[tiredmom]

NYT: Delay Kindergarten at Your Child’s Peril

[tassiegirl]

Interesting article. I've read a lot about the pros and cons of starting kinder early or late because (a) I am a kindergarten teacher and (b) both my children have birthdays very close to the cut off date.

I'd like to add that there is a LOT of cultural issues here. Changing school entry because of SPORT? That's not heard of here in Australia, but then, we don't have those sports scholarships to university. Finland don't start their children in school until they are 7 and they always top the OECD lists.

[My2miracles]

I question if 1 year really makes a difference in the long run. It's 1 year. And what about the kid who's birthday is 1 day before the cut-off & the kid who's birthday is 1 day after. The school system arbitrarly decides who goes where. It doesn't matter to them that the kid who made the cut-off isn't ready but the kid who missed it is gifted & more than ready.

I struggled with this decision because my son was a May baby & our cut-off is Sept 1. According to this article, I made the right decision by sending him but time will tell.

[K.A.T]

I think it does make the difference. I've seen first hand how some of those students who were delayed struggle over ones who either started on time or early. I started my son early and for educational purposes he's been doing wonderfully in school. Behaviorally is a whole other ball game due to his maturity. So while I think there are pros and cons, I think the pros out weigh the cons.

[Quantum_Leap]

Interesting article. It's kind of the opposite of the 'conventional wisdom' I've heard thrown around by most parents. (Actually, I've always heard that in general for girls you should start early and for boys you should delay). I'm sure it depends on the individual kid, though, and each mom knows her own child best!

[L-SBB]

It is an interesting article...my parents felt so strongly that I should be enrolled for 1st grade even though my bday was (at that time) about 4 weeks past the cut off that they put me in private school until I was past the point (grade level wise) that the school district had to accept me into the grade I was enrolled in. So I was always one of the youngest throughout school, including college etc.

I struggle with this decision now for Savannah...she's not as close a call being almost 3 months past the cut off for our school district, but I do worry about whether she'll be challenged enough and what the impact of being one of the oldest in her class will be.

I also wonder whether it makes a difference if the child starting K is already in a structured preschool environment versus at home. That's not to say parents who keep the child at home until K can't provide an equally challenging environment & similar social/group interaction, I would just guess that on average it is not. When I look at the preschool classes Savannah would have just prior to going into K at her current daycare center, it doesn't seem significantly different than K and not sure how much impact keeping her there (versus trying to push her ahead of her age group) would have.

[K.A.T]

From what I've witnessed, kids who do not have a structured school experience before K or 1st grade have a harder time adjusting to structure. I also noticed that if the parents didn't take the time out to teach the child they came in knowing nothing. Meanwhile kids that went to pre-k already knew basic numbers, colors, shapes, letters and had some writing skills.