Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Birthdate Cutoff for Enrollment
HighlandsRanchDad 05:27 PM 01-29-2019
Our daughter was born 8/8/17 and we were told that the state requires a cutoff date of August 1st for enrollment in day care, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school etc. So our daughter according to this will always be in classes in which she is the oldest child in the class and in which many children may be as much as a year younger than her. We are concerned that this will hold back her development since 12 months or even 6 months different at this young age is a huge difference in development. Does anyone know a way we can get her into classes in which she will be among the youngest rather than oldest child in the class? We're in Highlands Ranch, CO and new to this or any other such forum.
Reply
Blackcat31 05:58 PM 01-29-2019
Originally Posted by HighlandsRanchDad:
Our daughter was born 8/8/17 and we were told that the state requires a cutoff date of August 1st for enrollment in day care, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school etc. So our daughter according to this will always be in classes in which she is the oldest child in the class and in which many children may be as much as a year younger than her. We are concerned that this will hold back her development since 12 months or even 6 months different at this young age is a huge difference in development. Does anyone know a way we can get her into classes in which she will be among the youngest rather than oldest child in the class? We're in Highlands Ranch, CO and new to this or any other such forum.
It’s a positive in many ways as well!

Myself and both my children fall in the same age category as your daughter.

I think it helps with self confidence and leadership skills... as a kid being older is always the brass ring
Reply
storybookending 06:50 PM 01-29-2019
Speaking as someone with a late August birthday (cut off is September 1st in my state) I WISH that my mom had held me back and I had been a year younger in school that I ended up being this making me one of the oldest instead of one of the youngest.

I might have been academically ready to be in the class that I was put in but socially I am not sure that it was the best fit seeing as I was so much younger than a lot of my peers.
Reply
springv 07:09 PM 01-29-2019
I was held back when I was in school and turned out fine.
Reply
Jdy2222 08:55 PM 01-29-2019
My daughter was the youngest (August 30 with a September 1 cutoff) and it wasn't all good. We opted to home school her after first grade because she just wasn't socially/emotionally as mature as her class - and some kids were over a year older as they'd been held back. Also, she moved out and started college at 17, she did fine with it but it's still something we hadn't considered.

Her son, my grandson, was born August 31. My daughter is already planning to hold him back an extra year, or at least proceed cautiously and hold him back after K if necessary.

But some possibilities to answer your question ... you could home school. You could check with local private schools and see if they'll take her a year early and then ease her into public school after a while. You could move to a state with a later cut off.
Reply
LK5kids 04:17 AM 01-30-2019
My daughter has a Aug 4 birthday and I held her back as well as my good friend a kindergarten teacher who had daughters with July birthdays

They are 39 now. there was full day kindergarten way back in 1985! One of the main reasons I kept her back. It was always the best decision!

It’s much better to be the oldest over the youngest. So much more is expected of kids now.

Another good friend is a reading teacher. She kept both her summer birthday kids back a year.

Don’t worry!! She will thrive. They have those cut offs for a reason.
Reply
Jupadia 05:15 AM 01-30-2019
I've got 1 kid on each end, our cut off is the end of the year. My oldest is born at the beging of the year and is one of the oldest kids in his class. It's great for him since he is a leader but can be shy to stand up in front expessially when adults are evolved. As far as school kids go currently he is ahead of some of the kids.
My second kid is born 2 days before the cut off ends so is the youngest. He starts school in the fall. After speaking to his teachers for next year, I've come to realize that like providers they learn how to manage that age gap. He will not know as much as others who start when they do. But by grade 2 or 3 most of that gap disappeares. Honestly though I wish he was on the older end of the group like his brother.
Reply
nannyde 05:55 AM 01-30-2019
Originally Posted by HighlandsRanchDad:
Our daughter was born 8/8/17 and we were told that the state requires a cutoff date of August 1st for enrollment in day care, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school etc. So our daughter according to this will always be in classes in which she is the oldest child in the class and in which many children may be as much as a year younger than her. We are concerned that this will hold back her development since 12 months or even 6 months different at this young age is a huge difference in development. Does anyone know a way we can get her into classes in which she will be among the youngest rather than oldest child in the class? We're in Highlands Ranch, CO and new to this or any other such forum.
I was born five days before the cut off so I was pretty much the youngest kid all through school. It was hard in some respects because I lacked maturity. It helped in some ways because my brother was 21 months older than me and he was in the older kids age. This meant I was two years behind him in school. That was good for me because he was highly intelligent and a very good student. Being compared to him with two grades between us was hard enough. If he would have been born three months early I would have been one grade behind him. That wouldn't have gone so well.

