Kindergarten 'Redshirting': A Leg Up or an Unfair Advantage?
August is flying by. All too soon a new school year will begin, and with it will come the same mixed feelings and buzz of energy that surrounded the end of the school year. Besides the traditional anxieties of getting to the bus stop on time and remembering to pack a healthy lunch, for many parents of kindergarten-age students, there is another anxiety, this one with much higher stakes than being tardy on the first day of school: When should you enroll your child in kindergarten?
When we were kids, most US children started school at 5 years old. It's a much bigger decision now, with controversy and even politics on both sides of the issue.
I followed the old rule and kept it simple. I enrolled my son in kindergarten for one reason: He was 5 years old, and being five meant going to kindergarten. He started school two days after his late August birthday in 2009. To me, it was a no-brainer. From the start, there were good signs: In the first week of kindergarten he met his (still) best friend, and their birthdays are less than a week apart! They were instant buddies.
But the naïve bubble in which I was living soon burst.
Their birthdays are within a week of each other, in two different years. His newfound chum was an entire year older than him and there were kids in his class who were nearly 18 months older than him (At age five, that's almost a third of your life older!) Evidently, it was not as simple as I thought.
How much did you (or do you) think about when to start your son or daughter in kindergarten? Is your child one of the youngest or the oldest in the class? Have you heard the term redshirting?
Redshirting, a term borrowed from sports, refers to the practice of postponing entry into school with the intention of giving a child a maturational advantage (or a "leg-up" as Morley Safer reported in a March broadcast of CBS’s 60 Minutes).
There are many perspectives on the issue. Some parents have the "luxury" of agonizing over the issue of when their child should start school. Others do not have that advantage. It is often not a choice for parents on tight budgets, who are more likely to start their children as early as possible to eliminate child-care costs. And, sadly, many of those kids begin school less prepared than those from more affluent households because they did not have the opportunity to engage in all of the kindergarten readiness "extras."
Schools have an opinion on this as well. Holding kids back might help with standardized test scores, which have mattered dramatically since the No Child Left Behind legislation was enacted. That is the primary political issue related to redshirting.
There are "experts" on both sides of the issue. Some advise starting your child early because they are ready to learn, are advanced beyond the preschool curriculum, and may be bored if they wait to begin school. Others endorse starting your child late because they will have an academic advantage, will be among the bigger kids in their class (more relevant to decisions about boys’ entry age), will have more developed social skills, and will be better athletes and leaders.
I am first an advocate of starting your child "on time" at age 5. If, for some good reason, that doesn’t work, I am an advocate of the in-between, "know your child" rule. To expect that the reasons to start or not start a child in kindergarten at a certain age will result in some predictable list of outcomes is likely unrealistic. Yes, some who start late will be at the top of the class and some will be at the bottom; some will be more behaviorally mature and some will not; some will be star athletes and some will not. Similarly, among those who start on time, some will thrive in various areas and some will not.
To make a decision when your child is 4 years old because of some expectations for the child (the best college, the best athlete) may not be the best approach and can lead to unfulfilled expectations for the child and disappointment for the parent. The law of averages would suggest that it all washes out in the end. In fact, by third or fourth grade, some researchers have demonstrated that many of the early differences wash out.
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, contributed to the controversy, but ironically, Gladwell later stated in an interview, "Will we look back and say, what were we thinking?"
Confused? Or, just curious? Consider the following:
Are we too concerned with what we think our children should be? Or is that our job? What are the advantages or disadvantages of starting "on time"…of starting later? Specifically, do you think starting "on time" puts kids at a disadvantage if they are grouped with kids who are starting significantly later?
When we were kids, most US children started school at 5 years old. It's a much bigger decision now, with controversy and even politics on both sides of the issue.
I followed the old rule and kept it simple. I enrolled my son in kindergarten for one reason: He was 5 years old, and being five meant going to kindergarten. He started school two days after his late August birthday in 2009. To me, it was a no-brainer. From the start, there were good signs: In the first week of kindergarten he met his (still) best friend, and their birthdays are less than a week apart! They were instant buddies.
