![]() ![]() What is this gift? More sleep and play for one additional year? Going to kindergarten a stronger reader? Not being the smallest on the soccer team? The idea that the child will have a lifelong advantage over others?Īnd how many parents are willing to pay the extra tuition? In our survey, only 8% of respondents said cost was a factor in deciding whether to delay kindergarten for their child. None of this takes into account social, emotional or developmental data points which some parents use to help make their decision.Īnyone who has had a boy in preschool with a birthday in the second half of the year has likely been asked whether they plan to hold their child back for an extra year before beginning kindergarten.Ī local program for five year olds promotes the year saying, “Give your child the gift of an extra year” as a marketing tool. A 2011 New York Times opinion piece suggests that more mature kids may actually be negatively affected by less mature peers at the grade school level. In fact, 2009 data from Scarsdale shows that younger students have a higher GPA at graduation than older students.Īccording to Edgar McIntosh, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, re-analysis in 2019 showed no correlation between age at kindergarten start and GPA at graduation. However, some studies have shown that the initial academic advantage older students have over younger students decreases over time. ![]() Initially, parents redshirted to gain a predicted “early boost” for their child based on the real or perceived notion that older children outperform their peers early on academically, socially and athletically. Gladwell helped expand the definition of “redshirting” to describe the parent-driven decision to hold their child back from a natural entry into kindergarten based on birth date and district cutoff. ![]() Malcom Gladwell’s 2008 book “Outliers” claims that a person’s age, relative to his/her peers, is a key predictor of success. “Redshirting” is term used in college athletics to describe an athlete benched for a year so they will be bigger and stronger when they actually play. “My daughter sent her 4-year-old son to kindergarten ‘on time’ because she really couldn’t justify paying for another year of preschool for her third child.” “I know someone who held her July baby back from kindergarten because she wanted him to be the first to drive and I know someone who held her November baby back because she was concerned that his friends would be tired of going to Bar Mitzvahs by his Bar Mitzvah time.” “I’m sending him to kindergarten even though he’s not five until November because all of his preschool teachers say he is ready.” “I decided when she was in-utero to keep her in preschool for an extra year.” Published: Thursday, 16 January 2020 11:49 Last Updated: Tuesday, 21 February 2023 08:47 ![]()
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