I need help making a Kindergarten decision

[imthatgirl]

I don't view them as threat at all. My DD is 6 1/2 and one of the older ones in class , with the exception of those who were held back. She is doing just fine in her class. What bothers me is seeing kids that need the teacher's attention not recieve it because she is dealing with the discipline problem created by a 7 year old who should not be in the classroom in the first place. It is that child who is being done a disservice because of someone else's desire to see theri child be the best. I realize that most here are only talking about a few months, but where does in stop and cross over into unacceptable, and who gets to decide that? Where does your right to hold you child back end, and my child's right to a quality, age suited education begin? These are the hard questions that I think are eliminated by adhering to cutoffs. I think it is a better way to do things than parents just sending their child whenever they think they are ready, because it takes the emotional response out of the picture completely. I am not saying the you are necessairly acting out of not wanting to let go, but it certianly has struck a nerve with you. I cannot know what your motivation is for holding back. You are certianly welcome to do whatever you like within the bounds of what your school will allow, but I think that schools should stop allowing it without some sort of documentation as to why it is necessary. Ferom waht I observe personally as a parent and the sister of a K teacher most of the issues lie not in the children but in thier parents, wether those parents choose to admit that or not.

Who gets to decide? Well the parents do...isn't that our job? I take my job as a parent very seriously and I'll be damned if I'm going to let someone else decide when MY child is ready for something.
If your child is ion school, and not being homeschooled, then there will always be that child that needs lots of attention. It really has nothing to do with age. You 6 1/2 yo could just as easily be that child. If there is a 7yo in your childs K class then that child stayed back, I find it really hard to believe that a parent chose to keep their child back 2 years. You say your child is right now 6 1/2...well at this point me and the OPs kids will be 6 1/2 when they're in K too. So how are they different then your 6 1/2yo...I'm still trying to figure out your reasoning on that one?
I think I've clearly stated my motivation to waiting with my child....so he can have the same advantages as other kids, so he isnt a whole year younger then all the kids in his class. I don't think you have to wonder at all what my motivation is...it's clear.
I would love to hear what your sister says about kids waiting till they are ready. I come from a family of teachers and all of them...and the teachers I know...as well as the teacher(s) who have answered the thread...say it's almost always better to wait. I can remember my aunt begging my cousin to wait with her child...she didn't and it's obvious that he struggles to keep up his good grades. This same Aunt is a 7th grade math teacher and she can tell you within a week which kids have July and August birthdays....because they ARE a year younger then the most of the other kids.
What I don't understand is your motivation to not wanting kids who are a couple weeks or months older then your child in her class. Why shouldn't MY child be given the same opportunity to be with kids his own age as your child?
As a PP said...I too have yet to meet a parent who regretted waiting tell their child was ready...but I have met plenty who think they maybe should have.

 

[imthatgirl]

I know several mothers of 18- 19 year old high school seniors who now sorely regret holding them back. They have not done as well academically in later years because they were "over" high school 2 years ago. I teach high school and I am generalizing here, but as a rule the older the child the less motivated they are by the time they are a senior.

Don;t almost all high school seniors turn 18 in their senior year. In fact if your daughter is 6 1/2 in K...she too will be 18 in her senior year. hmm...are you worried that she will not do well academically since she is "so over" high school?

 

[princessmom29]

Who gets to decide? Well the parents do...isn't that our job? I take my job as a parent very seriously and I'll be damned if I'm going to let someone else decide when MY child is ready for something.
If your child is ion school, and not being homeschooled, then there will always be that child that needs lots of attention. It really has nothing to do with age. You 6 1/2 yo could just as easily be that child. If there is a 7yo in your childs K class then that child stayed back, I find it really hard to believe that a parent chose to keep their child back 2 years. You say your child is right now 6 1/2...well at this point me and the OPs kids will be 6 1/2 when they're in K too. So how are they different then your 6 1/2yo...I'm still trying to figure out your reasoning on that one?
I think I've clearly stated my motivation to waiting with my child....so he can have the same advantages as other kids, so he isnt a whole year younger then all the kids in his class. I don't think you have to wonder at all what my motivation is...it's clear.
I would love to hear what your sister says about kids waiting till they are ready. I come from a family of teachers and all of them...and the teachers I know...as well as the teacher(s) who have answered the thread...say it's almost always better to wait. I can remember my aunt begging my cousin to wait with her child...she didn't and it's obvious that he struggles to keep up his good grades. This same Aunt is a 7th grade math teacher and she can tell you within a week which kids have July and August birthdays....because they ARE a year younger then the most of the other kids.
What I don't understand is your motivation to not wanting kids who are a couple weeks or months older then your child in her class. Why shouldn't MY child be given the same opportunity to be with kids his own age as your child?
As a PP said...I too have yet to meet a parent who regretted waiting tell their child was ready...but I have met plenty who think they maybe should have.

