM seems to be such a 'blue' place, and yet there's such an obsession with redshirting. I don't get it.

We are redshirting our August 27th girl. She is going to private preschool and will head to private K this coming fall right around the time she turns 6. All her classmates stayed another year. She is not a go getter, she is a bit insecure and the teachers think she will benefit from waiting. The way I see it is that in the DC private school scene she would be more among her peers if she waits one year since she was born 3 days before the cutoff, then if she went “on time” since several kids will be redshirted and liekley older than DD

Our late August bday girl attends a private school in DC and we chose not to red shirt her. There were no red flags and preschool teacher and incoming school's assessment showed she was ready for K. She's now in 2nd grade.

So far, we think we made the best decision for her. In terms of math & reading, she tests at or slightly above grade level. She's tall (90%) and very stubborn/determined. She lost her teeth early (5.5 years-old) and might hit puberty milestones early if she follows my path.

When we see the 1st grade girls (the class she would have been part of) we can't imagine her there.

OP here- Many have said if she were a boy, it would be a more clear cut decision to redshirt because of the very late birthday. Wondering why we are more hesitant to give this advantage to girls.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Send your child to school. What is the drama? Why does it matter what someone else did?

+1

The prevalence of redshirting around here is baffling. The cutoff is what it is. Unless there is an educator telling you it might be best to wait, send your kid to school on schedule.

+1

It's unbelievable. And all those kids will one day know that their parents thought they were too dumb to compete fairly with the other kids their age so they had to cheat the system to give them an advantage.

We did not. She's now in high school.

It was a bit rough in early grade school because some kids in her class were a full year (or more) older. But now you can't tell the difference. Always being the youngest taught her to work harder academically. Nothing was ever handed to her; she had to reach. It is paying off now right when it needs to.

You know your kid best. If she's strong-willed, go for it.

Yes I did and best decision I ever made. She's 14 now by the way.

My sister did. I didn't.

She decided to redshirt her August birthday DD because of perfectionism, immaturity, anxiety. Also concerns about high school, being younger than all the redshirted boys. My niece goes to a private school.

My DS goes to public school. He's the youngest in his class, but there's one other non-redshirted boy near his age. He's immature, borderline ADHD (it runs in the family), but we thought being in school would be better for him than waiting. The first several years were a struggle.

We did not redshirt our late August girl and she’s not the youngest in her K class (September 30 cutoff).

We started out not being inclined to redshirt her unless there was an issue flagged by her pediatrician or prek teachers, which there wasn’t. She’s doing really well in kindergarten and meeting or exceeding most expectation. The only areas she’s struggling in are areas that should improve with more maturity and her teachers aren’t concerned. She has lots of friends and is excited about going school everyday.

She would be entering private and the school has let me know she would be the youngest in the class. Pre-K teacher thinks she's fine to go to K, but understands my concerns. Both have mentioned to think about the long term implications of being always being the youngest.

DD is smart and social, but has some maturing to do emotionally and is small for her age.

Anonymous wrote:Send your child to school. What is the drama? Why does it matter what someone else did?

+1

The prevalence of redshirting around here is baffling. The cutoff is what it is. Unless there is an educator telling you it might be best to wait, send your kid to school on schedule.

Send your child to school. What is the drama? Why does it matter what someone else did?

We'll need more info. What school system? Public or private? What do her preschool teachers think?

DD turns 5 in August, and I'm thinking about waiting another year for kindergarten. If you did this, how did you come to the decision and how did it work out? Any regrets? If not, how is it working out? I'm very much on the fence now.