My oldest is the youngest in her class and my youngest is the oldest. We didn't red shirt but both were close to cut off. My youngest has been declared one of the top children in his class. My oldest struggled in the younger grades. We had to work a lot harder but she is doing well now straight A's. It was a rough road to get her there. I keep wondering if my oldest was the youngest in the class and youngest was oldest in his class if the situation would have been reversed. Just realize so many people red shirt these days that you may have to work extra hard with your child by sending your child on time.

DD has a mid-August bday and we sent her on time. She's in 1st now and doing great so far. My gut sense is that you shouldn't red-shirt unless there's a really compelling reason to (don't just do it automatically).

More on red-shirting in kindergarten:

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/kindergarten-redshirting-gets-tougher-in-n-y-c-with-repercussions/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/dont-delay-your-kindergartners-start.html?_r=0

DD, in Kindergarten now. We don't believe in red shirting because it is often not the answer for problems (learning issues and 25% of population should not be held back).

Issues we have experienced: Every time there is a rough patch, parents and educators bring up the "gift of time." There has been teasing this year based on her age

My DS did early entrance and has done great. His best friends range from a Sept bday (so other boy a whole year older), a Jan bday and an August bday. His teacher thinks we 100% made the right decision. There are a ton of summer boys and girls at his school and there are no issues. Unless you have a specific concern that merits red shirting I say let him go on time. Good luck!

A friend of mine red shirted and her DD is bored out of her mind. I would not recommend holding your child back if he is ready for school.

My son was born in June and he is a little bit of a crowd pleaser and lacks self confidence. I think it may be because he is on the young side of his class. But, I look at the class below him and he would have been too mature for that class so who knows.

We are dealing with the class clown and self esteem issues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I've gathered from friends, age differences and developmental issues are more likely to be pronounced in the middle school years. I have a couple friends whose children started early (September-October birthdays) and regretted it, later.

But the parents might also have regretted it if the children hadn't started early.

Well, sure, and sometimes, I regret posting on these forums.

Their reasoning has been that the physical, emotional, and social developmental differences became more challenging during the middle school years. Their children are now in high school and college, and they have multiple kids, so they've been able to make comparisons. Take from it what you will.

Anonymous wrote:From what I've gathered from friends, age differences and developmental issues are more likely to be pronounced in the middle school years. I have a couple friends whose children started early (September-October birthdays) and regretted it, later.

But the parents might also have regretted it if the children hadn't started early.

There are some states where the cut-off is December. I have a hard time putting too much emphasis on a certain date.

From what I've gathered from friends, age differences and developmental issues are more likely to be pronounced in the middle school years. I have a couple friends whose children started early (September-October birthdays) and regretted it, later.