Matt Yglesias talks about the growing trend of parents holding their kid back a year so that they’ll be advanced relative to their class. With our oldest starting kindergarten in a couple weeks (by the way — who decided school starts in mid-August!? Absurd!) we’ve noticed this kind of jockeying from many parents.
I think it’s silly if not actually counter-productive. I would rather my child be around children who were a little bit more developed than him. It spurs him on. Maybe I’m being egotistical about his brains, but I think our kid will be bored a lot in school as is, if the level is dumbed down that much more it will be that much worse. Then there’s the overall time — you are robbing them of a year of adult life. When they are nineteen they don’t want to be stuck in school and you don’t want them around. It’s better for everyone if he grows up when it’s time to grow up.
Mrs. Muttrox adds: I couldn’t help contributing to this post as the education of young children is just about the only thing I can speak about with much authority these days. I’m split on this issue. I’ve seen kids “redshirted” for rational reasons- a child (usually a boy) who is slightly developmentally delayed and barely makes the age cut-off for kindergarten held back in pre-K for another year. Sometimes this makes sense. Kindergarten is not what it used to be. Many districts have all day kindergarten now. ALL kids are expected to be read, write, and understand fairly complex math concepts well before the end of kindergarten. Many boys just turning five are still working on the ability to sit still and follow directions for hours at a time, never mind accomplishing real academic milestones. Generally, girls at this age are better able to control impulses and have more developed verbal capabilities.Unlike what the article claims, this is the reason I’ve typically seen for the gender gap seen in higher education now. Girls start out ahead from the beginning and are more likely to naturally possess the skills lauded by teachers (listening, sitting still, following directions) which lead to continued success in school. I have a hard time believing the conclusion of the article that redshirting has led to gender inequality in higher education mainly because redshirting is a relatively new phenomenon which I doubt has had time to show such a long-term effect.
On the other hand, many parents in our area hold back boys with summer birthdays because of the “fear factor.” These boys are clearly ready for school but their parents feel that they will somehow be at a disadvantage by being younger, either immediately or in the future. I have heard future competitiveness in junior high sports used as a rational for keeping a child back. This seems to me yet another example of highly anxious suburban parents trying to micromanage their children’s lives in an attempt to ensure their future success. I also recently read that redshirting is further increasing disparities between high and low income children because this practice is a luxury of the prosperous. School is free day care, and many families simply can’t afford to pass it up. As a result, poorer children find themselves not only with less formal preparation for kindergarten (preschool, enrichment classes, etc), but also nearly a year younger than the more privileged children in their class. All that being said, I am relieved that our childrens birthdates coincidentally save us from having to make this decision.
On the whole, I agree with your point– the anxiety level of parents is crazy, and is getting pushed back earlier and earlier.
However, let me make a few points in support of obsessive parents. First, accumulating research suggests that the foundation for adult achievement begins at a very early age, and differences seen in early childhood are predictive of future success in school, etc. With all this emphasis on early childhood development, it’s actually rational to be more concerned about what happens to your kid early on.
Second, I think that success begets success. If your kid is having a hard time at school, doesn’t understand what’s being taught, is constantly being scolded by the teacher, then school will have negative associations, and this fosters a vicious cycle, where the child becomes frustrated, misbehaves more, generating more negative feedback, etc. I know this depends a lot on the child’s personality (ability to handle criticism, frustration, etc) and the teacher. I suspect boys are more susceptible, for the behavioral immaturity reasons brought by Mrs. Muttrox. This argument also resonates for me regarding ADHD treatment in young children. There’s a lot of talk about over-treatment of this disorder, and I’m not sure what the numbers are. But I’m pretty sure that there are a lot of kids (especially boys) who could benefit from pharmacological assistance in paying attention, etc. to break the vicious cycle that I mention. As a disclaimer, I am a physician and have a decent amount of faith in Western medicine.
I have to say that as a father of a 4 year old daughter who is a little bit behind the curve developmentally (but thankfully catching up quickly!), I am appalled at the fact that someone suggests to me to keep my daughter back for another year just to give her “some sort of gain.” I agree wholeheartedly with you that I would much rather my daughter “I would rather my child be around children who were a little bit more developed” than her. One of the main ways that we can learn is to be around people who are smarter than us — my daughter is a perfect example, where she is attending daycare and the other more advanced children are helping her to “catch up” to them verbally, and (hilariously) my little girl is helping them with their manners! hehe Okay, so maybe I’m a bit particular about that, but Please and Thank You’s have been requisite in my household for a LONG time now! lol
I honestly feel sad for the children of those parents who would attempt to keep them out of kindergarten because of selfishness, because that is truly what it is. There is no reason to keep your child from the interaction of their *actual* peers except for personal vanity.