But the naïve bubble in which I was living soon burst.
Their birthdays are within a week of each other, in two different years. His newfound chum was an entire year older than him and there were kids in his class who were nearly 18 months older than him (At age five, that's almost a third of your life older!) Evidently, it was not as simple as I thought.
How much did you (or do you) think about when to start your son or daughter in kindergarten? Is your child one of the youngest or the oldest in the class? Have you heard the term redshirting?
Redshirting, a term borrowed from sports, refers to the practice of postponing entry into school with the intention of giving a child a maturational advantage (or a "leg-up" as Morley Safer reported in a March broadcast of CBS’s 60 Minutes).
There are many perspectives on the issue. Some parents have the "luxury" of agonizing over the issue of when their child should start school. Others do not have that advantage. It is often not a choice for parents on tight budgets, who are more likely to start their children as early as possible to eliminate child-care costs. And, sadly, many of those kids begin school less prepared than those from more affluent households because they did not have the opportunity to engage in all of the kindergarten readiness "extras."
Schools have an opinion on this as well. Holding kids back might help with standardized test scores, which have mattered dramatically since the No Child Left Behind legislation was enacted. That is the primary political issue related to redshirting.
There are "experts" on both sides of the issue. Some advise starting your child early because they are ready to learn, are advanced beyond the preschool curriculum, and may be bored if they wait to begin school. Others endorse starting your child late because they will have an academic advantage, will be among the bigger kids in their class (more relevant to decisions about boys’ entry age), will have more developed social skills, and will be better athletes and leaders.
I am first an advocate of starting your child "on time" at age 5. If, for some good reason, that doesn’t work, I am an advocate of the in-between, "know your child" rule. To expect that the reasons to start or not start a child in kindergarten at a certain age will result in some predictable list of outcomes is likely unrealistic. Yes, some who start late will be at the top of the class and some will be at the bottom; some will be more behaviorally mature and some will not; some will be star athletes and some will not. Similarly, among those who start on time, some will thrive in various areas and some will not.
To make a decision when your child is 4 years old because of some expectations for the child (the best college, the best athlete) may not be the best approach and can lead to unfulfilled expectations for the child and disappointment for the parent. The law of averages would suggest that it all washes out in the end. In fact, by third or fourth grade, some researchers have demonstrated that many of the early differences wash out.
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, contributed to the controversy, but ironically, Gladwell later stated in an interview, "Will we look back and say, what were we thinking?"
Confused? Or, just curious? Consider the following:
- Socially: How does your child interact with other kids?
- Academically/Cognitively: Does your child have the basics of letter recognition, colors, and shapes? Look into your school district’s kindergarten curriculum and ask questions. Also, look into state and local laws that govern the age range for beginning kindergarten—some do exist.
- Emotionally: Can your child emotionally handle kindergarten? Is kindergarten half day or full day? If a full day is required, is your child ready for a seven-hour school day? What is his or her preschool experience—some, none, multiple years?
- Physically: One concern of parents who start their kids on the earlier end of the spectrum is that their kids (especially boys) will be among the smallest. Are there any physical considerations that you need to take into account?
Are we too concerned with what we think our children should be? Or is that our job? What are the advantages or disadvantages of starting "on time"…of starting later? Specifically, do you think starting "on time" puts kids at a disadvantage if they are grouped with kids who are starting significantly later?
Michelle Stroffolino Schmidt is Chairperson of the Department of Psychology at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on social and emotional development in childhood and adolescence. She has published research on parent-child attachment, friendship, peer relations, bullying, and mentoring. She has also done consulting work with schools as part of their bullying prevention and intervention programs. Michelle recently published the book Friendships in Childhood and Adolescence (Guilford Press), which explores the significance of friendship from toddlerhood through adolescence. The book examines factors that contribute to positive friendships, how positive friendships influence children’s lives, and interventions for those who have friendship difficulties. Michelle is the mother of a 7-year-old son, William, and a 2-year-old bulldog named Eve. She enjoys yoga, kayaking, writing, and cooking.
