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Claire Zulkey's avatar

This was one of the first hard choices we had to make as parents of an Aug 17 son. I decided *against* holding him back because he is socially outgoing and seemed ready to "play up." And maybe selfishly we were ready for him to start preschool. I usually feel fine about this decision (someone has to be the youngest one in the grade) although about one or twice a year I panic and make sure the teacher thinks he's in the right place (nobody has told me 'no.')

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Annie Karabell's avatar

I appreciate reading your summaries of the research on this topic. However, one piece that I think is left out is that this is not just an individual decision. The way you discuss it here makes it seem like it is purely individual, and this is how I have read about red-shirting in other places as well. But, I'd like to argue that there are real social consequences for red-shirting (in addition to giving your particular kid an advantage -- specifically, an advantage over other children). One social consequence is the broad range of ages and social and emotional development in a given kindergarten class. If the range of ages is now 14-16 months, this makes it even more difficult for teachers to meet the needs (practical needs like zippers and bathrooms as well as SEL and academics) of all kids. It also unfairly changes the expectations for the younger children, especially those who cannot afford to buy extra time at home or in preschool. Another social consequence -- and this seems hard to study! -- is the effect on the younger children who may be left out, confused, or excessively challenged because of the social dynamics of older children and/or the high academic expectations. I'd really like to push us all to think of our broader communities and also to advocate for more consistent cut-offs across districts and states as well as more play and exploration in kindergarten. My child is the youngest in her grade (her birthday is the last day before the cutoff), and some children are 16 months older and the discrepancies are only becoming more apparent.

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