These happen much much more than what we think and these are what prompted the school districts to advance the age of kindergarteners.. if you look up redshirting in wiki, it will tell you that kids born on later part of year are more often redshirted..

It’s got nothing to do with your kid, but they do what’s better for most kids!

This was my fear for my son. Although at 9 months it’s certainly too soon to say, but at this age is already in the 95th percentile and with my height I’m sure he’ll remain at the top of the growth charts. I’ve also read a lot about this subject in the past few days and found that many older children get bored as the years pass. I wish your daughter the best. As another commenter said I wish the school system was based on abilities not age, but I realize it would take a lot more time and care from teachers and administrators to figure out exactly what our children were capable of. Good luck to you.

I actually looked into this. In MD though it looks like most private schools are now adhering to the new calendar as well. As my son gets older we can always investigate this solution if it seems that he is ready to start school early. At 9 months it is definitely too early to tell 🙂

Thanks for the comment Betsy. I will probably do a gradual transition to preschool too. I like the idea of getting my son accustomed to it over time. I have also heard that little girls do a lot better than boys at starting school early.

That said, I have also seen that little girls in similar date situations usually do just fine. They develop at a different rate and often ready to start even if they are a young five. For my boys who work to sit still, practice fine motor skills and listening skills, that extra year really helped.

As for daycare, I am a SAHM so didn’t do full-time daycare but I did start them gradually in preschool: one day a week at age 2, twice a week at 3 and so on. Other friends did longer programs but that worked for us. Your miles may vary but I’m sure this will give you food for thought. 🙂

Thanks for the comment TW. Interestingly I have never known anyone other than my husband to be held back, though I have heard that it is more common for boys to be held back then girls.

Perhaps the school systems are trying to limit the number of children being held back, but enforcing new dates that simply state that a child cannot start school if they are not a certain age. After reading all of the comments the majority of commenters seem to be in agreement that waiting an extra year should be viewed as a positive thing.

I think there are many misconceptions about children. I was always tall for my age so teachers expected me to be more mature even though I was the same age of everyone else in my classroom. It’s interesting how teachers view your daughter’s behavior.

Thanks so much for the comment!

Thanks for the comment Justin. Will your son need to wait an extra year or his birthday before August 1st? I hadn’t thought about the extra year of savings. That is one good way to look at it from a financial perspective.

Hi Michael – Thanks for commenting. I appreciate the perspective of a male reader. As I mentioned in an earlier comment my son will probably be quite tall, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be big and strong. Both my husband and myself were quite scrawny as children.

As for daycare. I’m not sure when I will return to the working world, but my son will certainly be involved in both mommy and me groups and early preschool/school activities if I do not return to work. I completely agree that all children need social avenues even as very young children. They don’t necessarily need daycare, but they do need to interact with children on a regular basis.