Hellobee Boards

eta: someone's always going to be the youngest, someone's always going to be the oldest. I think you've got to make the decision when you're closer to actually being in school.

@agold: Won't she be the youngest if she's born on the 31st? My daughter is a September baby and will be one of the oldest, although she actually probably won't be because a lot of people in our area hold their kids back. I think either way probably has different advantages and drawbacks.

Keep in mind, even if you start your induction on the 31st, it's a very real possibility she won't be born until the 1st. When I had an induction with DS it started at 7pm and he wasn't born until 10pm the next day. In my hospital they do cervical ripening at night, then start the pitocin in the morning.

No experience with my own child, but my younger brother has a middle August birthday and was always the youngest/near to the youngest in his class and he never had any issues academically, he was always very (VERY!) popular in school and played several sports competitively. So, worked out fine for him!

My second is two days from the cutoff. I think she'll be fine.

Fyi, my first induction I went in the evening of the 9th, labored all day the 10th and she wasn't born until 1 am on the 11th. So I wouldn't worry too much about the 31st actually being the birthday.

Since all of my kids are August, they will all be the youngest in their K class. Unless we see some reason they aren't ready, we will go ahead and send them. Maybe just get familiar with the option for "red shirting". Honestly, I dont see a big difference between an August 1 birthday, an August 15th birthday and an August 31st birthday. At some point you just have to make the call with whats right for your child.

I don't think being a young girl matters nearly as much as being a young boy (for some). Girls typically develop socially earlier, plus maturing physically later isn't generally viewed as a bad thing or disadvantage. I know of more boys who just aren't ready to start K socially....and physically developing later can put them at a disadvantage if they are interested in sports (or girls...haha). I'd just take it as it comes, though, and evaluate whatever seems right for you & your kid, either way! Usually that close to the cut-off you could start early if you wanted to, too....

my son was born a month before the cutoff, and we will send him to kindergarten as the youngest. he is advanced for his age and has been thriving as the youngest in his class. he definitely needs to be challenged or else he gets bored and causes trouble.

I'm guessing you are in CA since you mentioned TK. In our school district, even if your child is born before the cutoff, i think its somewhere between June - Sept, you can still get on the waitlist for TK, even tho TK is usually for Sept-Dec babies. So i think its possible to "redshirt" your child if you feel its necessary by sendign them to TK first, even if they meet the cutoff. So thats always an option as well!

Not my daughter, but I was always the youngest in my grade. I have a mid to late September birthday, and my mom sent me to private school when I was little because their cutoff was later than public school. She knew I was ready and didn't want to make me wait that extra year. It never really affected me much. (Other than having to see my parking space sit empty for the first month of my junior year - that was torture )

I think I'd wait until your child is older and see if you think she's ready for school.

PS. I also had a LONG induction - went to the hospital Wednesday morning; baby was born Saturday morning. You never know how it's going to go.

@kodybear: Yes this for CA (re TK). You can also petition to have your younger child enrolled in Kindergarten, but I believe it varies by District whether they will allow it.

And my LO was born over 24 hours after scheduled induction date so you may end up with a September baby!

I just want to say that August 31st is a very good birthday.

@lamariniere: exciting!!!

@agold: There's no free public preK here unless you are under a certain income for four people, so we don't qualify for that and would have to pay tuition for the school year, plus find somewhere for her in the summer. It's not helpful to most working parents at all. Thankfully kindergarten is full-day here.

I have an early November birthday. I don't remember the exact cut off date but had to "test" into school because of my age. So I was almost always the youngest. TBH, I'd rather that than oldest.

My LO is the youngest right now (Montessori preschool class, age 2.9 to 6 years). I love it. She just picks up so much from the older kids and is learning so quickly. However, once she starts K, she will be one of the oldest, since she has an early Oct birthday. I am bummed that she will have to wait the extra year to start public school. I was one of the oldest in my class and I was always bored, basically until high school. DH was one of the younger kids and his experience was better.

Also, my MIL is a teacher and she is actually concerned about our LO because she thinks it's crazy that LO will basically do 3 full years of pre-school before being allowed to start K. So in our case, I wish she could be one of the younger ones instead of one of the older ones. Agree with others that it totally depends on the child, though. My brother was one of the younger ones when he started K, and he ended up getting held back a year in 1st grade, and that was the right move for him.