Red shirting

NYTino24 · December 2016

This question is really early considering our kids won't be in kindergarten for many years, but I'm curious if any mamas who already have August or September kids put them in kindergarten when they were 4, turning 5. Or if any FTM or first time August moms have plans.

NYTino24 · December 2016

In NJ, the kindergarten cutoff for turning 5 is September 30, meaning our little one could start school at 4. DH was born at the end of August and his parents did not redshirt him, meaning he was always younger and smaller than his peers. He graduated high school at 17. We were both tiny babies and he also feels that waiting will work in our kid's advantage both academically and physically for sports. I'm not against it, mostly because I often notice a pretty big difference in my students who were born in August and especially September compared to the rest. My sis is a teacher in DE and notices the same, but her cut off is October 30 and her daughter was born 11/11. She had no choice but to wait until next year and her daughter was ready this year... plus she now has to pay another year of preschool. Who did it and thought it was a good choice? Who did it and regretted it? Who is considering it?

DoulaTog13 · December 2016

my September baby will be 5 next year, but we are not putting him into Kindergarten until he is 6. My understanding is that boys do better if they are among the older students in the class as opposed to the youngest. For my son, I have found that to be true in his preschool setting as well.

BreadPoetsSociety · December 2016

This is all based upon the actual child and how they are developing.

Our oldest turned 5 in mid-September and we enrolled her in K because we felt she was ready. Academically, she was right where she needed to be and is doing very well. Socially, she is still working through certain obstacles, but we also felt that those weren't detriments to her success.

We are in NJ as well and missed the cutoff by 2 weeks.

a2003tiger · December 2016

Our cutoff is August 30. My current baby's birthday is 9/10, so we have no choice and she'll turn 6 a month after starting preschool. But I think it's a good thing, so depending on how she does, we may intentionally hold this little one back.

britvahok · December 2016

The cutoff in VA is 9/30. My DS's bday is August 2nd. He will start kindergarten next year about 3 weeks after he turns 5. I think you have to evaluate each kid separately. DS already knows all his letter sounds, some letter blends, writes his name, numbers and letters. There's a list of things a child should know before entering kindergarten on our school districts website and he already knows everything on the list plus additional stuff. He has been in private preschool since he was 3 and will stay at his private school to complete kindergarten then enter public school in 1st grade.

I've been worrying about this since DS was born so its not to early to consider your option. I've found research all over the place but in our situation it doesn't make sense to hold DS back.

NYTino24 · December 2016

Thanks for the responses, ladies! I'm hoping our LO will be totally ready since I'm a teacher and *should* be able to prepare him or her pretty well, but who knows! It will be a much closer to game time situation. Our current town has full-day kindergarten, but a lot of other towns went down to half day years ago when our governor cut funding. We plan on moving in the next few years.

DoulaTog13 · December 2016

I feel like academically, my son would be ready at 5. He's extremely smart and already knows the things he'll need to know in Kindergarten...he's been in a learning based daycare since 6 weeks old and then in pre-school since 3 years old. But, emotionally, he's just not there yet. He still needs a lot of individualized guidance with regards to following the rules. He does pretty well at home, but in a room full of other kids who are all varying ages and levels of maturity...he defaults to Wildebeast Spawn mode pretty quick. lol.

bumpybump · December 2016

I agree with PPs that it's totally different for each kid and each one should be evaluated separately. one of my close friends decided to hold her son back from starting because compared to her daughter, she didn't feel he was as "ready."

I was the third youngest in my graduating class and was only 17 when I graduated (in Indiana). I was ranked high in my class academically and successfully acquired an engineering degree in college with internships starting at the age of 20. My DH is also an August baby and also graduated when he was 17 (in Illinois). He went to a smaller college but completed through a Masters in Computer Science. I'm not meaning for this to come across as gloating but more that the "young" kids in a class can be successful as much as the "old" ones. Granted, that was 15 years ago so who knows how things have changed.

NYTino24 · December 2016

@bumpybump Great points! (I would never think you were a braggart.

and I don't judge people solely based on their birth months. Just some observations.) DH unfortunately didn't mature academically until he started college and one more year before kindergarten may not have made any difference. He was also the baby of the family and only boy. He got a leadership scholarship for college and graduated with honors, but he feels very strongly that he would have benefitted from another year. He also graduated hs weighing 112 lb. and it hurt him sportswise. (He graduated college at like 175!) We shall see in about 5 1/2 years!

Smoid · December 2016

Cut off in Michigan is Sept 1 so if this LO is born right on his/her due date (Aug 30) they will be the youngest in their class. I work with Early Intervention so I often bring my leftover packets home to work with my daughter between that and our local a preschool programs around here, I think they will be fine but time will tell.

lynkat · December 2016

Interesting topic! Especially as a first grade teacher who gets kiddos from kinder, this is a conversation I have regularly with parents and admin. Like PPs have said, I totally agree that every kid should be evaluated individually when making those kind of educational decisions. I have young August students every year that are developmentally on a different page than the rest of my students who have earlier birthdays and *sometimes* those kids really struggle and are not ready. It's surprising how often age/birthdate are not even considered and parents/admin want to jump to some sort of testing to figure out what's "wrong". A whole year of development is HUGE (consider the difference of development in a newborn and a 1 year old) and our August LO's will be about a year younger than about a third of their peers.

Honestly, the standards are so crazy high now-a-days in this one-size-fits-all system that some kids just need more TIME learning in ways that are developmentally appropriate for them. And sometimes that doesn't match their grade level peers. I'm a huge advocate for early childhood education so I don't think kids should be rushed out of that phase.

