L.M.
I definitely believe in holding back! My daughter is a summer birthday and I was really torn about what to do. As most moms do, I began polling everyone I came into contact with. Many moms would make the comment, "she's ready, send her". I got really sick of the "ready" comment. What does that mean really? I didn't want my daughter entering school with being average, I wanted my daughter to be at the top of the class....and, not because I'm a driven or competitive parent but because I want my daughter to feel completely confident. They've done research studies of children's ages when they begin school and the research shows there are the highest percentage of valedictorians from the oldest children in the class. Children aren't really affected in early elementary but in upper elementary and high school is when the separation occurs. Finally, as I was polling everyone with this question, I felt that one person gave me some wise advice. She was graduated-degreed education person and she said that in all her years of experience, she had heard many parents say that they wish they would have held their child back but she had never heard anyone say that they wished they wouldn't have held their child back. That really struck a chord with me. So, after a year of anxiety, I decided to put my daughter in a 5-day/week pre-K 5-yr-old class. She's doing great and I know that she will be confident and prepared for Kindergarten next year. also, pray about this and ask for guidance from God on the matter. good luck with your decision.