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Probably not. I wasn't held back (November birthday) and did Ok. My brother is a Sept birthday and he did great.

Here in North Carolina, if you are born after a certain date in August, you do get held back a year so no child starts Kindergarten before they are 5.

I think it just depends on the kid. If I felt he was ready, I'd have him go.

No. Not unless the child had developmental problems.

If school is easy for him, he's more likely end up upset with you for holding him back - for not trusting him and his abilities - than he would be for facing and overcoming challenges in Kindergarten because you took the normal course of action. My brother started school a year early (in England - was in the states for 1st grade), and it was never a problem. Basically, unless he has known problems, he can probably deal just fine with being on the young side.

I don't think I would. My husband was sent to Primer in between kindergarten and first grade and it wasn't really necessary for him.

I think the cutoff here is September 1 as well. At least it was in my home state.

You could always try it and then have him repeat Kindergarten if necessary. My brother did it twice, so he ended up being one of the oldest in his class (instead of the youngest) and it didn't affect him at all. I would probably have him go and then work with the teachers to determine if having him repeat after is the best option or not. That way he has the opportunity to continue on if he's ready.

I have a December birthday but my parents did not plan on holding me back. But then we moved to a state with a Sept. 1 cutoff right before I was to start kindergarten so I got held back. I ended up being super bored in school because I was very smart for my age, and after third grade when they switched me to Catholic school I skipped ahead a year and was much more challenged academically. Our first baby will have a June birthday so I won't have to deal with this, but if we have future children with birthdays close to the cutoff we'll evaluate them based on their emotional and intellectual maturity.

@venice4504: I took it that way too. Maybe phrasing it as "if school turns out to be easy for him" would've been clearer.

@mediagirl: That's what I was about to say. I'm in NC too. As a teacher, honestly it depends on the child so its hard to say.

It just changed to August 31st in the past 5 years. It used to be October 15th. I'm a September baby, so I was always one of the youngest, but I was fine.

Where I grew up (Indiana), the cutoff was May 31st. With an April 27th birthday, I was always one of the youngest in my class and it wasn't a big deal. I also always found school to be really easy and probably would have been bored senseless if I'd been held back another year.

I don't think I would hold my child back unless there was a very specific reason that they were not ready (not just that they would be one of the younger kids in their class).

I've been a junior kindergarten teacher 3 times. I would say to wait to decide until that time. I have seen advanced December kids and December kids who would have benefitted from holding-back. (Once they are in school it is too late because it's way weirder to move them back from their friends after they are there).
I would say: see if your child knows the letters and the letter sounds. If he/she doesn't know any, hold them back. Can he/she begin to write his/her name? If not, hold back. Try out some preschool situations and see if your child is interested in following along with the group and listening to the teacher (rather than wandering off). This is also an indication, so hold them back if they aren't willing to participate in group activities.

As a teacher, the 'December' factor is huge. We primary teachers always talk about the percentage of 'late birthday' kids in each given class and note what a difference it makes. Hey, maybe that is something to look at too: ask about the other birthday months in the class.

Ironically, my daughter was born on Sept 1st (GA's cut off date) If she hadn't made it, I wouldn't hold her back.

I don't think I'd hold our LO back. Especially if I thought s/he was ready.

I was raised in Florida with a cut off date of Sept 1st and was always one of the youngest in my class. My birthday is August 7th. I had friends that moved down from NY that ended up in my grade and were slightly younger than me because of the NY cut off. All of us did well academically. My husband is originally from NY and was held back a year. His birthday is Nov and his parents held him back because they thought it would be harder for him to be one of the younger kids in his class. As a result he ended up bored in school and eventually more mature than several of his (younger) friends. Even now as an adult, many of his friends are at least a year younger and just in such a different place in their lives that it has been hard for him to form/keep lasting relationships.

@cvbee: Thanks for the clarification. Times sure have changed! When I was in school (specifically Kindergarten), it wasn't a big deal at all to repeat the grade. Lots of kids did it. It becomes more of an issue in later grades, but generally no one noticed or cared if you did Kindergarten twice.

A lot would depend on my child, if they seemed "ready" or whatever that means. But I had an August birthday, and was slightly behind all my classmates. My parents considered waiting a year -- my teachers even threatened to hold me back (haha... I had issues listening and not talking and stuff). But if that had happened, I would have been slightly ahead of everybody, and I think that would have been a detriment to me. I was ready, and I did well. But I went into a special Spanish immersion program and had to test into it, so they had a clear indication that I was ready cognitively.

Our LO was just born in December. I wouldn't want to hold her back a year, unless she really, really wasn't ready.

I wouldn't. I (August baby) was put in first grade instead of second grade when I first came from Korea (Korea's school year starts in March and ends in Dec.) I had completed a semester of first grade in Korea and completed a full year when we first came over. While I didn't mind being the one who excelled in math and other topics, I always hated being one of the oldest. I would've much preferred being in the 2001 class, instead of 2002... that half a year always made me feel like I was a step behind those who were my age (or even younger!)

I guess I'm sort of the odd one. I THINK I would hold them back. I don't see why it would hurt them to be held back. I had a late birthday. A younger child would be less developed in middle school, which could intensify the "Am I normal?" questions. They would be the last to get a driver's license. They would be the last to turn 18 and the last to turn 21 in their senior year of college.
I reserve the right to change my mind when I AM a parent though!!