When should our October babies start kindergarten?

KrIsTiNa - posted on 04/26/2012

Everyone who I've talked to says to hold mine back another year. After all he's a boy! They need to mature and think about when they are older and in sports, if he waits a year he will be bigger. This is what people tell me, theres no rush. I Aug and Sept daughters who got into kinder as the cutoff was Dec in Cali at that time. My son would have gotten into Kinder this fall if we still vied in Cali but our new state is Aug 31. While I do not think he is as ready as his older sister was, she was reading between prek and kinder, I think he is at about the same level if not a little higher than his middle sister who had 2 years of prek. I had to pay a fee to have my son test in Aug to get into Kinder so hopefully he makes it in. I am also going to sign him up over the 3 month summer break at a local daycare that has a letter and phonics class. i figure if he makes it great if not I would be upset just because all my children were born towards the end of the year and don't see him being so different. I do think that any child should go to prek before kinder just because they demand a lot now a days and to have that experience rather than being thrown into it is a good thing and will help the child. Most kinders are half day and I figure if they need to be held back in kinder than they were not ready and no big deal. Some other things to think about are the fact that when your child graduates from hs they may leave for college, coulda had an extra year if you waited to put him into kinder, they will not be 18 when they graduate hs so over the summer they will not have some of the freedoms their peers will enjoy, also they will not get their drivers license until they are in a higher grade as a lot of their peers. You also have to think about the childs maturity. My oldest was born Sept 2004, she's 7 in 2nd grade. She is at a higher level in 2nd grade and does 3rd grade work at home no prob. Acedemic wise she's AMAZING. But maturity wise I do see a little bit of a difference and see her starting to act different like her peers when she's around them. I feel she may be growing up a little faster than she should be. It will be the same and progress as they get older that to me is an important decision to take into account.

Janna - posted on 04/25/2012

Wow! My states cutoff is the end of Sept. My son is 4, and will be 5 on Halloween. He has been NAGGING me to go to school since last year and he can't start kindergarten yet. However, we have 3 and 4 year old programs (Pre-K) and we've already done his "screening" for Pre-K. He's so excited.
Generally, kids that are in Preschool/Pre-K have an easier time in Kindergarten than those kids that don't. I would've started him in when he was 3, but people always told us that you had to pay, which isn't true. (We've also heard NOT to enroll kids into our local Head Start. No one has said WHY, but I haven't.)
Every child is different and it could help her to actually put her into a Pre-K program. See if your elementary school offers such a program. We DON'T have to pay for the classes, which is wonderful. It is state funded. Check it out. :-)

Melissa - posted on 12/01/2011

pre school and even day care does wonders for children before school. my son just started in septemeber. he was only 3 going into JK. it was harder on me than him to see him off :( we debated on whether or not to send him this year, but where im from (ontario, canada) all 2007 babies start in the same year. if we would have waited he would miss JK call together and would have to start in SK to keep with his 2007 bith year classmates. i can tell u from experience now, that he is doing well. BUT myself and my husband are bother december babies and were always the youngest of our classmates. i did struggle. 11 months of 'extra' development is a big deal, especially for little ones. i dont think its fair, but there is no real time or cut off date that would make it fair. i wouldnt wait, unless you really believe that u can offer ur child all that the school would from home.

Sukanya - posted on 11/16/2011

My school's cut off is Sep1 for Four year kindergarten. I put my son in a preschool for a year before he started regular school. It really helped him a lot to start off here. Maybe try part time preschool from 3 years. They will love it.

Elizabeth - posted on 10/21/2011

My state (ca) is Dec 1st so my Daughter will start kinder just a few weeks before she is six, crazy

Michelle - posted on 09/27/2011

The school we want to put my son in the cut off is 5 by sep 30th and they have a 6 by sep 30th for first grade to keep people from trying to bypass it. Stupid if you ask me. So I have no choice but to wait an extra year. They won't budge on it. I was going to put him in the preschool there but he would have had to be in the 3 year old classroom for 2 years (they didn't want him anyway because he was barely 3 last year and the entire rest of his class was turning 4 within months). So I put him in a different preschool and now that he's turning 4 in a couple weeks it's really setting in that he's going to be a whole year behind because of 2 weeks.

