Starting Kindergarten - Broomfield,CO

My son is in the same position. Here is what I think.
He could be either the youngest boy in class or the oldest.
He can be the biggest boy in sports or the smallest.
He can be the most advanced with his learning or the slowest.
All of that adds up to me sending him when he almost six.
I think it is harder for boys academically to be with their peers. So therefore, I'd rather that he was a little ahead rather than a little behind.

If he is learning rapidly, send him now. I hated waiting that extra year. It actually slowed down my learning drive. If you want to hold him back later thats always an option too.

I have a late summer birthday so I spent all of my school years being on the young side and I always loved it. I never felt inadequate but I didn't struggle academically. Maybe its different for boys but it seems my brother would have had the same issue and I don't recall ever hearing him complain about it.

Did you speak with the preschool teacher? What do they think?

At our daughters daycare, they did a Kindergarten evaluation. It was like a test to see if each child was prepared emotionally, physically and maturity to attend Kinder.

All of the boys in her class were ready. Even the ones that had just turned 5 in August.

Here are some examples of these types of tests.. Only use one.. You do not want to bore your child..

http://www.covenanthome.com/kready.htm

http://www.getreadyforschool.com/kindergartenreadiness.php

Follow your mommy heart and brain, it will really guide you.

I went when I was 4, turned 5 in October. I think I am fine.

More importantly, do some research about the long term effects of being the oldest in the class. If he is ready academically, it is better in the long run to send him. It is not a good academic strategy, especially if he has any undetected learning issues. Children recieve intervention based on grade, not age, so if he has an issue, if he is older he will receive that targeted intervention one year later than he could. It really matters for reading issues, as the window for the most successful reading learning closes between the ages of 8 and 9, so for this reason, being the oldest in the class or a full year older than peers is highly correlated with reading failure. It is a terrible strategy for children with special needs.

Later in high school, being the oldest or a year older than grade is correlated with contact with the juvinile justice system, drug use, and dropping out.

if you want to read about it, you can find several articles at www.wrightslaw.com. This is a site for special education advocacy, but if you scroll down on the left and click on retention, you will find a great deal of general information about why you should send him to school on time.

M.

My son is a mid-August baby and just turned fine. The pre-K screening he had at 4.5 proved he was ready (not one thing wrong...and she tried hard to stump him). But all this screening did was confirm what we already knew. He is as ready as any other kindergartner out there and the things he hasn't mastered yet? Well for pete's sake..! Isn't that what school is for...To learn?!

I think it is so super awesome that parents take advantage of the send-them-when-you feel-like it option. Because that means my child, who is going on the standard timeline has to compete for time and attention and expectations against kids that have almost 2 yrs on him. This situation puts him at a disadvantage in academics and sports and I wish these super kindergartners had their own classroom. Most are a head taller than my child.

let the school test him and see where he's at. my boys both have october birthdays so they enter kindergarten just before turning 6. my oldest went to preschool for 2 years. sometimes he enjoyed it, sometimes he complained that there wasn't enough play time. he scored high at the kindergarten testing, which didn't surprise me because of the 2 years of preschool. my second son will only be going one year to preschool. he didn't seem ready to be away from me last year. (he'll be 5 soon and still takes his bear with him when we leave the house.) but he is already sight reading some and sounding out a lot of words. i think he can count higher than his brother could at this age. he had the benefit of participating in some of his brother's homework last year (as much as he could sit still for), but not a lot. every kid is a little different. you can ask the kindergarten teacher what the testing questions are and do the test at home. maybe that will help you decide. have fun!

I was an early start child (began K at age 4) with an October bday. My mom kept in K for a second year (which put me with my age group) and I'm glad she did. I was academically ready but not physically. Have to say I was happy being one of the oldest in my class.

My son has a September bday and he will start K just before turning 6. He will be one of the oldest in his class. Of course we could try to get an early start for him which would make him one of the youngest. There is no way I will do that. Knowing my son, he would be a behavior problem because he would lack the emotional maturity he would need to be successful in school. He has the academic ability. I say this as a parent and a teacher.

That said, were I in your situation, I would seriously consider waiting a year. I know a few other teachers/prinicpals who have kept their July and August bday children out of K even thought they were 5 - deciding to wait a year. It does depend on your son - where is he developmentally? Socially? I teach upper elementary and the boys I've had with July/August bdays have been fine academically - average students - but usually have had more behavior issues in the classroom (off task, silliness more appropriate to the grade below ours, social problems). Talk to his preschool teachers. Think about if you can afford to pay for the extra year of preschool (I know that is why some kids who should stay home can't).

