Kindergarten redshirt

As someone who's parents said no to pushing me forward 2-3 grades, I always kind of resented how bored I was. To the point where I learned some very bad study habits and performed way below my ability in terms of GPA. If they're ready send them imo.

This. Also, if you make a decision based on athletics, you have your priorities out of whack.
 
I had this issue, too. My parents wouldn't let them skip me ahead in school, although the school wanted to do it. I was bored during school for the rest of my school career - luckily, I participated in a lot of stuff that kept me busy and read a ton in my off-time to stay challenged, but it's pretty easy to not take that route and to become a troublemaker. And you're right, you NEVER learn to study.
I did 5 homework assignments in high school in 4 years.
 
I did 5 homework assignments in high school in 4 years.

It depends on the kid. Like I said earlier I was a young July b day and never studied in high school and never had to try. Bit me in the *** in college GPA wise as I never learned to study, although I still ended up graduating early.
 
It depends on the kid. Like I said earlier I was a young July b day and never studied in high school and never had to try. Bit me in the *** in college GPA wise as I never learned to study, although I still ended up graduating early.
my college gpa frosh- 2.5 sophomore-3.1 junior- 3.8 senior- 3.85. Definitely a trend as I learned how to be a good student. 10 years later than everyone else haha.
 
I did 5 homework assignments in high school in 4 years.

Exactly. And studying for tests was a non-issue, even "finals" (the watered-down high school facsimile). You just pick up terrible habits when you're not remotely challenged.
 
It depends on the kid. Like I said earlier I was a young July b day and never studied in high school and never had to try. Bit me in the *** in college GPA wise as I never learned to study, although I still ended up graduating early.

You know, I was just thinking - some of these issues might be less of a worry now. When we were in kindergarten, it was all milk cartons, naps, and learning your ABCs. With the new guidelines, kindergartners are expected to know their numbers and letters before coming to school now, be at least pre-reading, and will have homework most weeks. Maybe that isn't a bad thing as far as teaching children who are accelerated how to study effectively.
 
my college gpa frosh- 2.5 sophomore-3.1 junior- 3.8 senior- 3.85. Definitely a trend as I learned how to be a good student. 10 years later than everyone else haha.

Boy, my trend went the other way and I did as I felt I could in high school as well. Just nothing. I'd come in to an Advanced Algebra test as a junior without really ever doing my own work and I'd get an A. I guess I just kind of did the same thing in college. I did go to class but didn't take notes and hardly studied. I don't really know how I did it because looking back I don't think I was just that damn smart. I must have been a good test taker. I always remember being surprised at how well I did.
 
my college gpa frosh- 2.5 sophomore-3.1 junior- 3.8 senior- 3.85. Definitely a trend as I learned how to be a good student. 10 years later than everyone else haha.

I got a year of college done during high school so I basically took half engineering weed out courses and half biochem sophomore level courses my first year along with smashing the rest of my major in in the last two years. I loved the material and I understood it fine, but I never caught on how to get results in classes like Ochem and quantum mechanics. It would've been a little easier if I had some easy electives to start out with I thinhk.

I guess this is digressing a bit.
 
As someone who's parents said no to pushing me forward 2-3 grades, I always kind of resented how bored I was. To the point where I learned some very bad study habits and performed way below my ability in terms of GPA. If they're ready send them imo.

Same boat for me. Never having to concentrate in high school killed me in the first year and a half of college.

We won't make that mistake with our daughter. She's a June birthday. She'll be ready. She'll go early.
 
I was like Rabbuk and Angie. I wasn't held back however but I wasn't challenged whatsoever. They asked me to skip 1st grade and then later 3rd grade. My father said no to both which I think was a semi-good decision. But I gave zero ****s in middle school and high school and to be honest college. Everything is easy to me and still is fairly easy to be honest. But my study habits are near zero. And because I was so bored, I didn't really care about getting to school on time. I was ON TIME to school my Junior year of HS a total of 4 times. 4. I faced the school board for expulsion twice because of it but they just couldn't do it to a kid that had a 3.5+ GPA. I'm a Junior and pretty much have a year to go and I still don't study, ever.

