I think the problem lies in

- submitted by Anonymous on 01/27/2009

I think the problem lies in the different reasons why people redshirt. There are the folks like you -- with boys who are younger and who *need* another year. For you I am so glad that the option to redshirt exists. But then there are the parents I see more of -- the ones who *do* redshirt their sort-of-short boy who was born in February so that he will be larger in 8th grade for lacrosse. Or the folks who want their March birthday kid who has no learning or behavioral issues to be the academic superstar and so hold him out a year so that he'll blow the other kids out of the water come first grade. I know multiple numbers of both these kinds of parents.

The teachers, in my experience, get sucked in. They make a HUGE deal out of kids' ages now. My son is a May birthday, sent to kindergarten at five, right on schedule. Every teacher he's had has made a big deal out of how he's "younger" than the other boys, as if this is his fault. And he's NOT YOUNG. He is a May birthday, with no academic or behavioral issues. But simply being born in May was enough for many of his preschool peers to be held back.

There is an epidemic of parental competition out there that distorts the issue and I think the kids who really benefit from being redshirted get short-changed, because there are so many more who don't need it and they do throw the behavioral and performance curve off for *all* of the other kids. I wish there was some official guidance for kids whose parents want to redshirt; some way for schools to say which kids need it and which parents are off base. But again, I see schools and teachers consider boys "too much work," and so they prefer them to be as old as possible before they have to be dealt with. But prejudice against boys is a whole 'nother issue...

Not sure why anybody should

- submitted by Anonymous on 01/27/2009

Not sure why anybody should care. So what if there's competition or it's done sometimes for "bad" reasons. If you're grounded and keep perspective the whole thing is nonsense. I mjean worrying aobut what or why others do this kind of thing. Grow up, I say, act like adults and this kind of issue won't be one at all except for the warped few.

Well, but it *is* an issue

- submitted by Katie on 01/27/2009

Well, but it *is* an issue when a teacher's idea of a first-grader goes from being six years old to eight. An eight-year-old is far more mature socially and learns differently than a six-year-old does. So the parents of the six-year-old then hear that their kid is "immature" and "needs academic help," when really, he is simply six, which is the traditional age for most first graders. And if you've got a kid who needed to be held back, then he's really going to be at a disadvantage in a roomful of kids who *didn't* need to be held back and who are all older.

Redshirting for the wrong reasons is messing up standards for all kids. There have always been a handful of kids who were redshirted or who repeated a grade; that's nothing new. But having half of a grade be redshirts (as is the case for the kindergarten at our school) is new. There is no way 50 percent of these kids *needed* to wait an additional year. And if that is the case, then the grade levels need retooling across the board, because the old system is not working.

It's not a question of not caring what people think. It's a matter of a large number of parents trying to play the system, and the result is that many other kids get screwed.

don't judge

- submitted by Anonymous on 02/02/2009

Katie, may I assume your child's birthday is nowhere near the cutoff date?

You could, but you would

- submitted by Katie on 02/03/2009

You could, but you would assume wrong. And it is my recent experience that "near" is subject to interpretation. Around here, for a Dec 31 public school cutoff, September is considered "near" the cutoff. For September 1 private school cutoff, May birthdays are considered "near" the cutoff date. I know a kid who was born in March and is the youngest in his class.

I have no issue with the kid who was born in November being given an extra year of preschool. Or the kid who was born in July for a September cut-off date. Or even with the occasional kid who *was* born in March but needs more time. But my original argument stands -- fully 50 percent of kids in a grade were technically not born near the cutoff date (I'm sorry, but a full one-third or one-quarter year is not "near" the cutoff.) And yet 50 percent of kids in any year are being held back. The numbers do not line up.

You'll have an issue when an

- submitted by Anonymous on 05/06/2009

You'll have an issue when an eight year old first grader tells your child there's no Santa Claus.

You'll have an issue when the twelve years olds in fifth grade make fun of your daughter because she doesn't wear a bra, like boys or get her period yet.

