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Oh, people do it so their kid will be bigger, stronger, and more coordinated. 6-8 months can make a *big* difference

It is crazy around here, our cut off is currently Nov 1st but they are working to move it up to September 1st by 2015 and people start redshirting if their kids were born after May or so. School and sports are so competitive in our town that even by age 3 people are investing in tutors, private sports lessons and so forth. I know one family who was considering holding their middle school daughter back a year as they moved to a new district so that she would have a better shot at making the varsity team when she entered high school as a freshman (her grades were all As and Bs.)

I don't particularly want to redshirt our (nonexistent) kids, I was the youngest and I kind of liked it. But then I also wonder if I would have done better being older? If we wind up pregnant this cycle I will be due only a few weeks from the cut off which would certainly make the decision harder.

I can't help but wonder if at some point the state will jump in and squelch the redshirting. In an area like ours it really has to mess with the numbers in terms of testing. If in Detroit kids are sent to school the second they are eligible but in the suburbs they are held back a year then they all take the same test then obviously the suburbs kids are going to do far better. They are older and have the socioeconomic advantages. The teachers in the city are fighting an uphill battle that they can't possibly win.

I think it's a terrible idea, honestly. If your child needs the time to grow and to catch up, great. But to intentionally hold them back just to give them a size boost is really, really uncool in my book.

Both my boys are Sept, and our cutoff is Sept 1. They could take a test to be enrolled when they're 4, I probably will let my 1st take it but not prepare him in any way, I will let my second go when he's five since he was born two months early anyway. It never occured to me that people with spring babies would hold them back, I always thought this was for fall babies!

New research has shown it can actually be beneficial from a brain development standpoint to be the youngest in the class:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/09/youngest-kid-smartest-kid.html

For us, it's an easy choice not to red shirt, because if my husband and I are any indication, LO will have no athletic skills at all. I wouldn't redshirt no matter what. I was one of the youngest in my class and always liked it.

PSA: Don't mention this if your DH was born at the end of August.

Me: "Can you believe that these kids are intentionally held back?! They're *19* when they graduate!"

Him: " ... I was 19 when I graduated."

Me: "Oh, uhhhh...."

Now I'm having to endure stuff like, "Honey, can you get me some coffee? Aaaaand check to see if my redshirt is in the dryer?"

Foot in mouth.

I had never heard of this until I became a parent. Growing up, people were always trying to get their kids into a higher grade so that they would graduate highschool early.

We aren't a sports oriented family so I wouldn't hold my child back unless I didn't think they were ready for school.

I think it is stupid to hold them back for the minuscule chance that they will end up benefiting from the sports advantage (ie going on to play pro sports or the like), vs the higher chance that being younger will challenge them more mentally/scholastically.

I think it just depends on the kid. Some kids just aren't ready for Kindergarten at 4 and can really benefit from an extra year in pre-k (or whatever). My parents held my sisters and I back an extra year (it wasn't calledx redshirting back then, lol ) for various reasons, but my kids will go to school on time. I don't think either choice in right or wrong across the board, though; each choice has to be made on an individual basis.

My baby is a summer baby and if I don't feel she is emotionally ready to start school I will certainly consider it. I won't do it if it isn't absolutely necessary though and certainly not for the reasons you described - I can't imagine how embarrassing and frustrating it would be to be a year behind her peers once she gets a bit older so unless she really, really needs it, Id rather not.

I was redshirted because my parents didn't feel like I was socially ready for school, so they held me back in preschool for an extra year. I don't think it really did anything to help my social skills, to be honest, but I think its a legitimate reason to hold a child back.

As an educator, I'm fairly opposed to doing it for academic or sporting reasons. As far as I can recall in the literature, the academic advantage only holds for a few years and doesn't have an impact on overall performance or college entry and it ends up being inequitable in the ways outlined by previous posters.

LO is nowhere near the cut-off date so its not something we even have to consider, but we discussed it before TTC and both agreed we wouldn't redshirt. DH was one of the youngest in his year and he thrived academically and socially and, frankly, we can't afford the expense of keeping her in Pre-K for an extra year.

I do agree it seems like such a slim thing to hope for...like you want your kid to be so much bigger/stronger on the slim chance that he is so much better that he will, what, get a sports scholarship?

Although I totally understand it....my brother started school young and I do not think it benefited him at all. I'm sure he could have benefited from being redshirted a year.

I always think of redshirting as a football term, though. Five year college students who sit out their first year so they're eligible for another year of play.

I started school at four and never minded being the youngest. But this won't affect Hyla, since the cutoff here is August 1, so she'll be almost six when she starts kindergarten.

Interesting. I believe our school entry goes on calendar year, so my August baby will be center-ish of the pack, but in our district there wouldn't really be an advantage for sports I don't think. I had a friend who was held back in kindergarten and wasn't allowed to play sports in grade 12 because she was too old because they make the teams based on X age by X date for sports, not what grade you're in.

@Cole: our cutoff is MARCH. I was really pissed upon hearing that since my LO's birthday is in April.

I do think people tend to redshirt boys more than girls because of the athletics/size issue. I don't think it would've benefited me to be held back because i was a december baby. I remember there was one girl in grade school who was a year older than the rest of us and she was always self-conscious about it.

I thought this mostly happened with late summer babies or in school districts that have weird cut-offs. Standard cut-off around us is September 1. DS is an early September baby so he will be one of the oldest and start at nearly 6 years old by default. I'm not in love with the idea of him being one of the oldest but I also don't want him to be the youngest either.

I didn't know the practice had a name until HB. I attended school with several children who were held back by their parents in pre-k or kindergarten. From the ones I know whocwere definitely older these kids were among the smarter in the group. One sticks out though because she had a speech delay and that's whycher parents kept her back.

Both my brother and I had late September birthdays and we went to school on time. It only sucked when we were the last among our peers to turn 21 and drink. I remember having to stay onvthe bottom level of a club while my 21 and over friends could go to the top level. They "babysat" me all night.

Academically, I don't think I struggled more or gained for going to school on time. If the litmus test is emotional maturity I think myparents made the right decision. For my own children this is definitely something to consider. The state of our education is so dismal than extra year of prep may not be all bad to hit the ground running for K.

I've never heard of redshirting until I read about it on HB. In Ontario, or, at least in the school district that I grew up in and currently teach in, there is no cutoff at all. Anyone born from January 1-December 31st of the same year goes into school at the same time. I was in the same grade 3 class as someone with a January 1st birthday and December 30th birthday (so, almost a whole year difference) and both did well in school and in life (from what I can tell!).