Meeghan Mousaw offers insight into how redshirting helps a child to grow socially and intellectually giving the child added confidence to assist with learning.
What contributes to high levels of success in kindergarten and beyond? Could the level of success a child has in kindergarten and the rest of school all come down to the child’s birthday? I am inclined to say yes, and here is why: Redshirting is the term used to describe when a parent delays her child’s entrance into kindergarten by one year so that the child can grow socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically. It usually occurs when the child’s birthday is very close to the cut-off date for school entrance and if the child entered on time, he would be the youngest in the class. Many times redshirting is discussed more specifically for 5 year old boys.
Typically boys mature more slowly than girls and redshirting a boy will give him a year more of maturity to help him with his studies. Take for example a boy born in early July, 2009. In July 2014 the boy would be 5 years old and qualified in most states to start kindergarten. At the same time there is another child in that boy’s classroom born in early August 2008 who did not make the cut-ff to enter kindergarten in 2013. In the same classroom we have a new five year old, and a six year old. The six year old is one year older, wiser, and stronger. By the time both these children are seniors in high school, the older child will be bigger and stronger in athletics, but, will the child be more successful academically as well?
Whenever I’m asked whether or not to hold a child back, I always answer a resounding “yes.” I firmly believe that holding a child back helps the child to grow socially and intellectually giving the child added confidence to assist him with learning. For instance, when you are teaching a child to read it is so important that the child have confidence with reading while learning. If a child struggles while learning, he loses confidence with reading. Little confidence leads to a child disliking to read. When a child dislikes reading, he does not like to learn to read. When teaching a child to read, it should come easy to the child. If a child is not ready to read intellectually, he will struggle and the downward spiral of self confidence and disliking reading begins. For this reason, I think it is always better to allow a child to grow more and become more reading ready, and ready for other kindergarten activities.
What if it is clear the child is ready to read? I still believe the child should wait to enter school. In fact, I encouraged a child to wait for entering kindergarten even though he was already reading and understanding at a high school level. In this case the child was clearly gifted and would be throughout his years of schooling. I wanted the child to be able to emotionally and socially handle his giftedness. I wanted the child to be confident and proud of his abilities and be able to handle any criticism from peers. Holding this child back immensely helped him socially and emotionally as he grew older, and his parents were thankful for the decision they made.
What does research say, though, on the long term effects of redshirting? Is redshirting really a clear-cut decision? Research on the long term effects of redshirting has mixed results. Proponents and opponents study the same data on long term effects and come to different conclusions on the value of redshirting. Often, too, with educational research, it is difficult to conclude the correct answer because every child is unique, every classroom is unique, every school is unique and every situation is unique.
What, then, is a parent to do when trying to decide when a child should enter kindergarten? I would propose that you look at your child’s unique situation and determine what you believe is best for him. Some questions you may want to ask include:
- Is my child ready to read?
- How has my child done in pre-school in relation to his peers? Ask the child’s preschool teacher if he is ready to attend school
- Visit the child’s future kindergarten classroom and get a feel how well you think a child would do in the classroom. Have the future kindergarten teacher meet with your child.
- Is your child shy? Do you think kindergarten will be an overwhelming experience for him?
- Speak to your child’s pediatrician. Doctors see children on a daily basis and he/she may be able to provide insight on your child’s development in relation to peers.
- Is your child independent? Can he follow directions without too much “nagging.”
- Does your child play well with other children?
- Are you ready for your child to go to kindergarten?
- Will your child excel and work hard trying to be the best in the class or will he become frustrated and lose confidence if he ‘fails’?
I have had to make the decision once so far with my daughter. It was clear to me that redshirting would be best for her. She was shy in preschool and she struggled learning letters and letter sounds (more so than her older sister). She would get frustrated when she wasn’t the best and she would lose confidence in her abilities. Holding her back helped her tremendously. She entered kindergarten still a shy child but when she saw she was reading better than her peers she became confident and more outgoing. Even with redshirting she was not the top of her class but she felt good about going to school each day. I am happy with the decision I made for her.
What does your instinct tell you about what is best for your child? Parents usually do not regret redshirting their child, but many times parents do regret sending their child early. Once a child starts school and struggles, it is difficult to hold back the child and have him repeat a grade. These are all things to consider. Ultimately the decision is yours, and you know what is best for your child.
Need some tips on getting your son ready for school? On our blog Mrs. Karle, a retired first grade teacher, helps to teach children to read for free through youtube videos and free worksheets. Additionally, we help struggling readers learn to read better and learn to like reading. Lastly we offer tips and ideas to help parents, teachers and caregivers make learning to read fun.
Photo: ScottVanderChijs/Flickr
My mom was an elementary teacher and chose to put me in Kindergarten instead of holding me back. It was definitely tougher for me this way, but I am now all the stronger from it. So, I would say it depends on the child, and also sometimes we need to stop shoehorning everyone into boxes. Go with your gut and don’t make everything such a big deal. Kids need stability and love from their parents no matter what age they enter school… that’s the proven formula for success.
I wish we would have held my son back a year but his preschool was so bad, we really had no other choice. That said, he is with a fantastic group of friends and I think it will work out in the end.
This strikes be as completely backward. If I’m going to intentionally hold my sons back a year for the rest of their lives, I’m going to need a damn good reason. And, certainly not just because he’s a boy. If there’s not something about this specific boy that makes him genuinely unable to keep-up with all the other kids that can manage to go through school at the right time, I won’t hamstring him for no reason. Their whole life will be a year behind where it could’ve been because of this decision — they’ll graduate later, get a job… Read more »
I teach high school, and the disparity in the maturity level between boys and girls is huge, especially in the 9th grade year. I think there is some value in researching this idea. Not all, but some boys seem to just need an extra year to mature and adjust socially. I think the idea of redshirting them could absolutely be beneficial.
I had a fall birthday and my parents held me back a year. I have always resented them a bit for this. I was always the oldest, biggest kid in the class, I hit puberty earlier than other girls and this caused huge social problems and emotional damage (as a girl). Maybe for boys this wpuld be an advantage though?
I have a winter birthday so I too was one of the older kids in my class at school. Whether or not it helped me per se I can’t say. I do think though that maybe starting all boys at school a year later than the girls could be helpful. It has long been seen that girls mature earlier than boys and there is nothing wrong with that – simple biology I feel is the key. The way I see it, because females are born with a finite number of eggs, it is advantageous to them to mature and become… Read more »
In most states, the cutoff is September 1st, which means that someone with a fall birthday would have to wait till they were almost 6 to go. So in most states, you would have been in the proper grade.
We started our youngest at nearly six for this reason. I think it was the right choice.
You put your six yr old in Kindergarten? Wasn’t he bored?
This seems to be an America thing. Correct me if I am wrong this is only done to boys not girls?