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For me it would really depend on the individual child and whether or not I thought he or she was emotionally ready. I was one of the youngest kids in my class and it certainly had no negative effect on me. I performed well both academically and athletically. I don't see any reason to hold a child back simply based on their age. If they are ready, let them go.

Ours is not near the cutoff, but my brother was actually behind it (Oct 16) and started the year early. I've always heard it was harder for boys starting early, but he did fine. He graduated near the top of his class and wasn't bullied or anything. Granted, this was 30+ years ago, but still. I think it's different for every child, depending on their personality/maturity level.

I feel like it is a boy thing - at our DCP 2 boys with August birthdays were held back - cut-off is Sept 1st.

My DS missed the cut-off so he turned 6 right after starting K - I was kinda bummed that he had to wait but its been a great year. His teacher told me that he definitely is less fidgety and listens better than the boys that are 5.

DS is Nov, so we really don't have a choice (Sept 1 cutoff). #2 will be August, so they'll be like @jetsa: 20 months apart but a year apart in school. I turned 5 the week before I went to kindergarten (Aug bday), and I was fine, but not all do as well. My mom thought about holding me back because I was young, but then decided I was ready. My sister is 9/8, so she *just* missed the cutoff, but I think it was good for her to be older.

Our local cutoff is 9/1 and LO's birthday is 9/3. We will plan to just send him at almost 6, per the cutoff, unless he seems like he'd be exceptionally bored by doing so. Our school district does single subject acceleration so we'd probably look into that rather than petitioning for him to attend early. My birthday is in April but I did acceleration in math/language arts in elementary school (rather than being skipped ahead) and it was a huge relief from being bored all the time! I'm not a fan of redshirting--academic or otherwise; my MIL is a big advocate of it, but my DH (who is an August baby and who she redshirted) was bored throughout school and probably could have benefited from starting early/on time rather than being redshirted.

It's called redshirting. There is a book that strongly encourages it. My sister opted to do this for my nephew. I think it depends on the kid.

My brother was on the younger side (not redshirted) because he was doing very well in preschool/Kindergarten. He struggled a bit in middle school, but I think that was just his personality. He brought it around in HS and had lots of friends and graduated college with honors and now is going to work for a top U.S. company. So if it were me, I'll probably try my kiddo out for Kinder and if she were thriving, send her to 1st and if not, put her back in Kinder. I think that was pretty common for my age.

Our cutoff here is 8/31 and DD has an early December birthday, so we don't have any choice. I wish we lived in an area with a later cutoff so we'd be able to make a decision based on her abilities when the time comes. I was born in March so I was basically in the middle of my class, and I was always jealous of the kids with summer birthdays and the ones who got to start when they were 4 (the cutoff at the school I went to as a kid was 12/31). Now I kind of wonder what my rush was, haha, since being an adult isn't always all it's cracked up to be... But still, I was really bored through most of elementary school and I don't want that for DD. Unfortunately, if it seems like that might be the case (and who knows at this point, really) it seems our only alternative would be private school.

My daughters birthday is September first and that's also the cutoff date. I'm glad she'll be one of the youngest and I don't doubt she will be ready

@youboots: I think it mainly discussed it in regards to sports.

@hilsy85: yes, I remember it for sports, although it did say that students who are older in the class tend to do better; however, my husband and I are both summer babies and were near the top of our respective classes. I think it always depends on the kid and the environment (ie my husband's parents are engineers, so certain things were important and there was always a lot of structure so he did well.

Were on the other side of the cutoff and will be close to it with both kids and are happy about that. It may not be right but I think older kids have advantages that stay with them throughout the years. And just because a kid is ready for K at 4 doesn't mean they're going to be ready for college at 17 so I'd rather play it safe. It doesn't mean the younger kids are doomed. I was an honors student and one of the very youngest in my class born the day before the cutoff. But in general I think it's an advantage to be older and I won't push for either of my kid to be bumped up. If they were on the opposite side of the cutoff I would consider holding them back but it's too early to decide.

@hilsy85: @Mrs. J: @Pirouette: sorry to refer to a book I have not read- it's on my shelf. I just remember hearing about it as one of the reasons that parents hold kids back.

I will also add, my Dad was physically small- and was picked on a lot as a kid. And he still resentful (in his late 60s) that his parents did not wait a year. I know this also factored in to her decision.

I was old for my grade (Came from Korea and their school year starts in Jan), and I hated being one of the oldest. I was bored academically and always felt behind compared to the grade above me socially (who were my age).

I think it depends on the kid, so we'll assess when the time comes, but DS is a Nov baby. In our state, the cutoff will be Sept 1 by the year that he is at Kindergarten age but parents can send in a written request to send their kids as long as their bdays are before 12/31 of that year. We may choose to do this if we feel DS is ready! He would be 4 years 9 months, instead of 5 years and 9 months if we chose to send him before the cut-off.

I will take him to be evaluated and see what they suggest. His bday is 9-19 and the cutoff is 9-30. I used to think I'd hold him back but now I don't know. My sister is a a pre-k teacher and she thinks he'll be fine going. He's also big for his age so that doesn't concern me. I worry more about his maturity level.