Where does one parent'sright to choose what is best for thier child end and the other's begin. What makes it ok for you to choose to do something for your chil that is directly detrimental to mine? In your specific case it may only be a couple of months, but the next mom may want to wait a year or more. Would you be ok with that, if they then expected your child's teacher to take time for instructing those who are palaced correctly to dael with the child she chose to hold back's need for more to do because her is bored? That is the reality I am dealing with in my daughter's class, and it is a direct result of the extension of "a few months" into a year. Once it stats it is difficult to stop.
she teaches in an inner city school, and most of those parents sned the kids to K as soon as they can for the free babysitting. Most of the ones who are "typical" belong in K, and do fine. The ones that struggle are the ones in obvious need of sped services. There are truly very few "marginal" children who aren't up to speed after a couple of months in school.

 

[imthatgirl]

Where does one parent'sright to choose what is best for thier child end and the other's begin. What makes it ok for you to choose to do something for your chil that is directly detrimental to mine? In your specific case it may only be a couple of months, but the next mom may want to wait a year or more. Would you be ok with that, if they then expected your child's teacher to take time for instructing those who are palaced correctly to dael with the child she chose to hold back's need for more to do because her is bored? That is the reality I am dealing with in my daughter's class, and it is a direct result of the extension of "a few months" into a year. Once it stats it is difficult to stop.
she teaches in an inner city school, and most of those parents sned the kids to K as soon as they can for the free babysitting. Most of the ones who are "typical" belong in K, and do fine. The ones that struggle are the ones in obvious need of sped services. There are truly very few "marginal" children who aren't up to speed after a couple of months in school.

How is having my child who is 3 days older then the cut off "detrimental" to your child. Stop being so dramatic. If a child that is a couple weeks older then your child such a threat maybe you should be homeschooling. In public school you are going to meet many kids of different ages...it's called diversity, and it's a good thing.
Sure I would be ok with anything a parent chooses to do. In fact there probably will be kids who are kept back...I hardly see them as "detrimental". Instead I welcome other kids who can teach my kids something. In a classroom setting they all learn from one another...the good and the bad. It's a great way to learn about life.
Do you know that in many smaller communities kids will be put in the same classroom with kids that can be years older then them. AND...it's been proven that those kids actually do BETTER with such a diverse group of kids.
Like I said before there will always be other kids in your childs class that will need special attention. Maybe if that older child was instead the youngest he would need more help catching up....and then you would complain that the class was being held back.
It sounds like you are looking for a very personalized school experience for your daughter...you aren't going to find that in a public classroom. You may want to think about homeschooling if you can't deal with diversity well.

 

[Kit'smommy]

And our biggest concern had little to do with if he ready now. It had more to do with will he be a leader or not, will he be immature as he gets older compared to his peers in school (more around Jr high than kindergarten) So my concern is not about is he ready now I think he is probably average in his class. We know he does not misbehave, his teacher has explained to us that he knows how to play with the kids in his class and has a small group of friends but he waits for kids to approach him he does not approach the other kids outside of his small group.

OP, I have a very shy, immature child. He has been shy and immature for his age every stage of the way. He is an absolute angel in class and has been in trouble exactly twice for very minor things in pre-K and K-5 (pushing someone to get her attention and throwing legos after one of the other kids started throwing them). He also waits to be approached by other kids. He isn't a leader. I don't think it is in his personality to be one and no amount of holding him back is going to change the fact that he is the way he is.

I would look at whether or not he can handle the work, has the stamina to get through at long school day and can emotionally deal with what he needs to as a kindergartener.

I attended private schools when I was growing up and only 2 children out of my graduating class of about 40 turned 18 during the school year, so I don't think this was as common as it is now.

 

[Mkrop]

I have to say I'm a little surprised by your response here. You say your son should be the oldest, so that would make him maybe a September birthday? Right? You say he's asked why some of the kids are "a whole year older" then him? He must, at the age of 12 have a fairly decent grasp on how long a month is...or in the OPs situation, 2 months. right? I am not understanding why a 12 yo would feel a child born 2 months before him was not the same age as him.
Now on the other hand if your son, with a september birthday, would think that a child who was born in July would be a "whole year younger" then him if they were in the same grade that would make sense. There would be huge difference on their age.

