Sometimes the older children are naturally more mentally/socially advanced and take on the role of the dominant kids (which is different than being a true leader). They end up "leading" the bullying of younger kids b/c they can and they notice that they can dominate other kids. It's not that they are bad kids, but if you go to any playground, you see the "Lord of the Flies" behavior. I've seen it several times when the child was either held back or had a very early birthday (i.e. Sept.). These kids seem like they are very successful in their "held-back grade" but they might be better off with a peer group that is more equal for them (i.e. the grade they should have been in) so they learn not to dominate but to cooperate instead.

Anonymous wrote:We redshirted my late April birthday son this year. He started Kindergarten as a 6 year old. So far it is the best thing we've done for him. He tells us he wants the same thing for his younger brother so he can also be at the top of his class. Our 6 year old has always been skinnier and was bullied in preschool. The year has made an incredible difference for him. He has a friend in his class who has an August birthday and just turned 5 before school started. Although this boy is clearly advanced academically, is reading, has good hand writing, pays close attention to detail, he is not noticed in the clas among his peers because he is the youngest and is not a leader. The other boys have no interest in playing with him. My nephew is gifted and in college now. He has an August birthday and just turned 6 after the start of his kindergarten year. He will tell you today that it helped him to be a leader and has never regretted the decision his parents made.

You red-shirted an APRIL birthday with no developmental reasons cited? Parents like you are the reason why others parents who send their children on time get pissed off. Your child didn't start K at 6, he started at nearly 6 1/2. Depending on the cut-off in your district, he could be in class with kids who are 18 months younger. He is now likely to be bored off his ass and become a troublemaker, in addition to apparently lording his newfound/situationally-dependent strength over his appropriate-for-grade aged "peers."

When does the red-shirt craziness stop? How soon before the MARCH birthdays want to be the oldest/biggest/best in relation to their cohort? Then FEB, JAN, DEC, and soon the uber-redshirters have created an educational environment in K that really belongs in 2nd grade. wth.

*Disclaimer -- I have no issues with parents who redshirt children with birthdays close to the cut-off and decide that is the best decision for them, but isn't this getting a bit absurd?

Anonymous wrote:

I just want to say that I am very proud to announce that my August 14 birthday BOY will start school ON TIME next year, that is to say he will be in K as a just-turned 5 year old. And this is at a top private school. Flame away.

So the opposite of made-up "statistics" is anecdote?

I mean no disrespect, but which private schools have already admitted K children for 2012 Fall (and/or is it a sibling admit)?

Anonymous wrote:Make me puke. Your kid can't hack it with his cohort, so you pack him with younger kids to make him feel better. Bravo for you. I hope your first grader continues to enjoy kindergarten.

You really should see someone about your anger issues. That's something you can control.

Make me puke. Your kid can't hack it with his cohort, so you pack him with younger kids to make him feel better.

Bravo for you. I hope your first grader continues to enjoy kindergarten.

Anonymous wrote:We redshirted my late April birthday son this year. He started Kindergarten as a 6 year old. So far it is the best thing we've done for him. He tells us he wants the same thing for his younger brother so he can also be at the top of his class. Our 6 year old has always been skinnier and was bullied in preschool. The year has made an incredible difference for him. He has a friend in his class who has an August birthday and just turned 5 before school started. Although this boy is clearly advanced academically, is reading, has good hand writing, pays close attention to detail, he is not noticed in the clas among his peers because he is the youngest and is not a leader. The other boys have no interest in playing with him. My nephew is gifted and in college now. He has an August birthday and just turned 6 after the start of his kindergarten year. He will tell you today that it helped him to be a leader and has never regretted the decision his parents made.

OMG these posts are so funny...save this for when your "leaders" come to rule the world! Unless of course you feel they should remain at home with you indefinitely...I mean there might be people at work that are smarter, bigger, than your kids...

We redshirted my late April birthday son this year. He started Kindergarten as a 6 year old. So far it is the best thing we've done for him. He tells us he wants the same thing for his younger brother so he can also be at the top of his class. Our 6 year old has always been skinnier and was bullied in preschool. The year has made an incredible difference for him. He has a friend in his class who has an August birthday and just turned 5 before school started. Although this boy is clearly advanced academically, is reading, has good hand writing, pays close attention to detail, he is not noticed in the clas among his peers because he is the youngest and is not a leader. The other boys have no interest in playing with him. My nephew is gifted and in college now. He has an August birthday and just turned 6 after the start of his kindergarten year. He will tell you today that it helped him to be a leader and has never regretted the decision his parents made.

So if you are concerned or against it find alternatives for 1st grade.

You'll start him on time and the the school will ask you to repeat that year. They get an extra year of tuition and your child will end up in the year they want. Have seen it happen a number of times.

My late June son will be going to K on time - at his private preschool, where the kindergarten class is usually around 8-10 students with 2 teachers. Then he'll move on to public 1st grade.

Anonymous wrote:Is this redshirting happening mainly at private schools or at public schools too?

Both at private and public. In this area is seems like it is more prevasive at privates. However, if you look for references nationally then you will see public school websites talking about redshirting and trying to persuade parents not to do it and more importantly to have their kid assessed if they are concerned with their development.

Anonymous wrote:

I just want to say that I am very proud to announce that my August 14 birthday BOY will start school ON TIME next year, that is to say he will be in K as a just-turned 5 year old. And this is at a top private school. Flame away.

So the opposite of made-up "statistics" is anecdote?

Even with the statistics, 25% of summer birthday boys would move on but a late Aug. birthday boy at a school that redshirts, is definitely beating the odds. If the school tends not to redshirt then perhaps it is just normal.

Is this redshirting happening mainly at private schools or at public schools too?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To answer your questions probably 20% of kids are redshirted. This is just a guess and I'm sure this will spark a lot of comments. Here is my take on the % by gender and by birthdate. I was surprised to see Feb birthday kids repeating, redshirted, or given a transitioning year - whatever you want to call it.

Summer Birthday Boys - 75% Redshirted
Summer Birthday Girls -25% Redshirted
Spring Birthday Boys - 40% Redshirted
Spring Birthday Girls - 1% Redshirted
Other Birthday Boys - 15% Redshirted
Other Birthday Girls - 1%

I just want to say that I am very proud to announce that my August 14 birthday BOY will start school ON TIME next year, that is to say he will be in K as a just-turned 5 year old. And this is at a top private school. Flame away.

He was already accepted? Or if he is in pre-k did they say that he was definitely moving to k? I wish you the best of luck and I'm in a similar situation but I know schools as young pre-k students to repeat, some have them do 2 years of k, and so on. I was at a school where by my estimate at least 25% of their pre-k students were repeating, the school gave me the number, I did the calculation. I'm hoping my son moves to 1st grade but I know the schools ask kids to repeat and it is not always for academic reasons.

Anonymous wrote:"Redshirting is not a new phenomenon — in fact, the percentage of redshirted children has held relatively steady since education scholars started tracking the practice in the 1980s. Studies by the National Center for Education Statistics in the 1990s show that delayed-entry children made up somewhere between 6 and 9 percent of all kindergartners"

http://www.groundworkohio.org/files/National%20news/5.03.07%20NYtimes%20Kindergarten%20age.pdf

One, I think that number is overall. Also, there will be some areas where that % is low and others where it is high. I recently saw where they actually thought it was a lot higher.