How old was ur son or daughter when they started Kindergarten?

[Ctsplaysinrain]

I think the ultimate decision depends on the kid.. I have 2 sons- one is now 15 and a freshman in high school. His birthday is 8/24- we have a cut-off of Aug 31 so we waited a year with him. He is on the Autistic spectrum but we didnt know that at the time. He has tested as gifted as well but socially he is still rather delayed- more interested in video games than any other teen interests including things like texting. I think it was the best decision for him. Now, my other son is 13 and in 8th grade- his birthday is May 9. Again, he is academically gifted but he is socially immature as well- even more than his brother. Based on academics, he is bored at times.. Yet, if I had to do it over, I think I would have waited an extra year with him as well. I'm getting very concerned about high school next year with him. Not only will he be one of the youngest in his class but maturity wise, he is very,very young... At this point, he doesn't even care what his clothes look like ( not labels etc but if they are even on correctly, match, not 3 sizes too small etc) and Pokemon is still his favorite topic.Even his older brother ( who has very delayed social skills is telling him that he will probably get beat up because he's too nerdy.) And to complicate things a bit, there are a few classes where he will be in class with 10th and 11th graders..So, we will have a small, YOUNG 14 yr old freshman ( even his psych states that he is really socially closer to 11)in class with 16- 17 yr olds who although will probably run circles around them academically will have probably nothing in common with the older kids to converse etc..

 

[MelanieMichelle]

My oldest started kindergarden at 4 but he turned 5 a month later. He has always been a little younger than average kids in his class but he did catch up school-wise pretty soon.

You might want to read "Outliers" by Gladwell. It's a facinating book and has some interesting statistics on birthdate and school/sport outcomes. Did you know that the vast majority of professional hockey players were born in Jan Feb or Mar? That's because the cutoff for joining kid's teams is Jan 1st so kids born early in the year have the growth and developement advantage over their teammates born later in the year. This often translates into getting into rep teams where they get better coaching and more icetime, sometimes leading to professional success.

The same effect can also be seen in the kids who are older when starting school, so they seem more developed or better able to understand new concepts than their peers, which can sometimes lead to better opportunities regarding gifted programs etc.

Of course, by delaying a year you have more time to enjoy having your little one underfoot at home

 

[*Seanaci*]

I ask this question bc my DS 4 is in a pre-k like class and I was handed a paper today with some results of a test that was given in Nov regarding kindergarten readiness. My sons bday is Aug 19 so he is a younger 4 I guess. Well the results were that he failed miserably. His teacher would like to address some concerns she has of him. No he does not know all the letters and numbers and really he will tell u what he knows when he wants to.
Just curious as to how old ur children were when they went to kindergarten. If I hold him back he will be 6 going into kindergarten.

Notice a pattern in responses- no one advocated for faster advancement, except for parents who have not done it.

-Sounds so good on paper, start early, get ready to go...ed research is very clear, learning to read is developmental. You need to be ready to recognize patterns, learn school, and work hard.

While some will argue that all children are different, no one has yet to post that they regret "waiting an extra year," In 20 years of education, I have yet to run into the parent whose regret was waiting...yet I do have many stories regarding-lack of friends, not driving, too young for college, small for sports, scouts are in different grade/calendar/schedule, struggling to find fit...

Let your child love to learn, not be in a hurry to learn. Letters and numbers will come, exploration is fleeting- let him explore at his own pace...best of luck in your decision.

My brother missed the cut-off by like 2 or 3 weeks back in the day (so when he started kindergarten, he was 2 or 3 weeks shy of his 6th birthday). I missed the cut off by like 3 months back in the day (I had another 3 months till my 6th birthday when I started kindergarten). We both turned out to be well rounded, educated individuals.

I really wouldn't worry about your son not being ready right now at 5. Some kids are ready and thrive to learn. Others don't. I personally wouldn't make it a huge deal. If he doesn't start till he's 6, he doesn't start till he's 6. And, here's the other thing, no one has a right to ask why your child didn't start Kindergarten till 6...it's a personal decision...just like vaccinating or not vaccinating or even delaying vaccines. Nothing wrong with those choices.

That being said...my son is 3 (he will be 4 on October 1st). We are putting him into pre-school in the fall. He misses the Pre-k cut off by a month (he would have to be 4 by the last day of August to be put into the Pre-k class). We also found out that our school district has moved the cut-off date for kindergarten to October 1st. Meaning my son COULD start kindergarten in 2012 at 4 years 11 months old. Do I want to do that to him...I don't know. What I DO know is that at 3 years old, he is a very smart child...he will say things out of the blue that I have a good idea where he learned it. For example, we were walking through the store the other day...he was talking loudly and then looked at me and asked "Did you hear it echo off the other walls?" I am pretty sure I've never talked to him about echos...however, I know that in the several shows he watches (on Qubo and PBS) they have talked about echos. So, that tells me that though he may be engrossed in playing with his cars and trucks, he is also paying attention to the dialogue on the show. I think we will see how he does in pre-school (or Pre-k if I can talk to the program director about it) before deciding if he starts school a month prior to his 5th birthday.

Good luck! And try not to worry about your son not starting kindergarten until he is 6. On some level, I think parents now push their children too hard in regards to education and starting school. If a child is ready mentally and emotionally to sit and do lessons at 5 years old, great. If a child is ready mentally and emotionally to sit and do lessons at 6, that's great too. All children learn and thrive to learn at different paces. So, I feel it's best not to push them into something that would be overwhelming for them...and overhwhelming and perhaps stressful for yourself.

 

[mom2grace]

My son turned 6 about 2 weeks after k started, best decision EVER! It's usually easier to be older, especially in the younger grades, especially if you are a boy!

I would've held his older sister back if I knew then what I know now! She is a May birthday.

 

[katla33]

It really is such a personal decision and depends on the child. My DS started K in August and he was 5 1/2. He turned 6 in December. The cut off here is Sept. 30. He is gifted and reads on a 4th grade level.. so obviously ready academically for K but emotionally and socially, not so much. He is quite immature. I am actually grateful for the cut off because he could not be in first grade right now even though academically he would be fine. The choice was made for me!! And really, the whole sports thing is stupid. Just because a child is older and bigger, does not necessarily mean they will even be into sports. My son is HUGE for his age and one of the older ones in his class and he really doesn't give a flip about sports at this point. There are no guarantees. Talk to the teacher and see what she suggests you do. You can always hold him back down the road, there is no shame in that. But it sounds as if your little guy might be better off with a later start!!