Helicopter parenting aside, it falls to you as a caregiver to make thoughtful choices for your child — particularly during their early years.
Many families invest considerable time and money choosing a neighborhood so their kids can attend top-rated schools. But for some parents the question isn’t only where to live — it’s when to start school.
Children whose birthdays fall near the beginning of the academic year (but still before their state’s official kindergarten cutoff) create a particular dilemma.
For example, imagine school begins Aug. 10, your child’s birthday is Aug. 25, and your state’s kindergarten cutoff is Sept. 1. Do you enroll your child in kindergarten when they’re 4 and about to turn 5? Or do you postpone enrollment until they’re 5, which is around the typical U.S. starting age, but nearly 6 by the time they complete kindergarten?
Choosing the latter option and delaying school enrollment by a year is commonly called “redshirting.”
Recent coverage and research outline advantages and disadvantages for both approaches.
Benefits of Waiting an Extra Year
For households laser-focused on getting their children into elite colleges, the headline of this recent Money piece — “Here’s Why the Oldest Kids in Kindergarten Are More Likely to Go to Harvard” — will encourage many toward redshirting.
The author referenced a new scholarly study finding that children who end up being among the oldest in their cohort are more likely to graduate from a selective college.
Given that Ivy League alumni often command higher salaries, this can be a convincing reason to hold a child back a year. That extra time could mean your youngster starts school with greater knowledge and emotional maturity than they would have a year earlier.
The same research also revealed that older classmates were 15% less likely to have been arrested by their 16th birthday.
Still, despite the upsides of delaying, other parents argue it’s perfectly acceptable — and sometimes preferable — to enroll children as soon as they’re eligible, even if that places them among the youngest students in the classroom.
Arguments Against Redshirting
For some families, beginning kindergarten earlier makes practical financial sense. Childcare is costly, and sending a child to public school sooner can potentially cut a year off those expenses.
For caregivers aiming to rejoin the labor force, starting a child at 4 rather than 5 can accelerate the parent’s return to work and income generation.
There are also social considerations to weigh when thinking about delaying a child’s school start.
An article from Working Mother cites a report on the topic which argues that keeping a child out of school for an extra year can leave them more mature than classmates socially, developmentally and emotionally, potentially making it harder to relate to peers.
That report describes a case where a redshirted youngster struggled to connect with younger classmates and developed behavioral problems.
Starting Kindergarten Is a Personal Choice
The points on both sides of the redshirting debate are persuasive, but the decision is ultimately a personal one and will differ by family circumstances.
For example, a household that travels frequently for work, military duty, or personal reasons might opt to delay enrollment. A family dealing with a parent’s serious health issue could also decide to keep their child home longer.
Conversely, parents might enroll their child at 4 if the child shows advanced academic readiness or is bored at home. Families where parents have limited English proficiency may prefer an earlier start so their child can develop stronger language skills in school.
In the end, you must advocate for the choice that best serves your child and fits your family’s needs.
Alex Morgan is a staff contributor at Savinly. They have a toddler whose birthday falls just after the kindergarten cutoff.
For more on the costs and challenges associated with childcare decisions, consider reading about the difficulty of child care assistance and an overview of typical child care costs.