I am not talking about the ones who are only a few weeks older than him(he is a Sept bday with a Aug 31 cutoff). I am talking about the ones who are born in March and should be a year ahead. Although he does understand cutoff ages that are established by schools and does question why some do not adhere to them. He also sees this in sports a lot because many of our leagues around here have strict age rules, so these classmates are not allowed to play with their peers because they are older. He will ask why.

I have to agree with where does it end, they have age parameters for a reason.

In DS7 (Dec bday) first grade class, we have several kids who are turning 8 this month and in June and "technically" should be in 2nd grade, and children who have Aug bdays who were sent on time who are still 6 and wont be 7 until Aug, and then sitting right next to that child could be your child who is a whole year older literally.

I think the age ranges are getting too spread out.

If this works for your family and child, like I said go for it. I am just expressing my opinion and observation as a parent of all the different ages of children in a classroom.

 

[clutter]

Most of the ones who are "typical" belong in K, and do fine. The ones that struggle are the ones in obvious need of sped services. There are truly very few "marginal" children who aren't up to speed after a couple of months in school.

I know of 3 September girls (9/30 cutoff) that had to repeat grades. One in K, one in 1st, and one in 2nd. They're all doing great now in middle school. I know another September girl that struggled in reading, was diagnosed with an LD, but wasn't doing 'bad' enough for services. Parents had to put her in a private school for a year to get the services she needed, and now she's doing great. Of maybe 8 or 10 Sept girls I know, three were held back for performance, 2 were held back by parents for maturity, one is a discipline issue (worsening in middle school), 1 is now tracking well after getting the help she needed. One is doing outstandingly.

 

[iwrbnd]

I know several mothers of 18- 19 year old high school seniors who now sorely regret holding them back. They have not done as well academically in later years because they were "over" high school 2 years ago. I teach high school and I am generalizing here, but as a rule the older the child the less motivated they are by the time they are a senior.

Hmmm, I never thought about that. I only work with parents of children who are tweens and under. That's a good thing to know about high school! Thanks!

 

[brymolmom]

I still am not following how 2-3 months older is such a big deal? Someone does have to be the oldest child. You are saying the child who turns 5 on august 31st is the same peer group as the child who turned 5 on september 1st the year before. Thats ridiculous. Those kids are a whole year older. Turning 6 a few weeks before school starts certainly does not make a child so much older then the ones who turn 6 during the year. I've never heard of a child being 7 in K unless they were held back. There is a big difference between a child with a December birthday and the child with a july or August birthday.
As a parent you do what you can do give your child the best possible start, and if a parent chooses to wait for that start they they are doing what is best for that child. I don't feel that sending them with the knowledge that they may be held back is doing whats best for the child at all. Starting school is so much more then knowing your ABCs. I have yet to meet a teacher who felt like starting when they weren't ready was a good idea.

Maybe what this poster was suggesting was that the cutoffs are made so that each class year has a 12 month age difference between them. So someone born on Aug 31st might be the youngest and one born on Sep 1st would be the oldest. However, when redshirting (holding back eligible students) occurs, it makes this age range wider - so a child with a July 1st birthday is now 14 months older than the Aug 31st birthday (who was sent at age 5).

Yes, someone has to be the oldest, but someone also has to be the youngest. And those extra couple/few months add up when more than a couple kids do it - and it adds up to put the youngest child sent on time in a bad situation.

 

[princessmom29]

How is having my child who is 3 days older then the cut off "detrimental" to your child. Stop being so dramatic. If a child that is a couple weeks older then your child such a threat maybe you should be homeschooling. In public school you are going to meet many kids of different ages...it's called diversity, and it's a good thing.
Sure I would be ok with anything a parent chooses to do. In fact there probably will be kids who are kept back...I hardly see them as "detrimental". Instead I welcome other kids who can teach my kids something. In a classroom setting they all learn from one another...the good and the bad. It's a great way to learn about life.
Do you know that in many smaller communities kids will be put in the same classroom with kids that can be years older then them. AND...it's been proven that those kids actually do BETTER with such a diverse group of kids.
Like I said before there will always be other kids in your childs class that will need special attention. Maybe if that older child was instead the youngest he would need more help catching up....and then you would complain that the class was being held back.
It sounds like you are looking for a very personalized school experience for your daughter...you aren't going to find that in a public classroom. You may want to think about homeschooling if you can't deal with diversity well.