Good luck. It is a very difficult decision. You could also talk to the K teachers at the elementary school and hear their thoughts.

To respond to another post - Waiting to start (or delay starting) elementary school is not the same as retention. Yes, retention does show problems in school later. Delayed start especially when on the cusp is another story altogether.

Monica, thank you for your story. Nicely stated.

My son was in the same situation. (his birthday was 2 weeks before the cut off) I decided to put him into kindergarten. He has done great academically & socially. If your son is already in preschool I think he will do wonderful adapting to kindergarten. The thing they worry about the most is the social aspect of being in a class and away from Mom at that age. It sounds like your son has already overcome that. Every child is different but it sounds like your son is ready! I am glad I made the decision to put him in when I did.

My daughter's birthday is a week after the cut off date, making her the oldest in her class. I don't mind as she is small and there's a lot of research to support that older kids generally are more mature/settled and tend to have an advantage. That said, it depends on the child and each child is an individual, not a statistic - we probably all know kids who are younger in their classes who still do very well. So if your son is doing well already at pre-school, he may be ready for the new challenges of kindergarten. It really is about what feels appropriate for him and his maturity level.

I don't have a similar situation except, I turned 5 right before the school year and did just fine. Personally I think we have to stop playing games with children. Many children have gone through being the youngest or the oldest and turned out just right. Having your child being the oldest and possible biggest can be just as bad/good as being the youngest and the smallest. Even though research shows on average what might happens in those situations none on those studies can say what will happen to your child.
Your child , though similar to other boys and girls his age, is still unique. Look at him as an individual, is he ready academically, is he ready emotionally, what are his social skills?

People hold back their kids for all sorts of reason, from sports to academics, wanting to give them that edge. I would not hold back my child so that he can be the biggest and the best in sports. I would send him to school as long as his attention span can manage the classroom. If we keep trying to perfect each child around some random cut off dates, we might have them entering kindergarten at 10. Isn't school a place to learn.

I know many will disagree with me on this , don't get me wrong, I am not one for pushing my 2 yr old to read when he is not ready but I also believe
we need to be careful not to hold children back for the wrong reasons.

I wish the schools had a better system but they dont. Do what is best for your child.

Best of luck.

We had the same dilemma two years ago. We took our son in to meet his future kindergarten teacher. They talked and played for a while and she said he was ready. He is one of the youngest but at the end of first grade is near the top of his class academically. Of course every child is different. See if you can meet with the person that would be his teacher and see what that person thinks. Or maybe the school guidance counselor. Good luck!

Hi,
We went through this last year with our daughter too. She turned 5 4 days before the cut off. We talked to her doctor and made the decision to send her to K last year. Midway through the year I had some misgivings about sending her and wished we had waited another year. I think academically she was ready however not socially and emotionally. They say girls tend to mature fast than boys too. Talk to your child's doctor if you are on the fence. My suggestion and only you know your child, if you are on the fence keep him back a year, send him next year! Good luck!

These days it seems Kinder is much harder for kids. It's not learning ABCs, it what used to be first grade. So, part of it depends on the student and the other part the school/teacher. Also, if he goes in now, be prepared and okay with holding him back. (I spoke to a K teacher when looking at schools in my area and she said she gave kids 3 hours of homework!!! My son could barely do 10 minutes in pre-K).

Oh this drives me crazy, lol. If he is old enough and wants to go, I say let him. My son started kindergarten at 4 years old. He turned 5 at the end of October. He will be entering 3rd grade this year at 7 years old. There will also be children entering at 9 years old. He has struggled some with school, but no more then some of the older children. I get upset with the parents who intentionally hold their children back with out giving them the chance to try. I was one of the youngest too. I graduated college before I was old enough to go into a bar. I was fine, I excelled when I needed to and hung low when I didn't. It has nothing to do with a number, Children who are socially behind benefit from kindergarten. He may not be the fastest runner in gym class, but he will catch up. I say let him give it shot :)

My oldest son has an August birthday and we went ahead and put him in. I had read all the studies that boys do better if they wait a year, but I have not regretted putting him in. Only you know your son and if he is ready. My son had 2 years of preschool and seemed to be at the same level as the other kids going into kindergarten. You could always call your school and see if they have a pre kindergarten assesment that you could give your son to see if he is ready. I would say to also look at his social skills and temperment because I have heard from other parents that this has been a big issue for their children even if they were academically ready you also want them socially ready. My nephew they held back until he was 6 because of his lack of interest in school and he did much better when he started than they think he would otherwise.

