Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, geez lady seems like you fell off your stupid high horse onto your head.

Most people hold back for maturity issues. In countries with great educational systems, such as France and Finland, kids start formal schooling at age 6 or 7.
It doesnt give you a 'leg up academically' to delay K. Early schooling is mostly about socializing, getting used to the school routine and getting the basics down as is developmentally apptopriate for each individual child. It has little to do with later academic achievement, though repeatedly 'failing' or being told your 'dumb' during your elementary school years probably has a negative effect.

The reason we start K in ghis country so early is so the parents have free good quality childcare so that we can work.

DP. A lot of this is wrong. Kids start school earlier than 6 or 7 in France and Finland, and France is not known to have a great educational system. Many parents redshirt to have a leg up academically, whether or not it actually works is a separate question.

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who don't know, redshirting is the act of delaying a child's kindergarten entrance by a year. Some parents do it in the hopes of giving their kid an academic advantage. While that may work at first, it hurts the child in the long-run. Here is my experience.

I was born on July 3rd, and made the cut-off in my area by a solid 2 months. However, at the advice of my pre-school teachers, my parents decided to wait until I was 6 to put me in Kindergarten. At first, it was pretty awesome. I was taller than most of my classmates and better in sports. The problem, however, was that some of my classmates thought I was dumb, because I was a grad behind. In high school, it was really awesome being the first to drive, as all my friends thought I was really cool. It wasn't until I was a senior in high school that I realized my parents may have done me a disservice. It really sucked to be stuck on a high school campus as an adult. High schools are not designed for adults which is why I felt so out of place my senior year. If a 17-year-old tried to pick a fight with me, fighting back wasn't really an option, because I was an adult and they were a minor. I also had to break up with my current gf, since she was a year shy of her 18th birthday when I turned 18. When prom rolled around in the spring, my options were limited because a lot of the girls were still 17. That was why I was really excited to start college. By the 2nd semester of my freshman year, almost everyone was an adult, so I felt like I fit in once again. My junior year, however, I hit another bump. I turned 21 right before my junior, because my friends were 19 and 20, I couldn't go to a bar for my birthday. And throughout my junior year, if I wanted to go to a bar, I would have to go by myself, and if I wanted to hang out with my friends, I couldn't go to a bar. But it was my senior year of college when I truly realized that my parents had done me a disservice. That was the year I should have been starting my career and earning real money, but instead, I was still stuck doing homework and studying for exams. I entered the real world and started working at 23 instead of 22, a year late. To this day, I still feel behind. When I retire, I'm probably going to have less earnings than I would have otherwise, and every time there's a mile-stone, such as buying a new house, or getting a promotion, I keep thinking, "I would have been doing this one year earlier." So remember, while it may not seem like a big deal for a 5-year-old to be in pre-school instead of elementary school, that child will one day be a 22-year-old in college instead of out in the world and earning money.

I'm currently having this issue with DS, who was born on August 5th. His pre-school teachers have been strongly advising me to redshirt, but because of my experience, there is no way I'm doing this. He may not be a star athlete and he may not always be at the top of his class, but so what? My job is to prepare to become a self-supporting and successful adult and to teach him that he doesn't need trophies or to always be the best in order to be happy. I've learned from my parents' mistake and I want to make sure that he doesn't get a late start in life like I did. I also don't want his classmates thinking there's something wrong with him.

Anonymous wrote:I was born in June, started school when I was supposed to, and graduated with honors at age 17. Why redshirt if there is no need? I never studied, because I never needed to. If your child is smart enough, they do not need the advantage of an extra year. My youngest daughter will also graduate with honors at age 17 because her birthday is at the end of July. She certainly didn't need to be held back. She has things to do, places to go, experiences to have. Life is waiting.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, geez lady seems like you fell off your stupid high horse onto your head.

Most people hold back for maturity issues. In countries with great educational systems, such as France and Finland, kids start formal schooling at age 6 or 7.
It doesnt give you a 'leg up academically' to delay K. Early schooling is mostly about socializing, getting used to the school routine and getting the basics down as is developmentally apptopriate for each individual child. It has little to do with later academic achievement, though repeatedly 'failing' or being told your 'dumb' during your elementary school years probably has a negative effect.

The reason we start K in ghis country so early is so the parents have free good quality childcare so that we can work.

Anonymous wrote:I was born after the cutoff but put in as the youngest because I was an early reader. It was not a good decision. Academically it was fine; I was always good academically. But middle school and high school were horrific and socially very damaging. It took a lot of therapy and work on my part to move past those years.

I hear a lot of parents on this board crowing about how bright their youngest kids are and how the redshirted kids must be dumb, and it just makes me sad. So wrapped up in their own egos, so unwilling to look at the whole child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never redshirt unless my children had developmental delays. My youngest child was born in August and went to preschool right on time. She thrives, learning from older kids and was reading well by 4. The truth is though, no matter when you started preschool, by the time you are an adult, no one cares. It's like your SAT scores, where you went to college, whether you were valedictorian. You just have to get over it.

How old is she now?

Anonymous wrote:I would never redshirt unless my children had developmental delays. My youngest child was born in August and went to preschool right on time. She thrives, learning from older kids and was reading well by 4. The truth is though, no matter when you started preschool, by the time you are an adult, no one cares. It's like your SAT scores, where you went to college, whether you were valedictorian. You just have to get over it.