Ther is no need to talk down to me. I am not stupid. Usually when a discussion like this turns personal someone has run out of ammo. I don't think you are getting the point. Iti s not about "3 days". Those 3 days don't matter obe way or the other. Held back or not that child would be fine. You 3 days become the next mom's 3 months. Her 3 months turns into the next mom's year. Who gets to say enough is enough? Do you really think it is ok to have a 7 year old who is capable of being in first grade in K just because his mom wants him to be? You pushing the boundary by a little justifies them pushing the boundary by a lot. I am not being dramatic at all. This is the reality of what is giong on right now in lots of classrooms. Age cutoffs are there for a reason, and I think everyone should abide by them. otherwise there is no limit to how long a child can be held back, and how far a parnet can abuse the system. They create enough diversity in the classroom due to age. There is a whole year there already and I feel like that is enough without adding to it just becuase. Children who truly need to be held back are few and far between and usually fit nito the ability level of the classroom. Yes, allowances should be made for achild that truly NEEDS to be held back, but that vast majority who ar held back DON'T need to be. Those kids introduce a completely new ability level into the classroom that the teacher then has to address. Why would you purposely introduce even more variance in ability level into a clasroom than already exists with a 1 year age span? It cuts down on the amount of instructional time EVERY child gets when there are even more vaired abilities a teacher has to cater to. Without a firm age cutoff there is no way to say who should be "allowed" to hold back and who should not. The natural tendency of most parents is to give thier chidl the best advantage by any means possible. There has to be a firm line drawn somewhere or people will continue to abuse the system, to the detriment of ALL our kids.
I have no need or desire to homeschool, and DD enjoys the school she is in. I would never choose that for my child. I love the fact that there so much cultural diversity there, and I do feel that some academic diversity in a classroom is a good thing. She goes to school with children of several different nationalities,and children whose first language is not English. I think it is wonderful that she is exposed to all the diferences that make the human race so rich. With a traditional grade level set up however, it is really difficult to deal with vastly different ability levels in the same classroom. Why would we want to intentionally set up a situation that makes it even more difficult for a teacher to provide our kids with a quality education? It seems foolish to me to sacrifice real learing for the sake of saying "look how diverse we are". Children that come into the situation with challenges are one thing, but I don't think parents should have the right to artificially introduce more.

 

[princessmom29]

Maybe what this poster was suggesting was that the cutoffs are made so that each class year has a 12 month age difference between them. So someone born on Aug 31st might be the youngest and one born on Sep 1st would be the oldest. However, when redshirting (holding back eligible students) occurs, it makes this age range wider - so a child with a July 1st birthday is now 14 months older than the Aug 31st birthday (who was sent at age 5).

Yes, someone has to be the oldest, but someone also has to be the youngest. And those extra couple/few months add up when more than a couple kids do it - and it adds up to put the youngest child sent on time in a bad situation.

thank you, that is exactly what I was trying to say. When a curriculium is set up to accomodate a 12 month age/ability span, expanding that to 18- 2 years wreaks havoc on its effectiveness. Those at the bottom, AND those at the top tend to be the ones left floundering.

 

[brymolmom]

Who gets to decide? Well the parents do...isn't that our job? I take my job as a parent very seriously and I'll be damned if I'm going to let someone else decide when MY child is ready for something.
If your child is ion school, and not being homeschooled, then there will always be that child that needs lots of attention. It really has nothing to do with age. You 6 1/2 yo could just as easily be that child. If there is a 7yo in your childs K class then that child stayed back, I find it really hard to believe that a parent chose to keep their child back 2 years. You say your child is right now 6 1/2...well at this point me and the OPs kids will be 6 1/2 when they're in K too. So how are they different then your 6 1/2yo...I'm still trying to figure out your reasoning on that one?
I think I've clearly stated my motivation to waiting with my child....so he can have the same advantages as other kids, so he isnt a whole year younger then all the kids in his class. I don't think you have to wonder at all what my motivation is...it's clear.
I would love to hear what your sister says about kids waiting till they are ready. I come from a family of teachers and all of them...and the teachers I know...as well as the teacher(s) who have answered the thread...say it's almost always better to wait. I can remember my aunt begging my cousin to wait with her child...she didn't and it's obvious that he struggles to keep up his good grades. This same Aunt is a 7th grade math teacher and she can tell you within a week which kids have July and August birthdays....because they ARE a year younger then the most of the other kids.
What I don't understand is your motivation to not wanting kids who are a couple weeks or months older then your child in her class. Why shouldn't MY child be given the same opportunity to be with kids his own age as your child?
As a PP said...I too have yet to meet a parent who regretted waiting tell their child was ready...but I have met plenty who think they maybe should have.

