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In NC, the cut-off date is August 31, but it used to be mid-October and I have a September birthday. I was always the youngest, but it was never a problem for me (even if it was annoying at times).

Luckily, I teach pre-k, so I feel like I'll be able to tell if our kids are ready for kindergarten or not. I think its really a case-by-case thing, but more often than not, younger kids have little or no problem adjusting.

I would not delay my kids unless I felt that they would have a really terrible time adjusting and needed more prep.

I think we're going to wait and see. LO is due Sept 25, and cut off in RI is Sept 1. So..we might not even have a choice. But if she's very ahead and seems extremely bored, I might try to talk to the school to see what we can do. This might be a moot point though - she could make the cut-off if she's early, or we could end up sending her a year later!

I'm due a few days after the cutoff, but we plan to play it by ear. DH was one of the younger kids and never had problems in school. I was older and it seemed every year my teachers would bring up skipping a grade.

If we had a LO with a birthday near the cutoff line for school, it would depend on the child, but I'd be more likely to wait. Especially with a boy. School readiness often develops a little later than it does in girls. The other piece is that you're not just deciding if they're academically ready in the moment, but will they be mature enough to handle situations once they're in high school. My BFF wishes her patents had waited to send her because she wasn't ready to leave home for college when she did. My first roommate in college was 17, she was so immature and really still needed someone to keep an eye on her.

I guess I can't see any harm in waiting as long as you still provide a stimulating and challenging environment, but I can see risks in going too soon. But I think if I felt like I had a LO that was becoming bored or showed a real disinterest in preschool, I would consider sending them early.

As a teacher, I know it has nothing to do with being smart enough and everything to do with maturity. Sadly, I think boys are just not as ready as girls if they have the young birthday. I would probably hold my boy back. Playing sports, do I want my kid to be the smallest? And I've seen how boys who are to immature lack the impulse control needed.

New York's cut off is Dec 31.

Charlie's birthday is Dec 10th and we're not planning on holding him back. Since he is already small, plus he has a late birthday, he will probably be the smallest boy in his class. It's ok - he has a big personality.

@alison206: thank you for mentioning the readiness of boys vs girls! I was a little worried that I'd be the only one to consider it & people would think I was being sexist for having it in my answer. Glad I'm not alone in it:)

I think it is Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers that talks about holding kids back and how that makes them do better. On the other hand, I was an August birthday and a gifted student and was already really bored in my elementary school classes - I can't imagine being a year behind too. I think it depends on the kid. If they are ahead, go ahead and send them to school. If they are average/behind, it might give them a leg up to wait a year.

I think May is too early to hold back. You'd be older by a LOT.

It depends on when in the summer one is due. I am due in the middle of September so I could have my LO in August or even October and I'd be inclined to wait. I don't know if that would apply if I were due in June!

I think the important thing is social and emotional maturity, not academic readiness. And in working with young children I have seen some parents claim their child is just "bored" because it's "too easy" but really the problem is immaturity. I won't mind is my LO is a little bored, anyway, because we can always add things and work with her teachers to provide enriching experiences academically and in extracurricular activities. I also think it's important to think up to high school and college. Academically one could do well all the way through, but there are certain things the youngest ones just get left out of and also sometimes they seem mature enough at K but then by middle school or high school parents think they could use another year.