This month my recently-turned four year old daughter started her second year of Preschool. My husband and I made a very conscious decision to raise our children in this particular community so they can be taught in this district; in 2010 Manhattan Beach Unified School District ranked # 3 in the state and received a API score of 926!
Recently, while at a play date, another mother asked me if I was going have my daughter wait an extra year before starting kindergarten. I almost took it as an insult, assuming she was suggesting my daughter was not ready or mature enough to handle kindergarten at five years old. However, she explained that postponing the start of kindergarten is what all of the parents are now doing to help their little ones avoid falling behind by being the youngest. The idea is that having an extra year to mature helps with future test scores of the students and the district as a whole. Well, it seemed a bit of a stretch at first. In fact, I thought maybe this mom was referring more towards boys who some say have a slower maturity level, and not specifically my little girl.
So, I started asking her teacher and just about every mom of older children I knew. Sure enough, the parents are choosing to “Redshirt” their children by holding them back a year. Originally this term referred to college age athletes’ to defer 1 year of participation in sports to prolong their eligibility. Well, now parents are using this same approach towards their child’s educational career.
Call it perfect timing since this has become my latest parent-obsessive concern. I just read a related article in the New York Times, “Delaying Kindergarten at Your Child’s Peril”, written by Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt, two neuroscientists and authors of “Welcome to Your Child’s Brain: How the Mind Grows From Conception to College.” Just as I started to become convinced by so many stories I’ve heard of other mothers in this community to wait an extra year before Kindergarten, I read this article which has made me question the latest redshirting trend.
Basically, Wang and Aamodt believe that learning is maximized by not getting all the correct answers, but by learning from your own mistakes. I couldn’t agree more. The more exposure of education a child has, the better prepared they are. So, just because you prolong the start of kindergarten doesn’t mean your child will be at the desired level or ahead of his/her peers.
I know many parents whose reasoning for the delay is so their child won’t be the youngest in the class. They fear that it will set their child up for struggling to keep up with their older classmates, and that they are not ready to sit and follow directions for a paper-and-pencil-type curriculum. However, Wang and Aamodt say that surrounding your child with influences of peers the same age or older is actually more beneficial.
California is 1 in four states in the U.S. who has a cutoff date later than December 1st. Currently, our cutoff date is December 2nd, but it will move up to September 1st in 2014.
I really started to believe I was set on holding my daughter back so she wouldn’t be the youngest in her class, since she has and August birthday. However, I’m not completely sure that is best specifically for my daughter. Being a parent means every decision I make for her affects her path for success. I know my Hubs and I have a year to figure this out, but it’s a big decision that will ultimately affect her overall educational career and I am really starting to feel the pressure. Have you already been through Kindergarten and beyond? Do you agree with “redshirting?”
About Kristal
Kristal – this is something I've struggled with since I moved back to Arizona. Arizona has a August 31 cut off. My brother and I with September birthdays were not affected because we started school in California. But we both flourished being the youngest in our classes. We were in the top 3% of our class all 4 years of high school and received academic college scholarships. Now with Ryleigh having a late October birthday I worried about her being the OLDEST in her class. She's always been around older peers and I worried what influence younger peers would have on her. In her daycare class of 2 year olds, she thrived for the first 4 months. But this past spring, we noticed she'd forget things she once knew (colors, counting, etc.) and took a step back toward baby-ish behavior. Come to find out that a huge group of her class had graduated to the 3 year old class and she was left with all these newly 2s who were not as advanced as she was. All summer we struggled and fought to get her to move up to the 3's class whenever possible, and when she did she was a completely different child – inquisitive and outgoing compared to annoying and defiant when she stayed in her 2's class. It was obvious she was bored and not challenged. This solidified my determination to get her into a charter school that will take her when she's 4 about to turn 5. By this point she will have been in preschool for 2 years. I can't imagine the need for 3 years of preschool. I feel like 6 is late to be starting Kindergarten. But I also think that education should be based on the child, not on the age. This is why I'm content with the charter school testing my child for placement. If they deem her not ready for the curriculum, then so be it. Some kids are ready at 5, others need until 6. Personally, I could never willingly hold my kid back so that they can be bigger for football, or do better on tests. Already at *almost* 3 I can see the behavioral problems associated with being bored in class. I can't imagine what that could transcend into 10 years from now.
I think it's an awful idea, why hold your childs life back a year?
Hi Julie!Thank you so much for sharing your story. I agree with you that it depends on the child. I know my daughter and I feel confident we will make the right decision but of course as a parent you have to look into every option. Until this year, I wasnt aware of how many parents consider this! It's surprising. I appreciate your advice and best of luck with Ryleigh