Actually it has a lot to do with age. With a 12 month age difference - you will get a 'natural' bell curve - some kids on the bottom, most kids in the middle, and some kids on the top. But when you start sending 'would be 1st graders' to kindergarten who have a year more of learning than the other kids - it shifts this curve to way more kids at the top (NOT because they're more intelligent, only due to having more time on this Earth) - so the ones who are naturally at the bottom, have attention taken away from them for kids needing 'more challenge'. MANY of these kids go on to excel (of course, they should be in the grade up) and often seek extra challenges. When honestly - if they wanted extra challenge - the parents shouldn't have held them back to begin with.

If we let it all happen naturally and just send them on time - it is more of an even playing ground as a starting point. Holding back and it is not even, it is a 'stacked' playing ground and not fair to the kids who should be in the class.

And, no - the parents don't really decide in all cases - most states have LAWS that state that a child has to start school by the age of 6. All I want is that to expand to include Kindergarten too. REQUIRE that kids go to K by age 5 (or change it and say by age 6 if that's what the experts say is best) - but keep it EVEN for all kids so no one starts with that avoidable disadvantage.

 

[princessmom29]

I know of 3 September girls (9/30 cutoff) that had to repeat grades. One in K, one in 1st, and one in 2nd. They're all doing great now in middle school. I know another September girl that struggled in reading, was diagnosed with an LD, but wasn't doing 'bad' enough for services. Parents had to put her in a private school for a year to get the services she needed, and now she's doing great. Of maybe 8 or 10 Sept girls I know, three were held back for performance, 2 were held back by parents for maturity, one is a discipline issue (worsening in middle school), 1 is now tracking well after getting the help she needed. One is doing outstandingly.

that's interseting, but not waht the data reflect here. We don't see a larger percentage of yonger end birthdays do poorly if you consider district wide dats. We track ages in years and months, so you can isolate say 2nd graders who are 6 years 4 months form those 6 years 10 months and we don't see any trend in test scores or letter grades based on age within a grade within the 12 month age span specified by that grade. There only start to be statistically significant differences when you look at outlyers grater than 6 months off the chronological age for thier grade.

 

[princessmom29]

Actually it has a lot to do with age. With a 12 month age difference - you will get a 'natural' bell curve - some kids on the bottom, most kids in the middle, and some kids on the top. But when you start sending 'would be 1st graders' to kindergarten who have a year more of learning than the other kids - it shifts this curve to way more kids at the top (NOT because they're more intelligent, only due to having more time on this Earth) - so the ones who are naturally at the bottom, have attention taken away from them for kids needing 'more challenge'. MANY of these kids go on to excel (of course, they should be in the grade up) and often seek extra challenges. When honestly - if they wanted extra challenge - the parents shouldn't have held them back to begin with.

If we let it all happen naturally and just send them on time - it is more of an even playing ground as a starting point. Holding back and it is not even, it is a 'stacked' playing ground and not fair to the kids who should be in the class.

And, no - the parents don't really decide in all cases - most states have LAWS that state that a child has to start school by the age of 6. All I want is that to expand to include Kindergarten too. REQUIRE that kids go to K by age 5 (or change it and say by age 6 if that's what the experts say is best) - but keep it EVEN for all kids so no one starts with that avoidable disadvantage.

that is exactly what needs to happen. ALL children age 5 by x date MUST be in K, or all children 6 by x date must be in K. Whichever the research supports as being the best for the kids, but not a 2 year span where anything goes.
those laws say they must be in school if they are 6 on the first day of school. That is how we ended up with 7 year olds in our class. They were 5 Sept 1 last year, and didn't go to K becuase they just met the legal requirement to stay home. They started at 6, almost 7 this year.

 

[Mkrop]

Maybe what this poster was suggesting was that the cutoffs are made so that each class year has a 12 month age difference between them. So someone born on Aug 31st might be the youngest and one born on Sep 1st would be the oldest. However, when redshirting (holding back eligible students) occurs, it makes this age range wider - so a child with a July 1st birthday is now 14 months older than the Aug 31st birthday (who was sent at age 5).

