What age should my son start kindergarden? ?

Question

he misses the cut off by five weeks they need to be five years old before september 30 and he turns five on November 4th. Which means that he has to wait out the whole year until the following september where he will then be five for only september and october and then will be six in kindergarden. Does this seem odd, do you think I should push him in via testing? Has anyone done this particularly with boys? how did it work out? maybe you were the oldest in school?

Answer 1

24

Answer 2

Just go with the flow....you'll be glad. Kids all catch up by about the fourth grade. Older children tend to do better in school. Enjoy the extra year :)

Answer 3

5 or 6 year old. thats normaly the age most kids start.  

Answer 4

My daughter has a late September birthday. I waited and I am glad I did. My friend's child is a week older than mine and they decided to enroll her child in private school and transferred to public in first grade. Here is the pros in my humble opinion: 1. Kinder and first grade kids like to be the oldest and have the first birthday-they think it is cool. 2. Developmentally she was more ready to learn to read and started reading in Kinder. By early first grade she was accepted into the gifted program. 3. She has not suffered socially at all.

Here are the cons I have seen: 1.  My friend's child was struggling with reading at the end of first and they were talking about holding him back, he learned to read early second grade (just needed to get to that stage in his development, but it would have happened in first grade had she waited). 2. Another child told him about the tooth fairy not being real before he lost any teeth. This upset my friend because she felt it was "ruined" for him. 3. This brings up other milestones. His peers will begin to date, drive, and drink before she thinks he is "ready", then what will she do?

Answer 5

Just wait until the next year when he is able to go to public school.  Private school is a waste of money and time the teachers do not have to be certified to teach at the schools and if it is a small school sometimes it is some of the parents that are teaching the classes and you have no idea if they are qualified or not.  Private schools lead you to beleave that their children are ahead in learning vs the public schools. In reality they are not some are the children may be ahead and learn a few things at a younger age but for the most part it is all fluff , smoke and mirrors.  I had my sons in private school for 4 years and now that I look back I should have just moved into a better school district to solve that problem.

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Answer 6

Honestly, schools should just have the same cut off dates.  It makes life so less confusing! In Great Neck, the children must be at least five years old by December 1.

Answer 7

I'm a teacher and have taught both kindergarten and 1st-3rd. In the 8 times that I've seen a boy pushed through, it always didn't work out.

Typically boys mature later than girls and my answer would honestly be different if you had a girl. Boys benefit from being the oldest in the class. It's not even an academic issue - more importantly a social issue.  I had a few kids that seemed young in first but it really started to catch up by 2nd and very obviously in 3rd. Some kids got held back because they were just so immature that it started to affect the school work academically.

The boys that are older seem to fit right in. There is nothing more shaming than being held back a grade. Wouldn't you rather have your kiddo excel than to constantly feel that they are reaching.  Puberty wise... the late bloomer gets teased so being older probably would be a benefit in the high school grades.  

Answer 8

I agree with those who say wait and start him the following year. It helped my daughter to be one of the older children in her class especially in mid-school and high school. Boys that I have had in my pre-k class really do better if they wait that year too. One year keeping them behind can only help them both socially and academically. Even there emotional stability could be stronger with an extra year.  

Answer 9

I started school a year early. The cut-off was July 30th. I did not go to Kindergarten, I went straight to 1st grade at age 5. The big cons for me: The desk was too big, my feet did not touch the floor. I was too scared to use the bathroom (no one told me were it was on day 1, let's say, lots of accidents because I was shy).  I couldn't play with the toys because my bus came in right before school started. I got tired. I lost teeth last. My friends all liked 'boys'. My friends all had driver licenses. If a friend had a party, I was stuck getting a ride. Teachers were surprised, "what, you don't drive?" Then, worst, I advanced a grade. I started college at 17. My luck was I was gifted academically. I was not, however, gifted socially!!! Enjoy the extra year. I'd rather had been the 'smart older kid' in the class rather than the 'baby'.    

Answer 10

Attention all parents,

It really doesn't matter what age your child starts kindergarten.  No matter what the cutoff date is some child will miss it by a certain amount of time.  Everyone will have a birthday during the year so by the end of the year everyone will be the same age.  When your child turns 16 he will be one of the first to get his license all of the other kids will be envious of him.  If you enter him him in kindergarten early then he will be the youngest in the class and the last one to do everything. Which one is better to be first or last?  Don't worry about it.  Let your child enjoy the extra year before the pressure of school starts.