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I probably would, based on watching my brother grow up as the very youngest in his class. He was so far behind, never was old enough to do things that his friends were doing, and it seemed like a constant issue. I think so so much depends on the individual child, but I feel like a boy, especially, could benefit from an extra year of maturity. I would likely always second guess myself if we didn't. But I actually have actively avoided having August/September babies for this reason.

I thought it was only red shirting if you tried to go around whatever the cut off is to have your child be among the eldest in their class? My son was born in November, our cut off is September 1st so he will turn 6 shortly after starting kindergarten. I don't consider that red shirting because we're following the guidelines.

On the other hand, a friend's son's birthday is August 1, she held him back this year so he will be 6 and one month when he starts K. Her reasons were for social and emotional development but she and her husband are very competitive and athletic so I have a feeling that factored in, even if they won't admit it! I consider that red shirting.

LO's birthday is in early November and our school district's cutoff date is 10/1, so LO will be on the older side when he starts. My general feeling is that it's better, at least socially, to start a bit later so I am not concerned about waiting a year (not that we have a choice). The only piece I am dreading is the additional year or preschool tuition!

@hilsy85: Thanks for posting that article. I think this is interesting: "Redshirted kids these days are most likely to be boys who come from affluent families—one study from California reported that parents who redshirt their kids earn, on average, 40 percent more than those who don’t—because, as mentioned earlier, low-income parents typically can’t afford to pay for another year of preschool. (In the 2006 study involving 15,000 kids, the redshirted kids’ families had lower incomes than the non-redshirted kids’ families—another reason why old studies aren’t necessarily applicable today.) So when researchers compare redshirted kids to non-redshirted kids, they’re often comparing socio-economic apples and oranges."

That's always the flaw with a lot of these studies is they don't take into account socioeconomic differences. Just looking at age isn't accurate.

@aprild: yep it would be interesting to do the studies again now with the new information about more affluent families being the ones to do redshirting. I'm sure results would be different...but again, is that really due to redshirting or SES differences?

Definitely not with LO1. He just misses the cutoff by about a week and will be one of the oldest.
What I am seeing in our town is that with July and August birthdays the majority of boys will be held back and even into June. LO2 has a May bday so if he doesn't seem fully ready to start we will consider doing Montessori for K. I have heard that sometimes Montessori kids are not at the same level so if he would need to repeat K I would be open to it.

Absolutely not. Not only would that mean another year paying for daycare/preschool, but I don't think it's necessary unless there is a specific, documented reason for it.

@winniebee: my neighbors son went to Montessori through 3rd grade and he's top of his class in public school. No issues transitioning.

the whole idea of redshirting stresses me out. I have a daughter who is a few weeks ahead of the cutoff (december in our case) and she's too young for us to decide yet, but based on what she's like now, I have no plans to hold her back. However, she's very small for her age, and the idea of a good portion of her class being redshirted 6 year olds makes me feel like we're gonna be pushed against following the rules, even if she's ready academically, socially, etc.

As someone who thrived being the youngest in my class, it makes me sad that things have changed so much that my LO might not get that same opportunity. It was pretty unheard of to redshirt when i was growing up.

@looch: @Pirouette: I agree with this. My son is 2 days off from our cutoff and it's extremely common to redshirt where I live (mostly assumed). I have been very influenced by the fact that if I don't hold him back that there could be a two (!!) year spread between him and some of the kids in his class. I understand that I'm just falling into the trend and perpetuating the problem, but when it comes to my son's academic and social performance, I don't really want to be the outlier.

I don't parent in absolutes, though. I'll do what's best for my kid.

Here are the statistics on the ages kids are when they start kindergarten: According to the most recent data available from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in the 2010-2011 school year only 6 percent of kids started kindergarten at age 4, 42 percent of kids were between 5 and 5½, 43 percent were between 5½ and 6 years old — and more than 9 percent of kids starting kindergarten had already turned 6.

I realize this is several years old, but I wonder if we think redshirting is more common than it really is? It seems like the majority of kids are still 5 when they start kindergarten.

DS2 has a late july birthday and cutoff here is 8/7 for public but 6/1 for private. He will be going to public school and I do not plan to hold him back- he will be newly 5 when he starts K.

However, in preschool hes in now some parents that have children there are going to do public and some are going to do private elementary. They change classrooms at the beginning of the summer program. so last year when my child was still 2 (two months from 3) we got an invitation to another boy in the classes party (he was turning 4).

I totally have a problem with this! they let the parents decide on class placement due to what school the child will be attending in the future with the minimum being to adhere to the later public school start date. But this is preschool!!! should my 2 year old be in a class with 4 year olds because I am following the rules??

We are having a baby boy in May and have no plan to red-shirt. He might very well be the youngest in his class if the June.July and August babies are red-shirted.

@Pirouette: you're in NY right? I believe that you are not allowed to redshirt here--they must go to school the year they turn 5, unless you plan to just enroll them in 1st grade the next year. http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/1CC25F63-74E8-41A6-8031-490F206F148D/0/A101.pdf

Kind of nice to not have to worry about it!

@hilsy85: we were, but unfortunately we're in the 'burbs now, where redshirting is definitely rampant! I really wish all of NY was standardized like that!

@Pirouette: ah! didn't know you'd moved--exciting!

@Truth Bombs: Yes, that vicious cycle is what's giving us pause. My son just makes the cutoff by 2 weeks and we have all intentions of sending him on time (he's only 3 now), but I hate that he could have kids a year and a half older than him in his class because redshirting boys has become so common here.

This is not a common practice in this part of Canada but I have had several discussions about it in a professional capacity.

Here, children attend kindergarten the year they turn 5, even if that means December 31st. Almost no one holds back their children, regardless of gender.