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Comments
- 2/28/2013 4:29:10 AM
When my son was four years old, he attended a local preschool and his teacher reported to us that he regularly ran games for his classmates and was generally comfortable in a "teacher's assistant" role. Since he had read at 2 1/2 and was strong academically (along with the maturity factor) we had him tested to skip kindergarten. He scored well above the threshold for early admittance and the school psychologist who tested him was completely comfortable recommending that we (his parents) make the decision. We decided to enroll him early and it was the right thing to do in his case. He was socially on par as well as excelling academically.
Long story short - He's 23 now, and in grad school for his doctorate in Biochemistry. He is self-supporting, a good citizen and now teaching chemistry to undergrads. I feel blessed to have been able to make that decision for him and support each parents' decision for their individual child. You know your child best! :-) - 10/21/2012 7:01:06 PM
That said, as a parent of two school aged children, I have experienced the effects of when parents have chosen to "redshirt" their children. I fear, that by starting children at different age intervals, we lose consistency. We are now not all playing from the same rule book and problems seem to arise.
One quarter of the parents in my son's Kindergarten class held back their child so that he/she could mature, with the specific goal of creating an advantage for their child. By allowing them to mature emotionally, intellectually and grow in physical size, they created what might be viewed as an unfair advantage. With my son now in High School the difference is evident. I don't know whether I should feel cheated or tip my hat at their farsightedness.
- 9/17/2012 1:05:22 PM
His best friend's birthday is 4 days before his, but his friend is a year older. At this age, it doesn't seem to have made any difference, and judging from my 16 year old cousin who is in a similar position with a birthday in late September, it won't make a difference in the future either.
My son is about to start second grade this year and he is doing fantastic (as I knew he would). He was reading at a fourth grade level last year...as were many of the kids in his class. I am already concerned with him being not given enough attention in school because he is well-behaved and intelligent. If I had held him back a year, I think we both would have been miserable.
In retrospect, it was also a good financial move because last year our school district started charging $190 per month for all-day kindergarten. We would have really struggled to pay for that.
I agree wholeheartedly with the "know your child" approach. A parent is the best person to determine whether or not their child is ready for school based on behavior, eagerness to learn, social maturity, and any other relevant factors. - 8/15/2012 8:32:57 AM
I feel that some kids can handle it. My best friend (in college) was not only a year ahead of me in school, but her mom put her in school early. But Val was really smart and could handle the work. So much so that she skipped the third grade. I didn't realize that my buddy (and at times mentor) was actually younger than me.
I rarely see that in the schools. My sister (a July baby) regretted putting her daughter (another July baby) in school on time because her daughter struggled being the youngest person in the class. It takes her until late Feb/early March to catch up with the rest of the class (it's a private school).
All in all, I think that parents should get to know their kids and base what they are doing on what's best for the child. Some kids should wait until they are more mature. Some don't need to. - 8/14/2012 3:37:41 AM
My older sister is MR and she started at 5 as well. When I started, she transferred to my school and they let her repeat kindergarten because the school was starting a new Special Ed. program. I think it was a good decision because we had some classes together in elementary school and I think it helped us both develop socially for us to be together. - 8/13/2012 2:42:53 PM
Second, I really feel it is a personal decision to be made by the parents, based upon the actual readiness of the child for school (and not on some idea of what they might be in some nebulous future).
One of my brothers probably should have been kept home for an additional year (he was later held back a year in school -- repeated 2nd grade). And his birthday was well before the cut off date. The other brother did just fine but because of his birth date, was already one of the older kids in the class.
My sister and I, on the other hand, while we both started when we should have, making us among the older kids in the class, were later both skipped a grade, making us the youngest. And we were completely fine with the age issue as long as we were being challenged educationally.
