kindergarten age cutoff (credit, elementary school, college)

[capecodcathy]

Wow. This is a really sad thread. Parents who so desire to push their kids beyond where they should probably be, they're willing to move or jump to private schools just to assuage their own ego.

[JJLL07]

Originally Posted by capecodcathy

Wow. This is a really sad thread. Parents who so desire to push their kids beyond where they should probably be, they're willing to move or jump to private schools just to assuage their own ego.

I don't agree with you. There are different (sometimes dramatically) ways to raise/educate a child. Pushing or not pushing, I would not say one is absolutely better than the other. It depends on the child's personality, capability, emotional readiness, parents/teacher involvements, and sometimes culture background. It does not have much to do with parents' own ego.

[NotAPrincess]

Originally Posted by JJLL07

I don't agree with you. There are different (sometimes dramatically) ways to raise/educate a child. Pushing or not pushing, I would not say one is absolutely better than the other. It depends on the child's personality, capability, emotional readiness, parents/teacher involvements, and sometimes culture background. It does not have much to do with parents' own ego.

very well said.

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by JJLL07

I don't agree with you. There are different (sometimes dramatically) ways to raise/educate a child. Pushing or not pushing, I would not say one is absolutely better than the other. It depends on the child's personality, capability, emotional readiness, parents/teacher involvements, and sometimes culture background. It does not have much to do with parents' own ego.

I agree there are different ways to raise a child but why the rush to start school? I see wanting your child to succeed as a positive but do you really feel that waiting one more year will have a life altering negative effect on his or her future? And why resort to such extremes to circumvent the rules that are set out by the school district that you've chosen?

Bottom line, whether they start at 4.9 or 5.9 they will still most likely finish their education in the same amount of time. And honestly if the reason for wanting the early start is because your child is truly gifted, he or she may even end up skipping a grade and be done at the same time as they would have had you enrolled them early. And while your child might display signs of readiness now, that early precocity is in no way an accurate indicator of future success or that they will be developmentally ahead throughout the important early years of education.

I'm really just curious. I live in a district where it is the norm to hold kids back rather than start early so I find your approach and that of others who have done this very interesting.

[capecodcathy]

Such "motivated" parents of pre-school and kindergarten aged children do not factor in the long term effects of the parental ego on the child. I've seen it become all consuming. It's just pitiful. The child suffers in the long run.

[jfitt]

Originally Posted by JJLL07

We are relocating to Lexington MA. We have a kid who has a December birthday. Does anyone know a public or private school that does not require the "age 5 by September 1" rule for kindergarten?

This link to the DOE website Office of Elementary School Services - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education lists the cut off ages. Quite interestingly, Worcester is one of the few districts that has a Dec 31 date. I was on a committee which looked into changing the date to better align with the other districts. One of the school committee members gave what he believed to be the "BEST" reason for changing the date--- the other districts would have stronger sports teams because they have "older" kids as seniors

[CityLight]

Originally Posted by capecodcathy

Such "motivated" parents of pre-school and kindergarten aged children do not factor in the long term effects of the parental ego on the child. I've seen it become all consuming. It's just pitiful. The child suffers in the long run.

I see! That's almost like saying "money can't buy happiness"! Each child is different so who are you to say which method is correct? Some children are emotionally more mature than others so limiting one's learning environment based solely on age is ridiculous. People can say that eventually children grow up and they'll learn eventually. But how about the saying that genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration. Why does it have to be parents' ego that motivates them to push for success? How about the pure motivation that the world evolve from bright ideas and hard-working people who have the brain and perseverance and parents who've done so themselves want their children grow up to be a respectful and useful people as well? Your example of generalizing over-achieving children and demeaning their parents, to my onion, is pitiful, to say the least.

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by jfitt

One of the school committee members gave what he believed to be the "BEST" reason for changing the date--- the other districts would have stronger sports teams because they have "older" kids as seniors

Did he mean "stronger" as in better or "stronger" as in physically- making the age discrepancy a safety issue?

For instance my young sophomore football player @ 130 lbs got trucked over by an older Jr. @265 lbs and ended up with whiplash and 6 weeks of PT.

As freshman, my kids played a LAX team where some of the players on the other team looked much older and bigger. When they took of their helmets, exposing full beards and then got in their cars and drove away, it was apparent they were.

These are issues we never considered when my young child - who made the cut off date of the school system-was deemed as being "ready" for elementary school.

[capecodcathy]

Originally Posted by CityLight

I see! That's almost like saying "money can't buy happiness"! Each child is different so who are you to say which method is correct? Some children are emotionally more mature than others so limiting one's learning environment based solely on age is ridiculous. People can say that eventually children grow up and they'll learn eventually. But how about the saying that genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration. Why does it have to be parents' ego that motivates them to push for success? How about the pure motivation that the world evolve from bright ideas and hard-working people who have the brain and perseverance and parents who've done so themselves want their children grow up to be a respectful and useful people as well? Your example of generalizing over-achieving children and demeaning their parents, to my onion, is pitiful, to say the least.

My comments are simply from personal experience. The first was more than capable, both emotionally and academically, to begin K when she was four. As the years wore on, the gap in emotional maturity would widen and then lessen. Several school years were difficult because of it. But I was the mother of an "advanced" student!!!!! She was tested........she MUST be ready, right? And she was considered academically advanced all through school. Emotional maturity was another thing.
No so much. While she's very well-adjusted at 20 years old now, I still wish I had waited that extra year instead of being all full of my own bad self. It would have saved us both a lot of unnecessarily early "growing pains".
No parent can predict what their little "prodigy" will encounter. From experience, I wish I had erred on the side of caution and silenced my own ego.

[CityLight]

Originally Posted by capecodcathy

My comments are simply from personal experience. The first was more than capable, both emotionally and academically, to begin K when she was four. As the years wore on, the gap in emotional maturity would widen and then lessen. Several school years were difficult because of it. But I was the mother of an "advanced" student!!!!! She was tested........she MUST be ready, right? And she was considered academically advanced all through school. Emotional maturity was another thing.
No so much. While she's very well-adjusted at 20 years old now, I still wish I had waited that extra year instead of being all full of my own bad self. It would have saved us both a lot of unnecessarily early "growing pains".
No parent can predict what their little "prodigy" will encounter. From experience, I wish I had erred on the side of caution and silenced my own ego.

Maybe the lesson learned here is that you should silence your own ego based on your painful experience and that, even though it's perfectly ok to give one's own experience, please do not assume every parent send their kids early because of their egos.