Redshirting - Is it a "race" thing?

[lastminutemom]

It is an economic thing, the higher the free and reduced lunch rate at a school, the less often you will see parents holding their kids back, at least voluntarily. There is no "free" option for parents who want to delay the start of kindergarten.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Originally Posted by kaday

Honestly for me it was a gut feeling...something I could not put my finger on....and maturity, and low self esteem. Luckily I found a good group of parents in my daughters preschool and we'd share our concerns. We all still keep in touch and almost all of our kids have some kind of issue, speech, convergence syndrome, dyslexia, ADHD etc. My daughter has an IQ of 134. She is very bright she is dyslexic. I knew she was bright when I held her back....it had nothing to do with that. There are things you don't always recognize or can't be tested for until reading is important but as a parent you know they are there. I can't judge another parent who makes this choice. I am sure they have good reasons. And nobody wants a sad child watching his friend and neighbors get on the bus for kindergarten wondering whats wrong with me. Like I said it is a hard choice. Maybe the parents of the girls you knew had good reasons.....ones you couldn't see. Sometimes being "normal" just means keeping up with the herd.

See, I would put your reason under academic. My brother's learning disability is dyslexia. It's very severe, too. He, too, suffered from esteem problems and delayed maturity. I believe it's common with dyslexics (perhaps other disabilities, too, but I am just versed in dyslexia). Like your daughter, my brother is very intelligent. He just learns differently and he was self-conscious about it.

To this day, if he applies for a job he has our mother re-type his cover letters and resume. And I can't say I blame him. The world isn't always very willing to look past an introductory sentence filled with mis-coded words.

Trust me, there was nothing wrong with these girls. I knew them pretty well. Their parents thought it would look impressive in college applications, etc.

[kaday]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

See, I would put your reason under academic. My brother's learning disability is dyslexia. It's very severe, too. He, too, suffered from esteem problems and delayed maturity. I believe it's common with dyslexics (perhaps other disabilities, too, but I am just versed in dyslexia). Like your daughter, my brother is very intelligent. He just learns differently and he was self-conscious about it.

To this day, if he applies for a job he has our mother re-type his cover letters and resume. And I can't say I blame him. The world isn't always very willing to look past an introductory sentence filled with mis-coded words.

Trust me, there was nothing wrong with these girls. I knew them pretty well. Their parents thought it would look impressive in college applications, etc.

True it became academic but at the time it wasn't. Our local kindergarten strongly advised against holding her back. At 4 academically she was superior. When people make these choices its too early to be academic. I agree with you that holding your kids back to give them an advantage is shameful...I just believe most people don't do it for that reason.

By the way now there is a spell check designed for dyslexics.....don't know if you've seen it.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Really? I'll check it out and let my brother know about it. Thanks!