Google "red shirting". It will tell you why SO many parents choose to purposely make their kid be the oldest in the class. You may find there are a number of age mates to your child because other parents have red shirted their kids.

I wouldn't worry a stitch about your child development being held back because she's the oldest. I would worry more about the make up of the class as far as how many of the children have behavioral issues NOT due to age. That's way more likely to cause your daughter to be put on the back burner than an age difference.

Even with her being the oldest, you may find there are a number of kids who may be a year younger but are really ahead of the curve that far exceed your daughter at her current development. I've had kids who were two years older than other children in my care and the younger children far exceeded the older child intellectually and behaviorally.

There's always going to be SOMETHING that stacks the odds against your child. I wouldn't borrow this one as an issue. You can always supplement her education at home and pursue her passions.

From where I sit, I would MUCH rather be in your daughters shoes as a student. BUT.... I wouldn't want to be your daughters parent on the flip side of this. I would not want an 18 year old for the entire senior year. 13 years from now you will know what I mean.
Reply
sammie 07:28 AM 01-30-2019
Originally Posted by HighlandsRanchDad:
Our daughter was born 8/8/17 and we were told that the state requires a cutoff date of August 1st for enrollment in day care, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school etc. So our daughter according to this will always be in classes in which she is the oldest child in the class and in which many children may be as much as a year younger than her. We are concerned that this will hold back her development since 12 months or even 6 months different at this young age is a huge difference in development. Does anyone know a way we can get her into classes in which she will be among the youngest rather than oldest child in the class? We're in Highlands Ranch, CO and new to this or any other such forum.
If you go to the Douglas County School website, it will give you the cut off dates for school. https://www.dcsdk12.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=5758965

The preschool cutoff is 3 years old by September 1st and the cutoff for Kindergarten is 5 years old by October 1st.

Hope that helps!
Reply
Cat Herder 07:54 AM 01-30-2019
I have a red shirter right now. His parents valued the option enough to shell out an extra 2 years of tuition (K-4 is free here). Both are high school teachers with masters degrees.
Reply
Jupadia 08:12 AM 01-30-2019
Forgot to add, here we dont have the option of red shirting our kids. They have 2 levels of Kindergarten (jr. And sr.) Which are playbassed before entering grade 1 (which I think is a bit more like your Kindergarten in the states). Kids go to jk the year they turn 4 (so my guy will be 3). While Kindergarten not mandatory grade 1 is for any child turning 6 that year. If you hold back on jr and sk entry they go straight into grade 1. The same goes if you wait a year they skip jk and go into sk.
Reply
Leigh 08:19 AM 01-30-2019
Originally Posted by HighlandsRanchDad:
Our daughter was born 8/8/17 and we were told that the state requires a cutoff date of August 1st for enrollment in day care, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school etc. So our daughter according to this will always be in classes in which she is the oldest child in the class and in which many children may be as much as a year younger than her. We are concerned that this will hold back her development since 12 months or even 6 months different at this young age is a huge difference in development. Does anyone know a way we can get her into classes in which she will be among the youngest rather than oldest child in the class? We're in Highlands Ranch, CO and new to this or any other such forum.
I would be so grateful for the delay. Kids start formal education MUCH too early, and this lets your daughter do what she is made to do: play and explore. I would never try to slip her into school early.
Reply
daycarediva 10:07 AM 01-30-2019
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
I have a red shirter right now. His parents valued the option enough to shell out an extra 2 years of tuition (K-4 is free here). Both are high school teachers with masters degrees.
Originally Posted by Leigh:
I would be so grateful for the delay. Kids start formal education MUCH too early, and this lets your daughter do what she is made to do: play and explore. I would never try to slip her into school early.
There is a reason red-shirting children have benefits. Our cutoff is 11/30, and I have kids with May birthdays staying on an additional year (will start K at 6).

Keep in mind, kindergarten is the new first grade.

If you're concerned with academics, look into non public school programs eg. private preschools, home daycares with preschool programs, church based. They typically don't have exact cut off dates.
Reply
e.j. 11:11 AM 01-30-2019
I'm with everyone else here....there are advantages to being one of the oldest in the class. When my kids were younger, my father made it a point to let me know how much he struggled in school being one of the youngest in the class. Academically, he did fine; he struggled socially and it affected him into adulthood. He was very adamant that I make sure my kids were on the older end of things when I signed them up for school.
Reply
Tags:enrollment, enrollment dates, red shirting
Reply Up