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I would definitely consider based on their development leaps by then
Academic
Social
Mental

I wouldn't. I know it's en vogue these days, but my LOs both have later birthdays (July and August) in a place where the cutoff is September, and they will enter with their age group. If my kiddo's teachers suggested they were far behind their peer group in maturity or skills, then I would consider it. But If they are average, then they'll continue.

Since I'm a teacher and see kids in both situations every year, I actually find it more common to have an "older" trouble maker kids who is like, shaving in 8th grade compared to their peers who are much shorter and younger. The older kids are more bored, which sometimes can translate to more aggression towards other smaller students. which can make issues both academically and socially. I guess I'd rather have a slightly younger kid who is challenged academically than the bigger older kid who may be bored.

For whatever reason, it's become really popular to redshirt kids, but unless the teachers that know your kid best agree, I wouldn't do it.

@Anagram: Average in what? Intelligence?

No, unless one was severely delayed both emotionally and academically. As it is, they will both be among the oldest in their classes. I'd prefer to send a year early if they are ready, but our county charges tuition for students who have not made the cutoff.

@Anagram: Thank you for that detailed response. I look at how my son handled conflict or disappointment last year versus how he does this year, and the difference is huge. My son's teacher doesn't have to take time away from the learning that has to happen to deal with all of that distraction that he used to exhibit. It was never about sports or leadership for me.

I would consider it, but likely would only do it for a boy that is really close to the cutoff (within a month) and who socially/emotionally was not ready. I think because boys (tend to) develop socially/emotionally slower, and because they (tend to) develop physically later, it can be advantageous to be average-older instead of younger. For girls, I think it developing physically earlier than others can actually be a disadvantage. But I think you also need to consider how academics factor in, too, since you don't want your child to be under-stimulated and bored!

Luckily it's not an issue for us. We have a Sept 1 cut-off. DD1 is a spring birthday so will be "typical" for her grade. And DD2 and DS will both be "older" for their grade (Nov/Dec bdays). So I won't even consider it for any of them.

My son made the cutoff by 2 days. We never considered holding him back. If we had a real concern, we definitely would have thought about it.

@looch: kids seem to start a year later here. If we had put him in the local public school, we would have had to wait until next year because the child has to be 6. If we had stayed in NY, he would have started last year at 4.5!

I would consider it for developmental reasons but my preference would be to start my son on time. I was unsure about preschool this year because he isn't 3 until December. I found a 2.5 year old program that actually is mostly young 3s but it is great for him. I'm so confident he was ready for school this year that I really think he'd be missing out if he wasn't in the program. I know kindergarten is a lot more pressure but knowing my child, I'd like him to be stimulated and challenged at his level.

I would have considered it if we could have had her do something besides basic normal preschool.

Where I live, "redshirting" is not allowed (except perhaps if the child is in a special needs program). A child can skip kindergarten, but would be expected to go to first grade.

That said, I can see why people want to hold back, particularly from full day programs. Full day pre-k is proving to be way too much for my four year old, who is middle of the pack age-wise.

No. I never understand what is the point of holding back until a friend told me that smaller kids tend to get held back by their parents in the fear of possible bullying from peers. My friend and I both have skinny smaller (mine being even shorter than hers, and I can safely say he is the shortest in his class lol) children but it is just absurd to me. We both don't plan to hold them back because they are mentally very advanced. My 4.5 yo is already reading and we are already asking for extra support from his reading teacher. He will be bored out of his mind if we held him back for a year...! We are in Pre-k right now, if anything, I wish they let him get into kindergarten now lol

Not to mention, we are going to a private school so it would be 30k more for just that. No way.

I don't have much of a choice. The cutoff for PA is September 1, and the boys both have September birthdays. So they will be the oldest in their classes. They also won't go to school with their day care friends, so that's also a bit of a concern for me, but I'm a little disappointed that I don't have the choice.

Unless they seemed well behind their peers, I would not hold back my child from kindergarten.

If the main concern is curriculum/lack of playtime, then I would rather stick to schedule and pay for private kindergarten at Montessori or somewhere else following a play-based model.

We are sending our child to Montessori preschool next year and will consider continuing through kindergarten if we see the need. The price here is 5-8k per year depending on hours (short day vs. normal or extended day).

Redshirting seems fairly common here but we decided to send DS on time (late June birthday, mid-August cut-off). He's a big kid, so no concerns there, and seems socially/developmentally on track. K has mostly been a good experience so far -- for a couple of weeks I worried that we'd been wrong, but once he adjusted he's really been learning so much.

I also subscribe to the "I'd rather my kid be challenged than bored" theory.

So hard.
My very attentive rule following 5 yo comes home beyond exhausted from K. I think it's too long of a day for the normal 5 year old. I wish they'd make Kindergarten more suited to the age then make people feel like they need to wait a year bc they're not going to be 5 forever. Even though mines a May bday there's normal kids that are over a year older than her. They're not a ton more academic, though some are more advanced readers so are probably bored, but you can still tell by the way they talk and act and I think it makes it very challenging for the younger birthday kids that are behaving like a normal young 5 yo and not a 6 yo.

@Anagram: she never had full time care before but from the parents I've talked to K is different than the daycare setting. One of our neighbors had their kid do a K curriculum in daycare last year and she's still talked about how wiped he is now. Honestly I haven't talked to any K parent yet that hasn't said how crazy exhausted their kid is now and I do my share of talking to people.

For her it's up at 615, bus at 705, school starts at 740, they do academics and desk work in the morning- reading, math, etc. Lunch at 1035 for half hour. Then they do more interactive stuff and have library or gym or art and then the last half hour is outside recess. School ends 2 pm, home at 230.

@Anagram: Ok here goes - this might get long!

This year my daughter is in an NYC Universal PreK (or PKA - Pre-K for all) program, which is run by the public school district, but takes place in a private nursery school setting. The day runs 8:30 - 3:05. The class is made up of kids who were born any time in 2012, so some of her classmates are approaching 5, while a few others won't turn 4 for another month or so. From what I hear, this Pre-K program is probably a lot like K in some places. While there is plenty of time for play, and the kids have dance/gymnastics/yoga plus one outdoor "recess" daily, there are a lot of learning activities - circle times, kids sitting at tables in small groups to work on writing, letter identification, phonics, etc., "science" experiments, meeting time where they discuss new topics and vote on class issues (what to name the goldfish! how to decorate the pumpkin!)...They have two designated snack times, lunch time, and a "nap" time (which is mandated by the state, but apparently nobody naps, and my daughter claims she plays quietly rather than reading/resting). To me, this is a lot of structure, particularly compared to the program she did last year.

Last year, she went to private preschool three mornings a week for three hours at a time. They had a "meeting time" and "snack time", and went outside for recess, but beyond that, I think they were mostly just allowed to play with the toys/do the art projects/mill around the activity stations that were set up at their own pace. She's never been in full time care (I stay at home) other than the odd trip to Bright Horizons drop in care when I needed the day to do something and DH couldn't take off work.

She comes home totally wiped out, and is not at her best - she is whiny, grumpy, and crashes as soon as I put her in bed at night. It's sad, because I think she has fun, but it's just a little much for her, and there's really not a decent (and justifiably affordable) alternative that would be half day.

It sounds like your DD is doing fine in full day settings, though - maybe she naps?! I don't think the structure is a huge issue for my DD - there's not a lot of sitting still, at least she hasn't complained about it. I can just tell she's tired. One thing she is stressed by is lunch. I think it's loud, short, and chaotic (some kids eat the school food, others bring, and school food is served family style).