Latina, nobody is arguing that you should hold your kids back, too. I do still find it curious that despite your knowledge of gender differences you still plan on treating your children exactly the same. That is your right, of course.

I do hope you have a very stress free move! Well see you when you get back!

It's very interesting queenbee if you're interested in education at all, you should look it up!! I am always looking at other systems and methods trying to learn more. Im a big believer in lifelong learning...the day you think you know it all is the day you are in trouble!!

Best of luck with the house move Latina and with getting those kiddies off to school and thanks for the debate! x x

I think it's pretty narrowminded to say you don't care about what they do in Finland as you don't live there. Their children are the highest achievers in the world. Don't you want to know why??? As an educated person I like to be as informed as I can be so I can make the best decisions possible for myself and my family. Sounds like you've made your decision and you're sticking with it and best of luck to you!

Latina maybe you should check that thread out too ;)

Queenbee, I just posted a similar thread in r&r that has also gotten some good responses. It is a big decision and I have anxiety problems. So I tend to overanalyze everything! Thank you all for responding and giving me both sides. I really appreciate all the feedback.

Thank you ladies for an informative thread!!!! Nice to see arguments being intelligently put. I will certainly be doing some more thinking about keeping my son at home another year (also a summer birthday) Thanks again

and by the way it has absolutely everything to do with letting children be children for longer. Did you.know that in Finland, which has the best education system in the world, the children don't start school or any sort of formal education till they are 7 years old!!! The idea is that before seven they learn best through play, so by the time they finally get to school they are keen to start learning. The results speak for themselves.

Thank you so much Pandora! I agree with all your points. He is my first child. My youngest boy also has a summer birthday so we will be doing the same for him. My husband is in total agreement. He wants Caden have the best chance at success. Latina, how do your mom's qualifications make you more knowledgeable? I have to wonder about your degree in child development if you don't recognize that boys typically have a shorter attention span and delayed language skills. It's not opinion, it's scientific, proven fact. I did not ask this question to start a debate, though I do enjoy a healthy disagreement. I was looking for experience, such as Pandora's, with children that have started school later.

School readiness is much more important than academic ability in my opinion. You won’t see a child being referred to a psychologist because he/she can’t read at the start of school, but we do see lots of kids who can’t share, don’t cooperate or haven’t learnt to adapt to change.

You can practise these skills every day in easy ways. Children need to develop emotional independence in social situations. Here's a good checklist for school readiness..

can your child..

*listen to stories, learn rhymes, and recognise and name colours?

*play, share, take turns and adapt to doing things differently?

*cope with change and deal with challenges?

*dress himself, pull down and up his pants, wipe his own bottom and wash his hands?

*converse socially and express her needs?

*run, jump, catch, balance and dance?

*cut, paste and use pencils?

*recognise numbers and begin counting?

If the answer is yes to all of these and you feel your child is ready then off you go! As I said before if you, on the other hand, feel your child could do with that extra time to be sure that they are ready then please give it to them! Hope this is helpful in some way. over & out :)

actually I would just like to disagree on one very small point, I find all too often the exact opposite, that parents think their children to be far more academically able than they actually are, and when the child struggles at school it comes as a complete shock to them. we all know each parent thinks their child to be the most wonderful amazing clever individual and rightly so, every parent should think that! We all have amazing children and its our responsibility to ensure they are placed in environments if at all possible where they will flourish and succeed! x

and can I just add it is not just my opinion plucked from obscurity or from experiences I had myself as a child. (I started school myself at 4 and was lucky enough to be top of my class and popular) It is my informed opinion derived from 10years experience in working with young children.

I agree momma2caden :) at the end of the day you know your own child better than anyone. Let me tell you about Jordan, a boy in my class. Such a smart kid but the youngest in the class. He could cope academically but socially he was lost. He would cry a lot when things didn't go his way. The other kids called him cry-baby. it wasn't his fault he was just a little immature. He was also smaller physically and got tired during sports, writing exercises, on outings etc (and would cry again) My heart went out to this little boy who struggled so needlessly just because he was a bit younger. If he had started the following year he would have been with people of his own maturity and probably been top of the class, as I mentioned before he was bright! We all.want the best for our children. If anyone feels their child is mature enough to go ahead then they should go for it. But if you have to ask the question, in my opinion, its always better to wait. I would rather my child be achieving well in class and interacting well socially with peers. I too see no advantage with finishing school one year earlier compared with potential problems related to starting too early. This is just my opinion. I will be waiting with my children to give them the best start in life. Every other parent can do exactly as they please. Good luck :)

Actually, I asked specifically for moms who had done this because I didn't want negative opinions without any experience behind them. Sorry if that sounded rude, but I asked for something specific because my mind is already made up. I work with kids and have taken many child development classes. So you will not convince me that boys and girls develop at the same rate and should be held to the same standards. Pandora confirmed what I thought. As she is a teacher, I'm sure she has seen this quite a bit.

I started school at 4 as well. I never had any issues academically either. I am now 35 and I can tell you that being a year ahead in school doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. I want my boys to be as prepared as possible and have the maturity that they will need. It's not about how smart they are or pushing them to get ahead. Hopefully, as an older student he will be a leader and he will still graduate at 18 just like most of his classmates.

I have an august 15 baby. She's going in 2015 when she's 5. My brother started school at 4 and did perfectly wonderful, minus being a lazy teenage boy lol

none at all that I can think of compared with the possible pitfalls of sending a child too early. (and I know a lot of mothers out there went to school early and sent their children early and it all worked out fine and that's great, but I have seen with my own eyes some children with earlier birthdays who struggle either socially or academically and continue to do so throughout their school career....also remember it is far easier on the child to start them later than to keep them back a year later on) why are we so keen for our children to grow up so fast?? let them be kids for as long as they can!

Pandora, thank you. I really am looking for confirmation as I have already decided to hold him. But if there were any negative stories about holding children back, I would want to hear those, too. Has anyone had a negative experience with this?

But boys and girls ARE different. They mature and develop at different rates. Their brain chemistry is different. It is illogical to ignore the fundamental differences and treat them exactly the same.

hmmm I'm a teacher and teach this age group for the last 10years. my personal opinion is if you can hold off the extra year do. Not only for maturity reasons but also academically the youngest in the class tend to be that bit weaker (not always the case I am fully aware but I am speaking just from my own personal experience of teaching these children and what I have come across in the classroom) I have two sons July & August birthdays and they will be waiting. This is the advice I give to any of my friends who ask me also.

I was put in early, too. But I'm a girl and I do think it's different for boys. I would rather him be 18 his senior year at home instead of having all that freedom at once leaving for college. I've already weighed all the pros and cons that I can think of.

Sorry for the confusion. He will not be starting next year. We are keeping him in preK. He will start kinder when he is 6. I'm in Texas and the cutoff is in August, so he could start when he's 5, but he would be one of the youngest in his grade.

So you won't start kindergarten till he's 6?