Anyway, to answer your question regarding holding back I have two examples that I know of personally. One was one of my best friends in middle/high school. He was a year older than us (turned 18 before we even ended Junior year) but it was absolutely the best thing for him. He was an average student but that's only because he did 1st grade twice, if he was held back from the beginning it would've been even better.

Second example is my roommates I'm living with now. Two of them have August birthdays (1993) and the one in my grade is actually a few days younger than the guy a grade below us. The one in my grade struggles academically, had/has ADHD, and he's small as hell for our age. The one below us, very successful academically and athletically.

Based on my personal experience, I see no disadvantage to holding them back.
 
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Oh one thing regarding not holding them back. They don't get offended if you ask them about their parents holding them back.

Right after I posted that, the roommate that was held back walked in and I asked him "Do you think it was a good decision that your parents held you back?" he got all offended that I said "holding you back" he claims that they "pushed him forward" at a different time, we argued for 15min over that. So your son might be like that.
 
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.


I'm the same way. June birthday. I wasn't the oldest, but I was toward the top. My parents put me in alternative kindergarten (pre-k) when I was 5. It was nice being able to drive first, get a job first, legally drink first in college. Aside from that, there was no difference. Please don't be like those parents that are sending their kid to kindergarten at the age of 7 and 8, that is way too old. 5 or 6 ought to be the cut off IMO.

EDIT: Fixed for accuracy.
 
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Yeah there are a lot of mothers who are keeping their kids in preschool an extra year lately, even if they aren't that young for their grade. I think it's largely a case of them being overprotective. Quite a few of my sons friends in preschool stayed an extra year for no reason.


As far as getting bored later in school I don't think that has anything to do with how old they started kindergarten. I think a kid who's going to get bored will do that whether they go early or not. Unless they are truly behind in preschool I don't think the academics have that big of an effect.

The biggest thing is socialization in my opinion.
 
Both my dad and Grandpa didn't even go to kindergarten, my grandpa had polio and my dad I can't remember why. They literally just started as 6 year olds in first grade. I always thought that was a little weird.
 
Yeah there are a lot of mothers who are keeping their kids in preschool an extra year lately, even if they aren't that young for their grade. I think it's largely a case of them being overprotective. Quite a few of my sons friends in preschool stayed an extra year for no reason.


As far as getting bored later in school I don't think that has anything to do with how old they started kindergarten. I think a kid who's going to get bored will do that whether they go early or not. Unless they are truly behind in preschool I don't think the academics have that big of an effect.

The biggest thing is socialization in my opinion.

Totally agree withe everything you said. The things you learn in school from around 8th grade to your senior year of high school are all things that are pretty much equal in terms of if your brain can learn them, if that makes sense. (There's got to be a better way to say that)

But socially that is obviously an enormous time where a year could make a big difference.
 
Younger son has a July 30 birthday. We went ahead and sent him because he could already read simple books (**** & Jane type), and could add/subtract 2-digit numbers. I didn't see the point in keeping him back. In retrospect, I believe we made the right choice academically as he was frequently ahead of his class and bored, even though he was the youngest kid in his grade. Socially, however, he might have done better starting later. He spent more time with the kids a grade behind him that he did with his grade.

It's a trade-off. We chose to give more weight to the academic side of the equation.
 
I'll go ahead and admit I was young for my class and really struggled academically pretty much all the ways through high school. Thankfully I sqeaked into ISU and finally started doing well. But no doubt both physically and academically I should have been held back, I have a late June bday.
 
my wife and I have talked about this some and we think Memorial Day is roughly going to be our cutoff date.

May 15th B-Day: start K at 5 and turn 6 at end of school year

June 15th B-Day: start K at 6 and turn 7 in summer before 1st Grade.


Now, our reasoning is that both of us have fall/winter B-Days and we always had B-Days during the school year. We have had friends/brothers with summer B-Days and they all started K when they were 6.
 

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