Different children, even within the same family, are going to be ready for school at different ages. Parents need to look at the child's maturity, social skills, and interest in and ability for learning, and if there are concerns, perhaps consult with a pediatrician, and then decide when is the right time for that individual child to start kindergarten. - 8/13/2012 10:20:51 AM
I think they should have testing to see if a child is ready for school. At least in cases like ours where our daughter is obviously ready to start school, but because her birthday is 18 days past the cut off, she gets penalized, and won't be able to start until she is almost 6!! :( - 8/13/2012 9:51:24 AM
I had the opportunity to move ahead a grade between grade 1 and 2. I had been one of six grade 1 kids in a 1-2 split. After a month of being sent to do art projects when the older kids did more difficult work, we were all frustrated and demanded to be part of the class. By Christmas we were all doing the exact same work. I wanted to move up with my class and go into grade 3 instead of grade 2, but my mom held me back with my age group-- she had skipped a grade and was always the youngest/smallest. But she was a November baby and was already the youngest in the class. I was born in Feb and was one of the older kids-- I could have easily moved up age-wise. I had the same teacher the next year for Grade two and she spent most of the next year getting me work from the grade 3 teacher because I was bored. In grade 3, I was in a 2-3 split and my teacher was forced to go find material from the grade 4 teachers. My whole academic life, I never made friends with kids in my grade-- I always hung out with the kids a year ahead of me (even though we moved around a lot and it was never the same group of kids), and even ended up graduating high school a year early. I wish my mom would have listened to me back when I was 7 and let me stay with the older class.
So there are two examples of pushing ahead-- I would never want my son to skip a grade-- he would flounder if he was put in grade 1 now-- I just wish we could have started a little earlier. And for me-- while i had an academic edge by being kept with my age group, I was bored and frustrated by school and probably would have been a lot happier if I had skipped (though maybe not-- even being one of the older kids, I was physically more on par with kids two years behind my by the time puberty rolled around). Either way-- it should be a decision between the parents, the school AND the child, and it should be based on academic, social, and yes, maybe physical readiness, NOT their birthday. - 8/12/2012 9:46:27 PM
As for tailoring to bright kids, I had to push very hard to get my daughter to be allowed to take her Maths GCSE early despite the fact that she was way ahead of her peer group. The reason given was that she had to take her SATS. As I pointed out, that was purely about the school's statistics, not about my daughter's education or what was in her best interests. It's more inportant to have everyone attaining 'average' than to focus on those who could excel. Sadly, that's what it's all about these days - education tables, ticking boxes and P.R. spin. Good luck finding a good school through all the meaninless statistics and P.R. work. Education is more about what industry and politicians say it ought to be than what is in the child's best interests (recent news states that the British PM is going to force ALL schoolkids into compulsory competitive sports!).
If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to do what's in your child's best interests, then do that. Don't listen to 'experts'; they all have different opinions anyway. If I were doing it over again, I would definitely home school. - 8/12/2012 11:09:48 AM
You should do what is right for your child. If they are ready send them to school on time, if not keep them at home and work with them so they will be ready next year. - 8/11/2012 11:34:17 PM
As a side note my mom who is 364 days younger than her older sister insisted on starting school with her sister, and everyone let her, so she started at 4 and was always competing with her sister. They both did well too! - 8/11/2012 12:13:14 AM
If I had a dime for everytime I had a parent say to me, "my child is extremely smart" I would have retired years ago. The fact is most children are average children and given the chance to live a normal life they will grow up to be normal, productive, average adults. Take those same kids and push them and they will grow up to be neurotic adults. We have become a nation so obsessed with pushing our children into sports, school, etc. that we are not turning out healthy minded children... we are turning out self-centered, neurotic, annoying adults. - 8/10/2012 5:31:56 PM
My nephew has an August birthday, and his parents made the decision to hold him back. It was a good experience for him, and if they would have sent him, he would have struggled both academically and socially.
In my home town, the kindergarten teachers are very good with working with parents to help their children acheive success in the school. The school just added a Pre-K program, which I think will also help prepare kids for school.
It is not about test scores or unfair advantage in holding a child back at age 5. It is actually better to do it then if the child is having issues, than when they are older. I've actually seen parents hold their kids back in 8th grade so that they have better teams and chances to play in high school sports, and that is what I think is wrong.