Yes, someone has to be the oldest, but someone also has to be the youngest. And those extra couple/few months add up when more than a couple kids do it - and it adds up to put the youngest child sent on time in a bad situation.

And then the kids with the May birthdays start being the youngest and so on and so on. To me it really skews the classroom dynamics.

The PP may not think that her child born on Aug 28 is much different from my son born on Sept 14 but he/she is certainly much different then the child who is a whole year younger and going when they should.

 

[xanphylus]

Wow. After reading all of this- I am so glad my DS1 decided to stay in my womb that extra week! He is a late Sept baby and misses the cut off date by like a week and a half tops. So he will be one of the oldest in his class- better than the youngest I guess... I would probably have chosen to keep him back anyway. Not sure at this point. He is a little too young to worry about it! And either way, the state decided that for me. Or maybe my DS chose Maybe that's why he was late!

 

[brymolmom]

Wow. After reading all of this- I am so glad my DS1 decided to stay in my womb that extra week! He is a late Sept baby and misses the cut off date by like a week and a half tops. So he will be one of the oldest in his class- better than the youngest I guess... I would probably have chosen to keep him back anyway. Not sure at this point. He is a little too young to worry about it! And either way, the state decided that for me. Or maybe my DS chose Maybe that's why he was late!

Good thing you don't live here. Our cutoff is 12/1. DD started K when she was 4 - turned 5 on Oct. 21st.

 

[imthatgirl]

Actually it has a lot to do with age. With a 12 month age difference - you will get a 'natural' bell curve - some kids on the bottom, most kids in the middle, and some kids on the top. But when you start sending 'would be 1st graders' to kindergarten who have a year more of learning than the other kids - it shifts this curve to way more kids at the top (NOT because they're more intelligent, only due to having more time on this Earth) - so the ones who are naturally at the bottom, have attention taken away from them for kids needing 'more challenge'. MANY of these kids go on to excel (of course, they should be in the grade up) and often seek extra challenges. When honestly - if they wanted extra challenge - the parents shouldn't have held them back to begin with.

If we let it all happen naturally and just send them on time - it is more of an even playing ground as a starting point. Holding back and it is not even, it is a 'stacked' playing ground and not fair to the kids who should be in the class.

And, no - the parents don't really decide in all cases - most states have LAWS that state that a child has to start school by the age of 6. All I want is that to expand to include Kindergarten too. REQUIRE that kids go to K by age 5 (or change it and say by age 6 if that's what the experts say is best) - but keep it EVEN for all kids so no one starts with that avoidable disadvantage.

It's no where close to an even playing ground for my child...sure it;'s great for yours, but mine is a whole year younger then the other kids. I don't know why you can't see that?
the compulsory age for my state...and like you said most states is 6. So why would starting K when a child just turns 6 not be considered within the law? and actually completely following the law?
I think it;s ridiculous to expand the law to 5. Not all kids are ready fro school at that age...and good for the states for recognizing that.
If you really wanted it even for all kids then you wouldn't be against a child starting with kids his own age. Which is all me and the OP are doing. We making it so our kids don't have a disadvantage.

 

[princessmom29]

Good thing you don't live here. Our cutoff is 12/1. DD started K when she was 4 - turned 5 on Oct. 21st.

I wish I lived where you are then. DD's birthday is OCt 25th and we have a Sept 1 cutoff. I wanted her in K LAST year, but she didn't meet the cutoff. I chose not to challenge it, becuase of the reasons I have stated here, but she could have done the work required. She is a little bored this year.

 

[princessmom29]

It's no where close to an even playing ground for my child...sure it;'s great for yours, but mine is a whole year younger then the other kids. I don't know why you can't see that?
the compulsory age for my state...and like you said most states is 6. So why would starting K when a child just turns 6 not be considered within the law? and actually completely following the law?
I think it;s ridiculous to expand the law to 5. Not all kids are ready fro school at that age...and good for the states for recognizing that.
If you really wanted it even for all kids then you wouldn't be against a child starting with kids his own age. Which is all me and the OP are doing. We making it so our kids don't have a disadvantage.

So by your logic we should segregate kids in what incrament for it to be fair? 3 months,?? 1 month???, or is it only fair when yours is the oldest?? You are not making it so they are not at a disadvantage, but giving them and unfair advantage over next year's kids. How is it fair for the youngest kid in the class that yours is now MORE than a year older than him???