What age to start kindergarten at?

I started 1 month after I turned 5. I think 4 years and 11 months (September) is the earliest they let our schools start. I think anything before that is too early and just let them have fun I guess. They'd be 18 during their senior year when I had to wait for after graduation. If you start them early, they'd be 17 in college, which sucks. You need a parent to co-sign everything since they won't legally have capacity.

 

This may seem trivial but... above and beyond whether they are ready consider this....

Are kids in you family typically big for age or small for age?

If you put a small for age boy, ahead a year, he could be the smallest in class. may not be a big deal in K, but may be a big deal in 5th grade...

just another factor IMO...

 

I think it depends on their maturity and readiness as well as the kind of pre-school and kindergarten it is. My son was on the cusp also, many years ago, and we knew we were going to send him to an "academic" kindergarten (i.e. they were going to teach reading, numbers, etc) with less playtime. So we kept him in pre-school for the extra year as he tended to be "antsy". This was also a plus in our minds since the pre-school was known for promoting and encouraging creativity. So when he started, he was one of the older kids in his grade, but not the oldest.

As it turned out, when we moved to a new school district, in 4th grade, we discovered that his prior school had been very good academically and he was ahead of his grade in the new school district. So we had him moved up a few months later into the next grade and he was back to where he would have been if he had started kindergarten early. It worked out OK mostly because he was new anyway and he made friends easily; we probably wouldn't have done it if he had still been in the same social group that he had been for several years in the prior district.

Edit: Simon is right. Another big factor in the decision was that our son was the smallest kid in his age group, even smaller than most of the girls, and we worried that he would get "run over" by the larger kids. By 4th grade, he was mid-range in size and that was not a factor.

 

I'm a school teacher and I would start them later. PLEASE, start them later.

 

Two of my three kids were in the same age group, and we had that same dilemma. We had them each go to kindergarden two years. Best decision we made.

No social repercussions for the kids. One is in college now, the other will be in 11th grade next year.

 

Don't listen to that teacher guy! If ya say his name real fast a whole buncha times - it sounds like "Ritalin." Coincidence? I think not!


I was youngest in my class - started at 4 & lived to tell about it.

One classmate was 51 weeks & 3 days older. Like many of the local nutters, he rode motorcycles before most, hell any classmates rode 10-speeds & later on had a really cool '33 Ford pickup. R.I.P. James - the world will never know how beautiful those handmade knives were.

Another guy who was 2 days younger than me was a year behind me in school. His younger brother introduced me to the joys of root beer, his older brother drove a red and white, just cherry Chevy Bel-Air and his sister had the first Honda Car in town. Man, that thing was small. Rick and I were best friends & many years later, as a Nurse after he got out of the Army, was first to know my Grandmother was no longer of this earth. It was also he who notified my Pop of her passing. What's funny is, she'd never let him in her house when we were kids because he was really, really fat. He and his older brother were the only overweight kids in our entire school. She thought he was gonna eat all the ice cream or something. He and his older brother who now sells insurance along the Central Coast of California both weigh less than I do now & I ain't fat, by any stretch. I look forward to seeing these old friends someday.

So, when all is said and done - if these 4-year-olds are ready for school, they're well on their way to creating a lifetime of memories with new friends who, with any luck at all, will become old friends. Otherwise, they'll just have to wait a year to do so.

 

Bo:
Interesting topic! I started school very early. I did not turn 5 until end of school year (April) for Kindergarten. Initially it was not a big deal. I was a tall kid for my age and could hold my own physically until 6th and 7th grade when 1 year makes a difference. I think being a year ahead was a small disadvantage in High school for athletics and dating but not for academics. I was able to play 3 varsity sports in my sr. year and graduate with a decemt GPA. When I reached College, I was 17 for Freshman year, not turning 18 until spring. I think the biggest issue for college is the level of mental maturity at 17 and being in a co-ed mixed upper and lower classman dorm. It might not have hurt to been a little older, wiser and less impulsive. It also might not have made a bit of difference, I just don't know.

For our son, who is born in October, we have not pushed him ahead. He will be one of the older kids as he grows up. I am sure the issues he has to deal with will be different, but kids today seem far more mature at an early age than my generation was.