- 8/10/2012 12:36:14 PM
I'm so glad this wasn't an issue when I was a kid.... I graduated high school when I was 17, started college when I was 17, and moved into my own apartment just before I turned 18. I think I would have been very angry at my parents if they would have started me late for selfish reasons (because "redshirting" is selfish and for the parents, not the kids)... going when I was "supposed" to meant that I got a head start on "real life", and I can't imagine being 19 years old and still having to go to school and deal with my parents' rules.
When I have a child, they will go to kindergarten when they are "supposed" to.
Because all this helicopter parenting is a farce... merely covering up the parents own insecurities. - 8/10/2012 12:13:31 PM
If I had held my son back like several professionals recommended, my son would not have been diagnosed with Autism until he was 6 1/2 years old. Several kids in my son's kindergarten class were diagnosed with Autism, ADD, and several other issues. Red shirting kids will result in late diagnosis of problems that it is important for the child to get help as early as possible.
My daughter is 2. We are now fighting the opposite fight. The state of NC has passed a law "your kid has to be this old by this date or you can't enroll in kindergarten til next year". My daughter knows her alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and is starting to read two letter words. She will easily be ready for kindergarten at 5, but NC law says she must wait til she's 6. We are in the process of fighting this for all we're worth.
In the end, it should be the parents who decide when their child starts school. The parents are generally the legal guardians after all. - 8/10/2012 11:32:23 AM
I started school (kinder) at age 4 turning 5 in October. I was in Germany so the age requirements are different and it is common for children that young to start school. After I returned to the States in the 2nd grade I was in advanced reading classes and had to be sent to the local middle school for those lessons. Yes I was younger than all of my classmates and there debates about holding me back so I could be with children my own age but academically I excelled and never lacked socially.
Children are all different and it is ultimately up to the parents to know what is best for their children, however, holding a child back should be in their best interests academically and socially, not so they can be bigger and smarter than their peers. I think children should be encouraged to excel not be held back so they don't have to rise to a challenge. - 8/10/2012 10:31:19 AM
- 8/10/2012 10:21:13 AM
I have 2 sons, the older one, Jon, is headed to 3rd grade this year. He went through a 2 year kindergarten program because they felt he weren't "quite ready" for kindergarten - It's called SOS-1 and SOS-2. He did fantastic both years. I kind of feel that it wasn't necessary for him to do SOS, but, I let the school decide - they knew best, after all... If I'd stuck to the 1 year Kinder, he'd be in 4th grade. It just means I have my son one extra year ;)
My youngest son, Ryan, started school last year. Oh boy was he ready! He saw Jon going to school, and he wanted to go too! Since I was volunteering, I took Ryan to school with me. He did great... at first... but he started doing "no-no's" and disrupting the classroom. The teacher involved him in the class work as much as possible. One of the subs would put him to work on a website for preschoolers - I never knew about that site!!! And, because of all the 1st grade attention he got, he was READY for Kindergarten last year. :) He heads into first grade this year and is excited!!
All 3 of my step kids, and my 2 daughters also started school on time. The very oldest step-daughter was held back in Kinder because she "skipped school" so much. She has some pretty drastic learning disabilities now. And I think it's partly because of the grandparents' view of school ((wasn't necessary to them so they never made her go to school when they watched her before school)). - 8/10/2012 10:08:49 AM
In addition to teachers expecting all students to have similar emotional and social maturity, be expected to sit down for long periods of time, and not follow through with consistent discipline of misbehavior and reward of good behavior. At least I saw that at my son's school.
Also - my older boy started kindergarten one month shy of his 6th birthday, and his behavior and maturity were still an issue. Still are.
I plan on putting my younger son into kindergarten just after his 5th birthday. Judging by his behavior now that he is 3 (he is very good at self-regulating, is compliant, etc), I think he'll be ready. - 8/10/2012 10:02:25 AM
It is important for kids to come to school with basic skills that will help ensure their success. If you're child isn't ready, there is nothing wrong with waiting another year. - 8/10/2012 9:59:25 AM
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