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Kindergarten--To Go or Wait: Sylvia Rimm on Raising Kids

By Sylvia Rimm



Q. We're determining whether we should send our daughter, who has a September 2 birthday, to kindergarten. I'm interested about this subject especially because so many parents are holding their children back a year for further maturation.

A.I assume that the deadline for entrance is September 1, and your daughter has indeed missed the deadline. In general, the National Kindergarten Organization recommends following the deadline provided by the school.

By Sylvia Rimm

Q. We're determining whether we should send our daughter, who has a September 2 birthday, to kindergarten. I'm interested about this subject especially because so many parents are holding their children back a year for further maturation.

A.I assume that the deadline for entrance is September 1, and your daughter has indeed missed the deadline. In general, the National Kindergarten Organization recommends following the deadline provided by the school. However, for some young children, holding them back is the right decision, while for others, it can seriously affect their education negatively. For many gifted children, early entrance to kindergarten has been found to be very effective, both academically and socially. It's best that your daughter have a psycho-educational evaluation. If the psychologist finds your daughter's IQ and achievement test scores in the superior or gifted range, and that she's socially ready, you may be able to petition the school district to accept her as an early entrant. On the other hand, if her abilities are in the average or above-average range, or she's evaluated as being immature, you'll want to wait a year in respect for the deadline.

There are actually several studies that show no advantage to holding children back and one that found that children who were held back had more behavior problems in middle school. An evaluation will help you to make the right decision.

Dr. Sylvia B. Rimm is the director of the Family Achievement Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, a clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the author of many books on parenting. More information on raising kids is available at www.sylviarimm.com.