My DS is a late June baby and I even had these thoughts when I was pregnant with him. Now that he is 2.5, I can already tell he will be ready to go to school with his class. It's definitely something to be aware of and consider, but all of our decisions will probably look different and that's okay

Nxy · December 2016

I was also 17 when I graduated. The only issues I faced were when I switched schools in grade school the school really tried to have me held back solely based on me being a year younger than my peers. Which made me feel bad because my mom had to go sign papers every year to "pass" me even though my grades were awesome. That continued until high school, then it was just pass/fail and I didn't have issues after that. Graduated with honors became a bum..

SpotConlon · December 2016

My preference would be to start my kid in kindergarten on time. I think in our area, the cutoff is August 31st, and based on my estimated due date, my kid would make it under the wire. There doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence that redshirting has a lot of provable benefits, but like others have said, it depends on the kid.

Mango517 · December 2016

I always thought I wouldn't red shirt, but I feel like it's becoming increasingly common around our parts (NJ) as we know a decent amount of people who are doing it. I guess it really depends on our kid and if we think they're ready.

One thing to consider is that in our state you don't get your license until 17, so this would give them two years of being able to drive themselves around before heading off to college. Being able to drive their whole junior year of high school might be helpful...

Incandescent · December 2016

I think the earlier the better. Socializing, and learning what to do in school, and getting used to the schedule. So I will definitely be enrolling in preschool as soon as I can.

NYTino24 · December 2016

Just have to say I saw this thread idea when I accidentally went to August 2016. DH also brought it up before I was even pregnant and I'm very happy to see that people are having a civil discourse on the topic. Conversations like this have gotten nasty elsewhere and I'm happy to be on Aug17 with you ladies!

lynkat · December 2016

I agree with @NYTino24! Loving the Aug17 vibes too

Nxy · December 2016

Oh and I'll add to what Mango said I was 16 when I started my senior year and due to being the last of 3 kids my parents didn't see the need for me to go to drivers ed early so.. long story short my mom had to drive me to my first 2 months of college classes so that was.. just awful.

cltweed · December 2016

I have a Sept. 16 son, who we did not start until he was turning six. We homeschool, but I would have made the same decision either way. I think it largely depends on the child... maturity level, attentiveness, etc. Despite being raised for five years in a super literacy rich environment with tons of reading and a preschool and pre-k curriculum, he didn't even have a grasp on letters and sounds until he was nearly 6. He just was. not. ready. Now, he's a bright and thriving K student. Had he (hypothetically) been in school a year earlier, he could have easily ended up with a "label" that he didn't really need. He was just a boy more interested in using his imagination with army men than learning letters and numbers. Then, I have an Aug. 3 daughter who will start when she's turning five, simply because she's ready. She loves school, has always worked alongside her big brother anyway, etc. She's barely four and knows quite a handful of sight words and can sound out most CVC words. Night and day from each other. I would make the same decision if I were sending her to school.

My husband red-shirted and began K as a 6 and 4 month year old and I think it worked to his advantage throughout school. I tend to see a difference in boys/girls.

Also, I'm a former teacher (3rd and K), with a masters in reading and I really hate the trend I see, at least in my area, with such a push for structured "academics" at such an early age. It isn't developmentally appropriate and I think sets many kids up to fail. In my district when I taught K (and I've only been out of the classroom for 2 years), my K'ers literally had zero play time in the classroom. No fun centers were allowed (our play kitchen was removed). They got 30 minutes of recess and that was it. They had to eat silent lunches because the cafeteria was too loud at least a few times a week. Our reading stations were 2 hours of independent reading/writing/sight word practice. I saw too many kids come into K in August with bright eyes and happy, silly hearts and by Christmas, they seemed over it already. We (teachers) wanted to be doing so much differently, but the district had our hands tied. Observing us teaching guided reading with timers in their hands to make sure we didn't spend more than 2 minutes on word review, 3 minutes on previewing the book, etc. Spying a play kitchen in the corner and making us remove it. I know there's a place for that kind of structure and discipline, but I know that my almost 5 year old boy couldn't have handled it. My girl? Absolutely, right up her alley. It's individual to each kid, but I think important to know what K looks like in your district/private school whatever, just so you know what will be expected of them.

Obviously this is a soapbox of mine...

, I just have a passion for letting kids be kids... carefree and happy and learning through experience and creativity and fun, as long as possible.

lynkat · December 2016

YES @cltweed I feel the same way! So frustrating as a teacher to have our hands tied when research says that 5-6 year olds still learn best through play. And now kindergarteners are expected to come to first grade ALREADY reading or they are behind. For some, that's not a big deal but for others it's an unrealistic expectation. Then kids get a label. We have the same soapbox haha.

cltweed · December 2016

PREACH @lyndshurt

chaser61 · December 2016

My brother is a Sept 15 baby and ended up retaking kindergarten because he was just wasn't ready to go onto 1st grade. DS is a Sept 29 baby, and I have thought about when I am going to start him in Kindergarten too. (So good post). Some people have even said "oh September baby? That is not good, he will be behind all through school." *eye roll* I think it is a good idea to assess where your kid is at developmentally when the time comes too. Retaking kindergarten didn't phase my brother, so if DS or this August Baby seemed ready but fell behind, I would think I would have the option to hold him back too.

MatteaGabrielle · December 2016

FL cut off is September 1. I have august students in my class who are not ready. And then I have some who are great. Each child is so different. My Nov daughter has always moved to her preschool classes early because she was ready early, but she's going to spend two years in a class because she can't go to kindergarten until she's almost 6.

asun123 · December 2016

I have a 4 year old whose birthday is in September. He will start kindergarten when he is 6. Next year is TK (Transitional kindergarten) when he is 5.
At least that's how it works in California. He has already been in the school district for 2 years since he has a speech disability and has already been going to school this whole time at an elementary school.

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