They Say: Delaying Kindergarten For One Hurts Us All

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:30:00 GMT

Soon, school will start again. And, soon, a small legion of 5-year olds will watch their also 5-year old friends start kindergarten without them. While there may be a few minutes of angst by the 5-year old who isn't walking through the schoolhouse doors, no harm will have been done. Right?

Maybe not, according to this Slate.com piece by Emily Bazelon. The practice of redshirting a kid is becoming as controversial as the practice of not vaccinating a kid. Yes, the individual kid may benefit -- although, in the case of delayed kindergarten, the jury is still out -- but the community as a whole may suffer.

When you couple this with the trend toward academic kindergartens, where kids do more than play and nap, the potential 18-month age range seems to have a negative impact on the younger kids. But should you as a parent care if other kids are harmed as long as your older kid gets what he needs?

It's a tough question to answer, no matter whichside of the debate you are on.

Illo credit: Robert Neubecker

Strollerderby : redshirt

They Say: Delaying Kindergarten For One Hurts Us All