Michelle - posted on 09/23/2011

My state has the cutoff of Sept. 15. If your child is not 5 on or before that day, you may NOT register them for K. Most states do not require K as a legitimate grade either. Check your compulsory school age laws before you make a decision. Also remember, no-one knows your child like YOU do. Make your decision according to how ready your child is for school.

Christina - posted on 09/23/2011

Thanks all for your input! It helped form my opinion and organize my thoughts better, and also reassured me that I'm not the only one going crazy over this cutoff date nonsense!

Vanessa - posted on 09/17/2011

My daughter's birthday is September 19th (she will be 4 this year) and our state's cut off date is September 1st. If I go by what the cut off date she won't be attending school until 2013 and she will be almost 6 years old. I'm actually going to talk to the school board to find out if she can enter school in 2012. That way she will be 4 but only for a couple of weeks. My daughter is also quite smart though and loves to hang out with older children (especially her older cousins) so she's more mature than most kids her own age so I feel it's best if she goes to school next year because if she has to wait I think she will be really bored. You really just have to know your child and if your state will even let your child in.

Frances - posted on 09/12/2011

Florida's cutoff is Sept 1, so I went around it by enrolling my daughter in a private school who's director doesn't think that school readiness can be judged by how many candles are on the birthday cake before a certain date. My daughter will attend pre-k, kindergarten and 1st grade there before I can transfer her to the public school system, but I'm sure it will be worth every penny :)

Desiree - posted on 09/09/2011

My son will start kindy in 2013 and he will be 5 weeks shy of his 6th birthday. That seems so old to start, but then my daughter is a Nov. baby and she did just fine.

Christina - posted on 09/09/2011

This is the second year my daughter has been in preschool, so it's not a question of her not having experienced school before. She loves school. My birthday is in April so I was one of the youngest in my class; however, I always felt held back, that, shall we say, less developed people made it difficult for me personally to excel because the teachers were being held up with those that had more difficulties. I also lived in a small town, so not many advanced classes were available. I'd love to be able to put her in a bigger school, in which case I might actually wait until she's five. But the school district we're in currently... I feel that she would be too bored in school if I wait until she's five, almost six.

Brennan - posted on 09/08/2011

I TOTALLY GET IT! My three year old's birthday is Oct. 25th. Where we live, the children have to be 5 before Sept. 25 to start Kindergarten. Because of the cut-off, he will be almost 6 when he starts. I am going to put it like this...my cousin and I discussed years ago the public schools use to test the children to see if they were advanced enough to go to Kindergarten or if not they would go to Pre-K first. Years ago when my Aunt brought my cousin for testing at school, she was so upset when they tested her and told her she had to go to Pre-K. She also had an Oct. birthday. We think it was more of a maturity thing in the lower grades. Never the less the extra year didn't faze her life and in school she made straight A's. The girl that was held back an extra year and was almost 19 when she finished high school.... just graduated from LSU with a full paid scholarship and is very successful. My 3yr old will be starting Kindergarten right before his 6th birthday and will be 5 on the first day.(An older 5 yr old) I have an 11 year old who has a birthday at the end of July.(She was a younger 5 year old) She is a straight A student now, but I can remember wishing in those lower grades that we had the extra maturity compared to most in her class. But she made it and you would never know now in the 6th grade. (Boy does it fly) ....17 or 18 when they graduate high school??? 18 sounds a lot better to me!!! Try a pre-school class. To be a few months older and time to mature, I think gives them an advantage to academics sports and dealing with situations. My 3 year old is in a 3 day / 3 hour per day program and loves it. He will be there this school year with the 3 yr olds and next school year with the 4 yr olds for 4 days. My 11 year old went to the same preschool and I know it really helped when she had to go to big school!!!

San - posted on 09/05/2011

Here kids usually go to school when age 4 or 5 yrs old. I think 4 is very young and they benefit from been an extra year older. So to answer your question, my son will be going to school in Sept 2012 (a month b4 he turns 5)...

Autumn - posted on 09/02/2011

you should start her out in preschool first. thats what i did with my daughter she will be 4 oct.13th. and our states cutoff date is aug 1st for kinderg. so she will probly be in prek again next year if they dont let her slide. but either way she is happy! and preschool prepares them for kinderg. so its and easier transition for them and they get to learn and do really cool things. my daughter loves it!