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Kindergarten redshirt

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MartyMcCy

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2011
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My son has a summer birthday.

Do we; A) send him to kindergarten this year as a youngin' since he would do OK academically, but would always be one of the youngest in school, or B) redshirt him so he can indubitably get all kinds of academic/athletic scholarships and beat up the smaller kids for their lunch money?

I know you fanatics will point me in the right direction.
 
both my brothers (late spring/summer bdays) were held back a year - actually on the advice of a longtime 5th grade teacher who said boys mature slower than girls and he had noticed that the younger boys struggled more especially in the elementary - middle school years.
 
I was a late July birthday and younger than all my peers. I didn't mind it, plus I got into the working world a "year" ahead of time at 21.

I could see advantages to both, but I don't know if one is better than the other.
 
Wait. according to my kindergarten teacher wife it's way better to be older than younger in the young grades.

for me personally, i am a july bday and could drink sooner in college than my peers - so advantage there!
 
As a rule, boys are slower than girls (reading- and writing-ready) and are less ready for school at a younger age. If he were a girl, I would say go ahead. Sometimes, however, boys benefit from an extra year of growth/maturity.

Quick assessment of his current skill-set will tell you if he's ready.

Does he know the alphabet? Numbers? Is he reading or does he like to be read to? How are his verbal skills? Can he concentrate and/or sit still for several minutes at a time? Is he good at following directions? Is he social? Has he been to pre-school and was it a successful experience? Is he "ready for more"?

Remember that parents aren't always the most objective when it comes to assessing their child's readiness. His pre-school or Sunday school teacher , and/or daycare provider could also provide you with some insights. Don't hesitate to ask. That is part of an educator's job.
 
cychosis said:
My son has a summer birthday.

Do we; A) send him to kindergarten this year as a youngin' since he would do OK academically, but would always be one of the youngest in school, or B) redshirt him so he can indubitably get all kinds of academic/athletic scholarships and beat up the smaller kids for their lunch money?

I know you fanatics will point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...

What's the scholarship situation look like for the class of 2026-27? This needs to be known before any decision is made. Maybe talk to Hoiberg? Also does he project as a guard or a big man?
 
We have a girl with a late summer birthday. She is bored in preschool, so she'll go to school right at 5. Her teachers all think that she will have zero problems with it (plus, one year less of daycare fees).

We have a boy due in late-late-late August this summer. We'll see how he is developmentally before making the call for him.

From a gender-only standpoint, it seems to me like there's less of a big deal being the youngest girl in the class than there is being the youngest boy. If a boy is the smallest in the class, it's a bigger deal in sports, etc. Not being able to drive until after all of your friends do is a bigger deal for boys, also. Boys tend to develop emotionally/intellectually later than girls in the very early years of school, too, so redshirting for academic reasons usually makes more sense.
 
I had a July birthday and was the youngest kid in my grade for the most part. I was fine in terms of academic development(I was usually bored) and I didn't struggle athletically. I hit my growth spurt at about 11 though. 2 years of playing little league at 6 feet tall while everyone else was 4'11" was pretty alright.
 
I was a June bday and went. Never felt behind until age 16 and 21. Several in class under me that were older.middle daughter is an August bday and we waited. She was already tall, but now is a ton taller than kids she is going to preschool. She's not challenged in sports at all going against kids a lot smaller than she is. And now the other night I sit down and she reads a book to me. Thinking maybe we should have sent her. I'm most worried about her not getting challenged. Being able to read early only matters in kindergarten until they catch everyone up.
 
Cyclonin said:
I was a late July birthday and younger than all my peers. I didn't mind it, plus I got into the working world a "year" ahead of time at 21.

I could see advantages to both, but I don't know if one is better than the other.
Click to expand...

This is what happened to me as well pretty closely. I did really well but I was a competitive ******* kid.

I do feel like I got a head start on the real world being basically a year ahead.

Sports wise it definitely worked against me. I couldn't put muscle on until I was a sophomore or junior in high school, but I wasn't very athletic anyway.
 
I was sent early (June birthday), because my aunt (who is a teacher) thought I would get bored, and get into trouble later down the line if I was another year older when I started. My folks took her advice. Another consideration was that my brother is only 1.5 years younger than me, and if I was held back we would have been in consecutive grades.

In hindsight I really wish they would have waited a year and sent me to Kindergarten when I was 6. I got bored and into trouble anyway, and at least I would have been bigger and that much smarter than the other kids.

I was the last one to get a driver's license, and then in college, I couldn't go to the bars until senior year, despite almost all of my buddies being eligible junior year.
 
CycloneNorth said:
Wait a year. Sending him early leads to zero advantage.
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Agree.

My mother was a kindergarten teacher for 30 years. She almost always advised sending summer girls and holding back boys. Boys may be fine academically, but socially and maturity wise, they will be behind their classmates. The physical maturity for sports is also nice.

I have a Summer Boy that will start kindergarten this fall as a 6 year old.


My wife and I feel it was an easy and correct decision.
 
Id say it just depends on the child, some would be totally fine in kindergarten after just turning 5, some might not quite be there yet. Their preschool teachers should have a good idea of how they'd do in kindergarten.
 
Angie said:
We have a girl with a late summer birthday. She is bored in preschool, so she'll go to school right at 5. Her teachers all think that she will have zero problems with it (plus, one year less of daycare fees).

We have a boy due in late-late-late August this summer. We'll see how he is developmentally before making the call for him.

From a gender-only standpoint, it seems to me like there's less of a big deal being the youngest girl in the class than there is being the youngest boy. If a boy is the smallest in the class, it's a bigger deal in sports, etc. Not being able to drive until after all of your friends do is a bigger deal for boys, also. Boys tend to develop emotionally/intellectually later than girls in the very early years of school, too, so redshirting for academic reasons usually makes more sense.
Click to expand...

I was always the youngest girl in class, and it was never an issue. I wasn't in public school by the pre-teen years, but I could definitely see the benefits of not being the first girl to hit puberty.....now for boys on the other hand, being one of the last ones to hit your growth spurt? Probably not much fun - especially if they want to be involved in sports. The worst part of being that young actually goes back to Bret's point. I couldn't go out to the bars until senior year, whereas most of my friends where out Jr. year as well.
 
We were in the same boat with my daughter, and will be with my son. Arguments go both ways but the one that stuck with me was "I've never heard anyone regret holding them back" where as there were stories of "I wish I had held them back"

That was the swaying point for us.
 
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