My son is now entering jr. high and is still doing fine in school and seems to have plenty of friends. He did have some social anxiety around 4th grade. I don't know if this was related to him being younger or not, but he has moved passed it and still does well in school.

Hope this helps, good luck with your decision.

I say - Put him in!! If he already went to Preschool and did well- why not! Kindergarten is just an extension of preschool!! and kids are Sponges at that age- none of them really care whose older than who!! Best of luck!

I am a middle school teacher and 90% of the time I can tell which boys are the youngest in the class. I think they need to change the requirements for kindergarten and start all boys when they are six. They need more time to play, get dirty and just be boys before being thrown into a "woman teacher" environment that is designed for girls. My son turned 6 in May and is just starting K this year. I am so glad for my decision, he wasn't ready last year to be asked to sit still, follow directions and churn out paperwork.

I think that I would hold him out another year. I know he is doing great academically but I think that the extra maturity when he graduates would be a benefit for him.

Your son MIGHT do perfectly well. But it wouldn't hurt him if you were to give him the privilege of another year of preschool and let him wait until next year for the big K jump.

The matter is not one of academic readiness. It's not unusual for a younger-than-everybody-else child to be fine academically but fall behind socially as an older child and teenager - for no other reason than those few months. I think that's what happened to me as a teen.

My younger son has a September 3 birth date so he could easily have started Kindergarten just before his fifth birthday. We opted to give him another year of preschool so he would be the oldest child in his kindergarten class instead of the youngest one. I've never regretted that decision.

What a great question!! I have been dealing with the same issue, only with my daughter. My sister is a elementary school teacher and she tells me all the time that waiting is the best. But I question it because my daughter is the size of all her older friends and it makes me wonder if she will tower over all the kids her own age.

Like most other people stated you know your child the best. A great recommendation would be calling the kindergarten teaching where he will be going to school and ask them their opinion and maybe they could test him.

Either way I wish you the best.

I say keep him out. Boys mature slowly and so you may not see problems now, but later on he may not be able to handle it. I used to teach 4th grade and I could tell just by attitude which were my youngest boys and which were my oldest boys. The youngest could not handle the "pressures" of 4th grade whereas the older boys achieved more and could handle it.
My son turned 5 at the cutoff and we chose to have him wait a year, and it has been very good to have him on the older side of the class. Saying this, you can always try and see how it goes, and if it doesn't work out either pull him and try again next year, or repeat kindergarten. It's always better to repeat early than to later.

My son is a fall b-day so he is one of the oldest now going into second grade. I am SOOO glad he is in this position and that I didn't have to make the decision that faces you. I could pick out, just from helping out in the classroom, most of the oldest and most of the youngest just from their behavior. I'm not saying they are being naughty. Most of the older ones just really do seem more mature and ready to sit, listen and learn. That being said, there definitely are exceptions to that rule in his class and your son may be an exception. You could always try preschool again and just play it by ear and see if he needs to jump ahead. He sounds like he is a smart little guy and could be very flexible. Why not put him in a situation where he doesn't need grow to "catch up". Give him an edge early on.

I, on the other hand, was the youngest all the way through school. I did fine with my grades and sports and friends, but emotionally, I think I could have used another year with Mom. I'm no expert, but just wanted to toss in my experience on both sides.

Good luck with your choice!

It all depends on the kid. I say if the preschool teachers think he is ready and you do he is ready. I was the youngest in my class and didn't care too much. i loved school the whole way through. My sister was also the youngest (b-day on the deadline) and she was fine too. I say the only reason to hold back a kid is if you can definatly tell they are not ready to learn academically or that they are not quite ready socially.

My friends had a son miss the cut of by 2 weeks and they could have sent him to private kindergarten, but they held him back. It seemed to work well for him. I am not sure I would have done it, because her son was ready, but it was their decision. My kids are all spring babies, so they are on the younger end, but still not the youngest. I think with all of mine I would start them on time, just because of the people they are. They are all advanced academically and they are all social butterflies...so I think it would be okay for mine. But not for all. Don't rush him in just because he is old enough. I was always jealous of the older kids in my class because they could do everything before me (namely diving!!).

My son just turned 5 as well. We are putting him in kindergarten. He is academically ready for it, he played well with all the kids that will be in kindergarten this year, so I'm sure he is ready to go.
For me, the question is "Why delay his academic progress because of when his birthday is?"
I know I had the opportunity to skip 1st grade and my mom declined for me. I still wish she had chosen to let me skip a grade because I was eternally ahead of my peers and bored in school.
But that is my son and me. You know your child best. Is he excited for school? Does he want to go? Do you think he's emotionally ready for it? Let your momma instincts take charge and follow them.

