The reason I dislike the redshirting trend is that it adds to the achievement gap. Low-income parents are never going to just choose to pay for another year of child care to give their kids "the gift of time." So it's even harder for young 5-year-olds from poor homes to compete with affluent 6-year-olds who have had enrichment activities, highly involved parents, etc.

Anonymous wrote:The only boys I know who were red-shirted (3 or 4 of them) were red-shirted because they had August birthdays and they were really socially immature. They were bright and not small, but their parents thought they'd benefit from another year of preschool/pre-K. They're only a month or two older than some of the other kids in class, so who cares.

This isn't a new thing - we held my brother back for a year from Kindergarten (he has a June birthday) because he was really immature and just not ready. Plus I think my mom wasn't quite ready for her last kid to go off to school and leave her!

That's a really selfish reason, and probably the worst reason.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think there's too broad a definition of special needs when I hear from my sister, who's a speech pathologist in an elementary school, that nearly every kid come in now with some kind of an IEP. Kind of takes away from the kids with legitimate needs to cater to the kids who just never learned to sit still or follow directions.

Your sister is a speech pathologist. It should not be surprising that most kids who see your sister, the speech pathologist, have an IEP.

Especially given that it would be illegal for a student who does not have an IEP to receive speech services through an elementary school.

Anonymous wrote:

I think there's too broad a definition of special needs when I hear from my sister, who's a speech pathologist in an elementary school, that nearly every kid come in now with some kind of an IEP. Kind of takes away from the kids with legitimate needs to cater to the kids who just never learned to sit still or follow directions.

Your sister is a speech pathologist. It should not be surprising that most kids who see your sister, the speech pathologist, have an IEP.

Anonymous wrote:
Aren't you lucky, OP,
Not having to deal with a child with special needs?

Most special needs are invisible to the casual observer like you. Some children desperately need time to further develop their skillset, instead of falling behind and costing the taxpayer - YOU ! - tons in academic support and interventions.

But it's not enough. You must needs go on DCUM and start a thread about it.
I'm not disputing that some children are redshirted for no good reason.
But your question was why it was allowed AT ALL.
That is a genuinely ignorant and insensitive question.

I think there's too broad a definition of special needs when I hear from my sister, who's a speech pathologist in an elementary school, that nearly every kid come in now with some kind of an IEP. Kind of takes away from the kids with legitimate needs to cater to the kids who just never learned to sit still or follow directions.

Yeah, just let it go OP and hater pps. My dd is a November birthday (so redshirting is not something I even need to think about). However, I put her in a prek class last year because it worked with my schedule and they had a later cut off. She's always been mature and "academically" strong so I didn't have a worry in the world. It turned out that the social dynamics were pretty tough for her, and I regret the choice and now understand why people redshirt. It actually really doesn't hurt you or your kid at all, even though I'm sure some parents do it with less than pure reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10 year old third grader is so gifted. She's doing fourth grade advanced math. She is so special.

Yes, except that actually she's a year behind because she belongs in fifth grade.

Exactly. Or "my child is already reading going into Kindergarten! Whatever shall I do??!" Yeah, your kid is already 6. Lots of 6 year olds can read.

People don't just naturally learn to read. They learn from somewhere. This is true even for six-year-old kindergartners.

But I really don't understand why you and the other PP care if other people say things that you think are silly. People say silly things all the time. Why does this one particular silly thing bother you so much?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is an August birthday and I did not redshirt him. He's in second grade now, and I really regret it. He is one of the most academically advanced kids in his class, but he really struggles socially. All of his close friends from school (through aftercare and soccer) are a grade below him. Kids in his own class get frustrated with him because he's more prone to cry, and not as good at negotiating social conflict.

Had you redshirrted him, he'd probably be bored because of the lack of intellectual stimulation. You have no idea whether it would have been better.

Exactly!

Anonymous wrote:My 10 year old third grader is so gifted. She's doing fourth grade advanced math. She is so special.

Yes, except that actually she's a year behind because she belongs in fifth grade.

Exactly. Or "my child is already reading going into Kindergarten! Whatever shall I do??!" Yeah, your kid is already 6. Lots of 6 year olds can read.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is an August birthday and I did not redshirt him. He's in second grade now, and I really regret it. He is one of the most academically advanced kids in his class, but he really struggles socially. All of his close friends from school (through aftercare and soccer) are a grade below him. Kids in his own class get frustrated with him because he's more prone to cry, and not as good at negotiating social conflict.

Had you redshirrted him, he'd probably be bored because of the lack of intellectual stimulation. You have no idea whether it would have been better.

And neither do you, or anybody else.

Anonymous wrote:My son is an August birthday and I did not redshirt him. He's in second grade now, and I really regret it. He is one of the most academically advanced kids in his class, but he really struggles socially. All of his close friends from school (through aftercare and soccer) are a grade below him. Kids in his own class get frustrated with him because he's more prone to cry, and not as good at negotiating social conflict.

Had you redshirrted him, he'd probably be bored because of the lack of intellectual stimulation. You have no idea whether it would have been better.

The only boys I know who were red-shirted (3 or 4 of them) were red-shirted because they had August birthdays and they were really socially immature. They were bright and not small, but their parents thought they'd benefit from another year of preschool/pre-K. They're only a month or two older than some of the other kids in class, so who cares.

This isn't a new thing - we held my brother back for a year from Kindergarten (he has a June birthday) because he was really immature and just not ready. Plus I think my mom wasn't quite ready for her last kid to go off to school and leave her!

My 10 year old third grader is so gifted. She's doing fourth grade advanced math. She is so special.

Yes, except that actually she's a year behind because she belongs in fifth grade.

I'm in a county with real income disparities and I've been told from more than one teacher (who have moved around), that redshirting is more common in the affluent areas b/c those parents have the financial resources to pay for an additional year of preschool.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know why parents do it - to skew things to their kid's advantage. School systems allow it based on the precedent that, in very rare cases especially special needs, it is needed.

Exactly. And there should be documented proof that it's needed (in cases of serious special needs - not because it would marginally benefit the child).

Yes. The school system should require testing to prove a need to hold back.