The Blue Board

have not given it much thought to be honest......

I was held back in fifth grade it was the best thing that happened to me. I hated it at the time but it high school a lot more enjoyable. Though I had a terrible case of senioritis my senior year.

Didn't know that this was a common occurence.

I did it when I switched to private school for high school. I wouldn't have been ready for college had I not. I was already in gifted/honors classes so it didn't matter academically.

For sports it wouldn't have mattered that much, I still would have played baseball. The only advantage was actually being in the same grade as the kids I grew up playing with/against. All my friends from public school were a year older so I never got to play with them really, just against them every other year. Would have sucked not being able to drive until a week before my junior year.

Wait, what? How about competing academically with kids your own age?

I have a 4 year old son whose birthday falls on September 5th. State law in Maryland says he can't enroll in public school if he is not 5 years old by September 1st. He misses it by 4 days so he will have to be held back. We were going to place him in private school for Kindergarden so he could go ahead and start attending school next year but we decided that it would be in his best interest to wait a year.

My 5 year old is the youngest kid in his class due to his birthday falling on July 8th. Most of the kids in his class have been 6 for several months now and he still has just over 2 months before he turns 6 years old. He handles himself well so we aren't too worried about him but the 4 year old is not quite ready to be in that position IMO. Every parent should do what they feel gives their child the best opportunity for success...specifically regarding academics and social interaction. Sports can simply be a byproduct of that decision IMO.

I did it because my son was ready for school. I regret it now because he's a year behind physically in my opinion for his position... If he's lucky enough to play ball at school, he'll have to be redshirted to meet the physical demands...

I never said anything about him playing pro. I said to play at "school" big difference, right?

It's very difficult to say if a kid is academically ready at age 4. What criteria do you use to determine that he is ready for school? Social interaction and maturity play a huge role. My 5 year old is ready to sit and learn but my 4 year old will want to go to the playground most of the time. I think he is smart enough but I don't know if he is ready. There is a reason they moved the requirement to be 5 years old by the time school starts. Most kids aren't ready to beginning sitting in school before they reach that age.

I was in gifted classes all through public school until I left in 8th grade. I went through 8th grade again at a private school in what they called honors classes and took math with kids a grade ahead of me. I didn't stay back for sports and I think it's pretty clear I was intellectually ready for either scenario.

Other things go into a decision like that, sports are just an added benefit.

If you'd like to call it stupid I think you should focus on 18 year olds, particularly in basketball, who reclassify because they don't like their scholarship offers and spend a year as 19 year old high schoolers.

I'm sorry but if I parent is going to hold a kid back solely on the basis of he will be better in sports, that I find stupid. Also if you are a basketball kid that is different because by your senior year, you know if you're going to play DI basketball or not.

Why did you repeat 8th grade if you took classes with kids a grade ahead of you?

I hope you're at least in grad school. If not, I hope you're "top 10%" in child development or education. If neither there's no real point in having this conversation.