If he's old enough then send him. He will be with kids his own age and when he plays sports and does other activities in the community that are age based then he will be with the kids in his class and not with the kids in the class above him all the time. It's very hard for kids to try and fit into 2 groups as a child.

For example, say he goes to Kindergarten next year. All his Kindergarten friends and he join the local Soccer club. Due to him being a year older than his classmates he will be put up into the next age group and he won't even play against his classmates or be on the same team. He'll be in the next age group up. That will make him have to make a whole new set of friends in the soccer club who are in first grade while he's in Kindergarten and he'll feel like he was held back a year. Plus he'll be 19 when he's a senior, he can legally drop out of high school the day he turns 18, in his junior year.

I say send him to Kindergarten. There will be other kids in the same situation. The highest birth month is September due to everyone getting....."merry and happy" at Christmas and New Years.

My son just missed the cut off...he just started Kinder this year at almost 6...it was the BEST thing for him to have another year at home with me.

I am so glad he is going in more mature and socially stable.

I don't think you will regret holding him back, but you might regret starting him too soon.

There are a lot of factors to consider & no one knows your son like you do. But really pay attention to the concerns brought up in the other posts and don't just pass them off as "that won't happen to me - we're different" unless you've given them some truly honest consideration first. I agree that most of the time, especially with boys, it is best for them to be oldest. That being said, how is his social development? Is he tall for his age? That could make a difference - but unless he is seriously OFF THE CHARTS for both, I would keep him home for another year.

I was also the youngest in my class and did great academically but really suffered socially. I promise you that the social problems created life-long difficulties and issues for me - even though I was pretty well-adjusted socially by Jr. High. Waiting for the academics would not have had that kind of long-term effect on my life. I guess I'm saying that being academically ready should be the last consideration on the list - miles behind social readiness.

Most charter schools have what's called a Young 5s program ... my son starts at one in September National Heritage (I think) is the parent company and they have schools in Colorado too. Good luck!

This is very child dependent. His preschool teachers should be able to help you assess what's best, if "going with your gut" on this isn't giving you an answer.

Hi--
I was the youngest in my class. Academically I did great, socially it hurt me.

My son is a July birthday and we had the same discussion with his pediatrician. She said that no one has ever said they wished they had put their child in early after putting them in late....but lots of parents had problems with putting them in early instead of late. So my thought--give him another year of pre-school. You don't want him to be the youngest one, and the smallest one, when he hits middle school. We held our son back.

J.

If you feel your child is ready then send him to K when he turns 5. Age doesn't matter, being ready for school does. You are the parents, do what you think is best for your son. I have a late August birthday and did fine stating K a few days after turning 5. Good luck with your decision!

My sis-in-law has taught school for a long time. She said that with boys it is harder because they're not emotionally as mature as girls. She said that 3rd grade seemed to be the turning point. Boys who were youngest, but academically really smart, did great in K-2nd. But, at 3rd grade you could really start to see a division. The youngest boys weren't able to handle the pressures of 3rd grade a readily as the older ones.

My son is an end of August Birthday. I plan on keeping him in preschool for 2 years and sending him to K right after he turns 6. I was also one of those kids. My parents chose to keep me in preschool for an extra year. I am REALLY glad that they did. I was able to drive my soph. year as opposed to waiting until my junior year, which turned out to be a really big deal with all my friends. In the end, you have to do what is best for your child. If you do decide to put him in K now, remember that you can hold him back a year later on, but that might be worse, since all of his friends will then be a grade ahead of him. Good luck with your decision!

We just went through this with our daughter. She is four, but meets the cutoff date for our school district and will be five before Oct 15th. After talking with her preschool teachers last year, they all felt she was ready for Kindergarten; thus far we have had no issues and she seems to be adapting very well socially and academically. I initially had some reservations on sending her since she would be a year younger than everyone else, but it was either send her or have to keep her home with me for a year (since we can't afford private preschool or pre-k and she wouldn't qualify for the head start program again since she met the cutoff for school). I felt that keeping her home after having her in preschool and getting her used to that environment would have been a step backwards for her so we opted to send her.

I admit I didn't read all the responses but the couple I did, I may be the odd man out.

Our son's birthday is August 29th. For the state of KS the cut off date is September 1st, but in the school district we were in it was August 31s. We started our son. Yes, technically he was just 4 years old for about a week at school before his birthday. He will be 20 now this month and did just fine. He was absolutely socially, academically and athletically appropriate. As a parent, I can tell you with all sincerity that the ONLY time it was an issue was when all the buds were driving before he was!
My husband's birthday is September 11th and in the state of Ohio at that time he could start and did just fine as well.

