Anonymous wrote:In ACPS it's gotten ridiculous. I know of two 13 year olds in my son's 6th grade homeroom. They're almost two years older than some of their classmates. I can't believe the school system tolerates it.

These boys could be 19.5 at HS graduation. Think about that.

What I fins amusing is how the parent's narrative has shifted over the years. When the kids were in K, or 1 it was all " Ohh, you're not redshirting him?! You do know that boys mature more slowly, right?! You're denying him an advatage!"

Now, when people give odd looks at the thought of an eighth grader with a learners permit they stay completely mum. It's like theyre embarrassed.

Please, this is not redshirting. If they are going to be 19+ at graduation, they they stayed back for two years. Rethink your calculations. Something else is going on here.

Anonymous wrote:I started my late-summer kid on time. I didn't want a 20-year-old HS senior, but maybe that's just me.

How is a late summer birthday going to translate into a 20 year old high school senior? Pretty sure he would be 18 his Senior year--as would many of his classmates. By my calculations he would turn 19 after he graduates.
So, instead, you will have a 17 year old Senior. Depending on how late his birthday is, he will start college at 17.

And whoever said HIHs are more likely to do this, no duh. With childcare coming in at 18k a year, of course its the rich folks spending an extra year in day care.

In ACPS it's gotten ridiculous. I know of two 13 year olds in my son's 6th grade homeroom. They're almost two years older than some of their classmates. I can't believe the school system tolerates it.

These boys could be 19.5 at HS graduation. Think about that.

What I fins amusing is how the parent's narrative has shifted over the years. When the kids were in K, or 1 it was all " Ohh, you're not redshirting him?! You do know that boys mature more slowly, right?! You're denying him an advatage!"

Now, when people give odd looks at the thought of an eighth grader with a learners permit they stay completely mum. It's like theyre embarrassed.

I started my late-summer kid on time. I didn't want a 20-year-old HS senior, but maybe that's just me.

We are in the "Alexandria" part of ffx county and plan to redshirt. Boys with mid Sept bdays and we're preemies on top of that. I do SAH and we have a high HHI so the earlier posters were spot on.

OP here- thanks for all the feedback. The checklists are very helpful. DS has been able to do all of the tasks listed on the checklists since he was 3 and is mature for his age. He is bored with pre-k and is more than ready to go to kindergarten. Most of the people I talk to hold their kids back a year, so I really was just wondering how common it was. It is good to hear that not everyone redshirts.

Too bad he is bored with pre-K. Pre-k should be fun for kids--not focusing on academics. If he is bored, then they must be focusing on academics below his level instead of providing a learning environment that allows kids to thrive. Bored, to me, indicates too many worksheets, etc. Pre-K should have lots and lots of playtime. That is what kids need at that age. Learning should be directed by activities--not sit and listen. Sit and listen should be in the classroom, but it should be in short spurts.

Trying to game the system and give the kid an advantage. It very well may backfire with bored, disruptive behavior. I'm trying to figure out if he really turned 6 at the beginning of the pre-k year. Do you mean he turned 5 in August of pre-K, 6 at the beginning of K?

I noticed that, as well. Surely, that is what she meant.

Anonymous wrote:In my daughter's Kindergarten class, I know of one boy who was redshirted. He's much bigger than all the other kids but I have no way of knowing the parents' reason for red-shirting. Maybe he wasn't behaviorally ready for Kindergarten initially.

I also know of someone in my daughter's class when she was in pre-K who was red-shirted. She has a December birthday so turned 5 during her pre-k year. He turned 6 at the beginning of the pre-K year and was already reading/writing very well. I am completely baffled as to why his parents chose to hold him back instead of sending him to Kindergarten since his behavior was fine and he was academically very successful at a young age.

Trying to game the system and give the kid an advantage. It very well may backfire with bored, disruptive behavior. I'm trying to figure out if he really turned 6 at the beginning of the pre-k year. Do you mean he turned 5 in August of pre-K, 6 at the beginning of K?

Our experience in APS is that a September boy is definitely more likely to be redshirted than not. My son has a late May birthday and he was always one of the youngest boys in his classes.

In my daughter's Kindergarten class, I know of one boy who was redshirted. He's much bigger than all the other kids but I have no way of knowing the parents' reason for red-shirting. Maybe he wasn't behaviorally ready for Kindergarten initially.

I also know of someone in my daughter's class when she was in pre-K who was red-shirted. She has a December birthday so turned 5 during her pre-k year. He turned 6 at the beginning of the pre-K year and was already reading/writing very well. I am completely baffled as to why his parents chose to hold him back instead of sending him to Kindergarten since his behavior was fine and he was academically very successful at a young age.

My DS has a mid-September birthday and we sent him on time last year (he's in 1st now). I am not aware of too many kids that turned 7 before he turned 6 but I guess some probably exist. There were definitely a lot of October-December birthdays - those kids would be 9-11 months older than he is even though they didn't redshirt.

My DS is probably slightly behind the curve on maturity but is probably one of the top kids academically in his grade. In the end I think we'll be glad we sent him on time, especially when things click and he turns the corner socially. He's academic and intellectual and I think if anything in a year or two he'll have trouble relating to kids in a way that would have been worse if he was the oldest in the class rather than the youngest.

If your kid is bored and wants to go to K, no way in hell would I hold him back. That's asking for behavioral issues. Honestly it shouldn't even be a question.

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for all the feedback. The checklists are very helpful. DS has been able to do all of the tasks listed on the checklists since he was 3 and is mature for his age. He is bored with pre-k and is more than ready to go to kindergarten. Most of the people I talk to hold their kids back a year, so I really was just wondering how common it was. It is good to hear that not everyone redshirts.

For those who are on the fence, I found this to be an interesting article:
http://educationnext.org/is-your-child-ready-kindergarten-redshirting-may-do-more-harm-than-good/

Most kids definitely do NOT redshirt. Sure, some do. But most everyone is going on time.

My DS was born in September and we started him on time in a North Arlington school. He'd gone to daycare FT.

He wasn't one of the most advanced kids academically, but he was within the range of normal, and he was fine socially.

And he caught up to the most advanced classmates in a couple of years.

His redshirted classmates are doing fine, too.

OP here- thanks for all the feedback. The checklists are very helpful. DS has been able to do all of the tasks listed on the checklists since he was 3 and is mature for his age. He is bored with pre-k and is more than ready to go to kindergarten. Most of the people I talk to hold their kids back a year, so I really was just wondering how common it was. It is good to hear that not everyone redshirts.

For those who are on the fence, I found this to be an interesting article:
http://educationnext.org/is-your-child-ready-kindergarten-redshirting-may-do-more-harm-than-good/