Delaying Kindergarten Entrance?

Question: My 4-year-old son is currently in preschool. He’ll be 5 in early fall, just making the cut-off for kindergarten. My concern is for next year. I do not believe that he will be ready to handle our district’s full-day kindergarten. He is exhausted and cranky now after two and a half hours of school. Plus, he still has a tough time adjusting to my leaving him at preschool.

Am I allowed to delay his entrance into kindergarten for a year? Would I then send him to kindergarten or first grade? I know there’s a lot of research that supports holding children with late birthdays back from starting kindergarten until they are older. My son will be ready academically, but I’m not sure that is enough. — Ready or Not

Answer: Holding a young child back for a year before enrolling him in kindergarten is not possible in all school districts. In some, age-ready children who wait a year to start kindergarten may be required by the district to enter first grade if the state does not mandate attendance in kindergarten. Before making any decision, you must clarify with your school district that your son can wait a year and then enroll in kindergarten. You definitely do not want him to have to start school in first grade, since kindergarten often presents material that children need to know to handle first grade.

You know the level your child is on right now. What you don’t know is how much he will have matured before kindergarten starts in the fall. By then, he could be ready for kindergarten. One opinion on your son’s readiness for kindergarten that could be helpful is that of his preschool teacher. If you do not enroll him in kindergarten, enrolling him in a pre-k program could be a good solution to getting him ready for kindergarten.