Ann is the mother of an energetic and outdoorsy 7-year-old. Two years ago, though his mid-summer birthday meant he was old enough to enter Kindergarten in the Downingtown Area School District, Ann and her husband didn’t think their son was ready to focus on classroom learning. After talking to his preschool teachers, they decided to “redshirt” him, or delay his entry to Kindergarten for a year.
“I didn’t want him to be on the lower end socially, physically and academically. Those things impact confidence and carry through,” she says. Now two months removed from the completion of her son’s delayed Kindergarten year, Ann is “100 percent confident” that redshirting was the right decision.
This quiet but persistent trend began formally about two decades ago, when schools implemented transitional preK programs in response to a growing demographic of“immature” boys, some diagnosed with ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. Today, the decision to redshirt comes more from parents who hope their children will mature over the skipped year and start school when they’re a bit more advanced developmentally.
Area school district age mandates vary widely; some require Kindergarteners to turn 5 by June 15; others will enroll kids who don’t turn 5 until December of their Kindergarten year. About 9 percent of potential Kindergarteners are redshirted nationwide each year. Research shows that redshirted children tend to be:
- Kids with late-summer birthdays. Instead of entering Kindergarten as one of the youngest in the class, they begin a year later as one of the oldest.
- Boys. “When you compare boys and girls at 4, 5, 6, girls are more advanced developmentally,” says Dominic F. Gullo, PhD, professor of early childhood education at Drexel University.
- Middle class. Families who redshirt tend to be able to afford another year of preschool or daycare.
While there is not a lot of current research on redshirting, past studies have drawn mixed conclusions. The benefits may be more short-term in nature, says Rena Hallam, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Delaware. Gullo concurs: “Studies show that either things even out, or such students have more difficulty socially and academically down the road.”
Kindergarten redshirting considerations
Birth dates. “Just because your child has a late birthday doesn’t mean she’s not ready for Kindergarten,” says Hallam. Indeed, despite her sons’ August birth dates, Sue from Marlton, NJ enrolled both of her boys in Kindergarten as young 5-year-olds. The family gave serious consideration to delaying enrollment for their first son, but because he was reading and doing math in preschool, “The academics outweighed everything else for us at the time,” she says. She was also concerned that her son “would have been bored to tears if he had to stay in preschool another year.” Sue’s boys have now finished 1st and 5th grades and are doing well academically, she reports.
Academic expectations. It’s important to get a handle on your school’s curriculum to find out what will be expected. Years ago, Kindergarten was “a place where you were socialized for school,” Gullo says. Increasingly, kids are exposed to numbers, colors, shapes and letters in preK, and as a result, Kindergarten is becoming more structured and academic.
Intangibles. Though experts say there is no simple way to know if your child is ready for Kindergarten or not, Gullo recommends that parents take note of the following markers.
Socialization skills
- How well kids cooperate
- How well they pay attention
- How long they can focus
- Their ability to persist in a task
Language skills
- Ability to communicate
- Ability to understand and answer questions
- Ability to use language to get what they want
“It’s more about the social/emotional pieces that help children engage in school,” says Hallam. If a child is struggling in some of these areas, she might benefit from waiting another year. If you’re still on the fence, Hallam recommends weighing the input of two other important sources of information.
“Preschool teachers have a really good handle on things,” she says. They know the child developmentally and also tend to know the schools in the area well.
Kindergarten assessments. Most school districts assess children before they start school. Use the results to help you make your decision.
“Most children are ready for Kindergarten,” says Hallam, who points to family support as the most important ingredient in building successful students. To get kids ready, she suggests scheduling playdates to help shy kids socialize. A visit to the school to see the classroom and meet the teacher is helpful for an apprehensive child. And read together; Click here for a list of books about starting Kindergarten that can help preschoolers mentally prepare for their first year of school.
Suzanne Koup-Larsen is a contributing writer to MetroKids.