 

it's a totally child-specific decision. i went in a year early and in retrospect i'd be pissed off at my parents if they had held me back (technically costing me one year of my adult life).

however in the end, i didn't push my own son in early - he just wasn't ready for it at age 4.8. it wasn't an easy decision - many long discussions with the boss who was adamantly against early K and myself who was adamantly for it. we made the right decision, for sure, but each kid is their own person.

doody.

 

I think it's funny that this thread is about school and the thread title ends in a preposition...

 

By the same token, indicating the humor therein prior to closing a sentence with a pause before smiling is equivalent to a dangling participle.

 

LOL...! I used a different version of that same joke to begin an article for the FML earlier this year... It's a good one...

 

It seems like a lot of people sending their kids to private schools are holding their children (boys in particluar) back a year so they start kindergarten at age 6. By doing that their sons are a year more mature when they reach high school and are bigger and faster than the kids who started "on time" at 5 years old. This is a big benefit when it comes to sports.

It is a real problem in middle school (grades 5 through 8) then in high school due to the developmental differences between boys and girls and the rate at which different kids mature. You may have a 12 year-old sixth grader in the same class with one who is about to turn 14. The 12 year-old boy is just that, a boy, while his classmate is well on the way to manhood. Much taller, heavier, stronger and very interested in the opposite sex. For girls who were not held back they start high school at 14 with senior guys who are pushing 19. Not a good scenario.

 

4.75 isn't bad at all. I thought this was going to be more around 4.5 or less...
Plus, I was usually the youngest in my class yet I grew faster than everyone else. I think I was 5'7 in 5th grade and by 8th grade I was 5'10 (my current height). I couldn't even remember being turned down because of a height problem for roller coasters when I was a kid.

 

Are your kids girls or boys? I think girls might do better starting earlier than boys do. Girls mature faster and are more verbal generally which helps in school. If your kids start at 4yrs 9 mos and Chicagoland is similar to my area they will be starting with kids who are 6+. I have friends with kindergarteners that turned 7 during kindergarten.

What happened when you and I were kids is not relevant. Talk to your peers and see what the trend is in your area. My daughter just finished 8th grade. When she was in 7th grade the younger boys (who started on time at 5 years + a few days) were less than 5 feet tall playing b-ball against older 7th graders (who were held back due to parental preference not academic deficiency) that were 5'10" or more. They lost every game by huge margins and got crushed physically and self-esteem wise.

Please visit with your peer parents that will be in the same school community as you and see what is normal. I realize that every child is different and can adapt to their surroundings but I'd think hard about starting school before 5 no matter how bright/mature they appear. Conversely I don't believe in starting them at 6 just so they're bigger when it comes to high school sports.

 

Probably the best idea here. Too often the kids are pushed or held back for the parent's convenience.

 

Hold them back, I say. Maybe start to teach them how to read at home or do math or something so they don't just sit around all day, but being one of the older kids in your class is going to help a lot when it comes to sports - I think it is worth it.

 

I was born in September and started early. I remember being very excited to go to school. Through the years, I don't feel like my age had any impact. My dad was in the Army, so I went to k-6 surrounded by mostly military kids. That might have done some leveling. Junior high and high school were public, but I never felt disadvantaged or out-of-place.

But of course, that is my clouded opinion. Who knows, maybe if my parents had held me back I could have been an athletic and academic superstar.

 

Not singling you out - but, it's as good a place to address the sporting angle that's been mentioned a few times.

My brother was youngest in his class, as well.

There is just no way on earth anyone will have as many track medals as he did. His letterman's jacket - couldn't see anything but metal. Looked like armor & those medals were nestled under one another.

A center, he was 3rd team All-American in Football. He was also Valley Champ in wrestling 3 years, tore a ligament early in his senior year at wrestling practice, sat out the balance of the season, rested it through the early going of his final track season, and still managed to make it to State, where he medalled in discus and shot put, beating guys that had a considerable size and age advantage.

Thing is, to this day, he's never even reached 160 pounds.

 

I'd suggest letting them go ahead and start kindergarten at 4. If they're already socializing with other kids, they're sure to enjoy school. They will develop at the same pace as their peers, even if physically they are a few months behind. When the kid finishes college at 21, it won't be that bad.
My bday is in January, so that put me at 5.5yo going into 1st grade. Granted it was private education, and some public school systems won't allow it. Never had a problem with it in all my school years.