Kindergarten at 4...WWYD?

Just trying to get some input...what are your thoughts on this? DS turns 5 on November 28th, and the cutoff for starting kindergarten in NY is December 1st. So he makes it by just 3 days. I was talking to my mom about it, and she thinks that I should hold him back a year so that he's 5 when he starts.

I'm conflicted about this. Academically, there's no question that he's ready. He's been reading since before he turned 4, and he does some math (patterns, basic addition and subtraction, that sort of thing). He learns really quickly. My concern is that he'd more than likely be the youngest one in his class...which worries me as far as maturity level and sports (although he's big for his age) and things like that.

So what do you think? Pros/cons?

I started at 4 and was always the youngest in my class. I never had an issue. The only thing that sucked was I got my license after everyone else, but in the grand scheme of things, that's not a big deal.

I would send at 4...but I maybe biased since all kids here must be in kindergarten all day at 4 yrs old, unless homeschooled till grade 1...kwim?

I think 4 is the perfect age to start school.

Making friends is a pro
more learning pro
being and learning to be independant pro

I could go ona nd on with pro's....I see no cons in it at all. lol

I would do it. If he seems ready, there's not really a point to hold him back.

I started at 4 too. The only thing that sucked..was in hs when everyone was already 18 & I was only 17. But other than that..I had no problems in school being the youngest! & my bday is September 9th..I think the cutoff here was the end of September I'm not sure.

I started when I was 4. I didn't have a problem academically. I was the youngest but I think being young helped me mature a little faster.

Why hold him back if you have no concerns? I'd send him.

Our cut off here is September 1 and my son was born Aug 2nd, but he was 3 weeks early. He is developmentally delayed and I worry non-stop about Kindergarten next year...if he was 1 week late instead of 3 weeks early I'd have a whole nother year of Pre-K. But I'm not going to hold him back, I'm going to let him try his hardest and see where it lands us.

I would send him. I went at 4, and do not see the big deal people make about thinking they should be older. The red-shirting kindergarteners thing annoys me.

I would go ahead. If he's too far ahead it will be worse on him, plus then he'll be OLDER than everyone else.

I would wait. If I remember correctly from some development courses I took and studies I read (and I *could* be wrong, it's been a few years) younger kids don't do as well. At that age, those few months do make a difference and the impact of that carries on throughout their schooling and they're always trying to play catch up.
LO was born on December 2 so we just missed it, but I was planning on waiting even if he had been born at the end of November.

I put my daughter in at 4. Shoot my son wants to go already and he's 3 lol I don't see why you have to wait until they are 5

I would send them. My momstarted us in schoolyoung like that & we did fine & our speech inprove even more

Quoting Derpy Hooves:" I would send him. I went at 4, and do not see the big deal people make about thinking they should be older. The red-shirting kindergarteners thing annoys me."

Yeah, I was definitely leaning towards it...I didn't see any reason not to until my mom said that. Then I looked it up and saw a lot of articles about red-shirting becoming more common and whatnot. But he's only 4 and I already feel like he'll be ahead when he gets to kindergarten.

Quoting i made a vagina.:" I started at 4 too. The only thing that sucked..was in hs when everyone was already 18 & I was only 17. ... [snip!] ... in school being the youngest! & my bday is September 9th..I think the cutoff here was the end of September I'm not sure."

That's my birthday! I was just after the cutoff so I didn't get to start til I was almost 6. I was older than and way ahead of my friends. They wound up moving me up in 2nd grade and it was really confusing for me, but once I got older it got better. I wish they would've just let me start early to begin with.