Hellobee Boards

It's definitely talked about and considered, although I don't know how common it actually is. My older one is only 3.5 so we aren't quite there yet. But yeah I hear people talk about it a lot in generalities.

In the city we just moved from it's not allowed. You can skip kindergarten but when you start school as a 6 year old, you start as a first grader. So if you want to red shirt you have to go private.

It's extremely common in my town-like my unborn child will be born 2-3 weeks before the cutoff and people have already mentioned that they assume I'll red shirt him or her...

It is common and I think a good idea if your child doesn't seem ready academically. A boy wasn't held back in DD's class and he is having to repeat kindergarten now while everyone else moved onto 1st grade.

@Andrea: that 's hard but at least it's only kindergarten and not a later grade... I had a friend growing up who wasn't held back and had struggled all through school... finally didn't make it through an upper grade and had to deal with being held back when he was nearly a teenager and face that embarrassment.

@LemonJack: My friend who is a teacher had similar observations. I was surprised when she told me she was holding both of her sons back. One was born in August but the one born in May surprised me. It won't be an issue with my son as his birthday is late in the year. I didn't think it would be with my spring baby but I guess we'll see.

I know several people who have/plan to. I'm not sure how common it is.

It's pretty common here, but I hear it more in regards to boys. My daughter will turn five on the cutoff date for where we live. She will be the absolute youngest in her class. It concerns me somewhat that she will be at a disadvantage, but at the same time.... I feel like holding her back wouldn't be good for her in other ways.

All in all, someone has to be the youngest and someone has to be the oldest. It is what it is, I suppose.

I kind of wish both my kids were born in winter/spring so I could've avoided this delimma. It's so daunting!

Just depends on situation. Most parents just go with the district policy--here is it 4 on or before 9/1 for preK, age 5 on/before 9/1 for kinder. From personal experience, the schools that are a higher economically disadvantaged % I've worked in follow the guidelines, the schools with lower %'s tend to have parents keeping their kids back a year (5 prek, 6 kinder).

@LCTBQE: I'm in Texas and that is the law for public schools here. It varies across the country.

@matador84: it makes sense- childcare is expensive. Public school is not. It is certainly a luxury to be able to pay for an extra year of preK before starting kindergarten, whatever the reason.

No one does it here. Cut off is dec 31 and it's the year they turn 4.

So common here (mid-sized Midwest city) among upper middle class and upper class families. My son was born in the middle of May and as soon as he was born people started asking me if I was going to redshirt him. The cutoff is September so May feels crazy early to me - let alone deciding while he's a newborn!

My son's birthday is in March and the cutoff in my town is 9/1. So I have no idea but before I got pregnant I was hoping for a birthday between Jan-June largely to avoid this issue! (And also to avoid a birthday over the summer or during the winter holidays, but that was a secondary concern.)

I think it has been increasing in popularity, but I don't think it's particularly common here. You can't start early, which I think is good.

@lamariniere: I think not starting formal school until 6 is wonderful. I wish that the US would recognize and create policies based upon the wisdom of this timetable. We're definitely going the other way, unfortunately.

@matador84: @jape14: Another way to get an extra year to save is to take it on the other end. I'm intrigued by the idea of a (productive and intellectually demanding) gap year, and would like to see that become more popular in the future.

@T.H.O.U.: in my state the cutoff is Sept 1.
I have a September birthday and was oldest in my grade. It was so frustrating. I was on level with those the grade above me for most subjects, and tended to befriend those older. I hated feeling "held back"

We cut off 12/31 here too... Both my girls have Dec birthdays. Currently, DD1 is actually being moved up to the older toddler room with the oldest girl.. Teachers say she doesn't act like the youngest at all. I don't want to hold her back as we can't really afford an extra year of 2 in daycare, but if there are red flags, of course I would consider it. Growing up I have friends a year older than me in the same grade so it's not a foreign concept to me.

@Bao: Yes I feel like that student is bored and although he was ahead, he's not going to maintain being "ahead" with being in this class.

@T.H.O.U.: Does your child stay in the same class all day and everyone is taught the same thing? At our school, they move kids around according to ability...so my son, for example, goes to a different class for reading.

I'm not sure how common it is, but i know a few parents who held their kids back for academic reasons (to give them an edge over their classmates).

The thing that bothers me about redshirting in my area is when parents do it in coveted language/academic programs. We have the stupidest cutoff in my city where it is March of the following year. So you would have kids with birthdays between Jan 2011 and March 2012 entering kindergarten. A parent will put their Feb 2012 kid into school but then decide to hold them back and have them repeat kindergarten. When you factor in parents who redshirt, you end up with kids who are anywhere from 4.5 to 6 years old in the kindergarten year.