To Send or Not to Send, That is the Question

Aidan's (4 years, 5 months) birthday is August 8. He will be eligible to go to Kindergarten this fall. But now most are sending boys to Kindergarten at closer to 6 years instead of 5. For the most part, this is because boys are not ready for the large amount of sitting and waiting that school requires you to do.

I have done a fair amount, OK, a ton of research on the subject. I have talked to parents of boys, teachers, read online parents' forums, articles, etc etc etc. Exhausting resources is one thing I do well. I found one or two cases where people described their older son, who they waited to send, as bored. But the large majority of the time they are regretting sending them when they have just turned 5. And to add to that, signing songs of good grades, better behavior, and excelling at athletics when they are sent them at just 6 (or even 51/2). Additionally then they are emotionally prepared should they have trouble with the academics at some point. And with his bday in August, he will just turn 6 and then go, where many will turn in Sept or Oct. He will only be slightly older than his classmates, by a few weeks or months. If Aidan had been born two weeks late, he wouldn't even be eligible to attend. That fact is the one that really sealed the decision for me to have him attend another year of preschool. These things along with all the other items in support of waiting outweigh the few that described boredom. I think we'll be able to find ways to challenge him if there are a few times when he is bored over the years. And if he turns out to be MENSA material or a prodigy of some sort, we may go an entirely different path anyway.

The biggest obstacle is getting over that I really wanted him to go this year. I wanted to believe. His teachers say he is ready, and I wanted to just go with that. It would have been a much easier route, that is for sure.