You'll have an issue when a 15 year old drives HIMSELF to his eighth grade graduation with his learner's permit and YOUR eighth grader wants to know why he can't ride with him.

You'll have an issue when the nineteen year old boy in your daughter's algebra class asks her out when she's fourteen and she wants to know why she can't go.

You'll also have an issue when there are kids in your son's college class who are TWENTY FOUR to your son's eighteen and he's expected to compete with them for summer internships.

My favorite was the mean seven year old kindergartener who made all the five years old cry because she told them they were "babies who still had their baby teeth." I don't remember losing any teeth until second grade but now they all lose them BEFORE kindergarten.

I have this situation right

- submitted by Miss Cellania on 03/18/2010

I have this situation right now. My 12-year-old daughter is in seventh grade. her best girlfriend is 14, and she has a crush on a 15-year-old. They are all in the seventh grade. Even though my kid's birthday is in April, she is the second youngest in the class!

To "anonymous": Get a clue.

- submitted by Disgusted Parent on 06/13/2010

To "anonymous": Get a clue. 6 months or a year is a HUGE difference when you are just 5 to 8 years old. Developmental gains happen suddenly and fast. Having your younger child receive a ball thrown at them very hard by a much larger (redshirted only so they can whoop some butt) kid is warped. Kids are smart, they think something is wrong with them, they can pick up on the differences. How do you explin to them they are ok - it's just the other kids parents that wanted him to whoop on younger kids?

You either don't have kids, or have done this and don't like being called out for the disgusting practice it is when its done just for an advantage.

Redshirting/NOT GOING TO!!

- submitted by Anonymous on 08/13/2010

My son's birthday is in August. He will turn 5 and start kindergarten FOUR days later. His father, who believes our son should wait a year so he will have an advantage, is very displeased with me for making this decision. I personally believe the whole redshirting theory is unfair and teaches our young generation age and sex discrimination before they even know the full meaning of the words generation and discrimination. If FIVE wasn't the age for students to start school, why hasn't it been Nationally changed??? I have researched this subject, looked at statistics, and there is no hard evidence that waiting a year benefits a young five year old.. There is also no hard evidence that redshirting provides benefits. Today Kindergarten is like the new first grade.. I believe it's more challanging because test scores are going up. These days more kids are attending pre-school, daycares are teaching kids spanish, and that really has nothing to do with redshirting. Kids actually learn more in the first few years of life than they ever will.. "why is the ski blue?" Think about this.. Our Nation the wonderful USA is now working towards making pre-school mandatory.. Now why would our country do that if kids were not capable of learning so young? Behavior has also been the issue with redshirting.. I can see keeping them back if he or she isn't potty trained, has a learning disability or has major behavior problems.. Now that's a good reason, but excuses like.. He'll be a better athlete, he/she will already know a little so will make better grades, he/she wont get in as much trouble for not being able to stay still, etc. That's bologna..

Redshirting, continued..

- submitted by Anonymous on 08/13/2010

To further my previous argument.. Yes, there are middle-class parents who decide to keep kids home and there are lower-class parents who send children to school just for free lunches. So.. this also makes redshirting unfair. Why should the wealthy have an advantage? I am middle-class stay at home wife/mother. I was once a single mom (of my almost five year old) until 2 years ago. I didn't need free lunches, but I've struggled. Today Yes, I could afford to keep my son home until next year if I wanted to. And honestly, yes he is a little wild.. HE'S A BOY!!! What's the advantage of keeping him home or sending him to another year of pre-school? He's gonna get in trouble either place.. and if I don't make him follow rules now he never will. So if he has to repeat Kindergarten, he has to repeat it. In my opinion, I'd be handing him a crutch if I held him back. If he doesn't do well in Kindergarten this year, it's not because I sent him early, it's because I've failed him in structure, routine, discipline, etc. I'm raising a man, not a boy who always has mommy or daddy get him out of everything. Sorry, this is just something I feel passionately about.. Teachers should have more authority to discipline, children should be taught RESPECT. We need to stop "babying" our youth.. They will one day run this country!!