Our daughter was born 4 years later and her birthday is October 1st, so she kinda has the double whammy of being a girl who matures faster anyway AND one of the oldest in the class. While we are fortunate that she is in a private school where she is challenged, I can just see the difference between her and some of her female classmates in maturity. Some of them are still into the Jonas Brothers and Justin Beiber and goo goo ga ga over the vampire guys (no clue) but she is way past that.
I did contact our district offices at the time to see if she could take some sort of an assessment because she was SO ready for kindergarten and I was told flat out NO! Her birthday was not by September 1st, end of discussion.

Bottom line is you know your son. Do what is right for you and your family and don't look back.

Good Luck

I'm an elem teacher and i can tell u that many younger students tend to be the ones lagging behind their peers in reading , math, and social skills.

I will have the same problem with my twins in a few years, so I have been really looking into this. This morning on The Today Show they had a story about boys that are the youngest in their class sometimes get misdiagnosed with ADHD just because they are not as mature as the other boys. It was really interesting. I suggest you look it up. What I keep hearing over and over is that academically they may be fine it is the maturity thing that is the problem. Good luck with your decision I know it is not an easy one!!!!

We are in the same situation here. My son turns 5 in early Sept. We are waiting to start him so he will have 3 years in preschool and be almost 6 when he starts kindy. I am an elem school teacher and think this will be best. I was the youngest in my class and didn't like it. Everyone could drive way before I could. My aunt said something that really made the decision easy which was, "You don't want to send a 17 year old away to college." Eeks! No kidding! So we are waiting.

Morning!
I actually put my son into Kindergarten this morning. :) He will be six August 24th so he will be one of the oldest in his grade.

I work with college coaches (NCAA, NAIA, JUCO) in helping them recruit baseball, basketball and softball athletes that attend events my company runs and one of the main points that ALL coaches agree on (especially with boys) is to start them later in school. Academically, socially and physically they need that extra time to develop.

I also have several friends and family that are teachers and agree with this opinion.

As I just put my son in today I cannot tell you the overrall personal outcome we will have, however I can already tell you that he was very ready to go into Kindergarten and excited compared to some younger children who were dreading it.

I feel secure in my decision of putting my son in later just seeing the difference in how he acted at age (almost) 5 to (almost) 6. Plus, I have spoken with people from all different walks of life that currently are involved with young adults in college OR elementary-highschool kids and it seems to be the overwhelming opionion.

Hope this helps! Good luck on your decision and take care.

Research that I've read shows that especially boys do better the longer they can stay home under the nurturing care of parents. After all, who cares about him more than you? You are going to be able to know him even better having him home all day for another year and can continue to teach him kindness, empathy, and thinking of others first. When he's a little older in school, he will be more equipped to be a leader in his class.

Good luck with your decision. It is a hard one. Do what is best for him!

K.,

As a mom with summer birthday boys and as a 29 year middle level educator, my advice is give him the extra year. I held two of my boys back until they were 6 in spite of the fact that they were reading fluently before they hit kindergarten, On the third we started him as the youngest in his class.
Academically I don't think it made a difference, but in maturity, judgement and good decision making it was huge. Our older two made it through the teen years with just a few bumps and issues. Our third has had a very difficult time with risky behavior and poor judgement. I wish I could go back and have a do over on that kindergarten year for him. Being the youngest among his peers was disasterous for him.
Bear in mind that all boys mature more slowly than girls of the same age. Give him the time to grow up before plungeing him into the peer level shark tank.
Good luck,
E.

I was born 2 days after the cutoff date. I loved preschool, could already read and was dying to go to "real" school. My parents got me into kindergarten as the youngest person in the class. Academically I did fine but I guess emotionally I just wasn't up to it and I was held back at my parent's request in 2nd grade. I don't know what the problem was exactly. My youngest son will be one of the youngest kids in his class and we will have to wait and see where he's at when he gets to that age before I make the decision. I guess in your case, I would probably just go ahead and put him in kindergarten since he is officially the correct age and he seems to be doing fine in all areas. You can always keep him back in kindergarten again if he seems to have problems with it.

I am in the exact situation. My sister brought up the point that it could boost my son's confidence and put him in a leadership role if I wait and he be the oldest. If he's the youngest he could be subject to inferiority. My son is very bright academically but not so much socially.. it really is a tough decision but we finally decided.. Preschool for one more year.