December Babies

I have a LONG time before I need to deal with this and hopefully we won't even be living here when the time comes, but I got a card in the mail today about universal pre-k and the December 1 birthday cutoff.

Which got me thinking....

I have no intention of living here until dd is in high school and would move somewhere that goes by calendar year. Therefore, I don't want her to be perceived as "behind" and the only one born in a different year.

I'm guessing this means I will not be using the public schools, unless they make exceptions and I'm thinking they don't. Do Catholic schools go by calendar year? Are there any LI districts that do go by calendar year?

What do others with December babies do?

December Babies

Even if you go to a different school dist that cuts off by calendar year, there will still be kids that parents held back. So even if most of her classmates were born in 2014, I'm sure a good amount from 2013 will be in there as well. Nobody will think she's behind.

Re: December Babies

I'm in a different state and situation but where I live all districts have August 31st- September 2nd cut off. Even kids born June, July, and August often stay back. DD is the end of August and I plan to leave it up to her preschool teachers to tell me what they recommend.

Re: December Babies

My son was born Dec 20.
Our SD cut off is Dec 1. 2 neighboring districts are Dec 31 cut offs.

My son is very bright and was ready for school at an early age. We sent him to catholic school to get around the cut off issue. We did have to contact our local SD and get a letter stating he would be able to attend public school once he completed kindergarten in the catholic school.

Technically catholic schools are supposed to follow the rules of the home district. so they should follow the same cut off of the SD you live in.

Things to consider though it we were not eligible for bussing so I had to drive my son to and from every day.

I think you need to treat each child individually. my older son was ready in every way, he is now in 3rd and i have no doubt it was right for him. However if it was my younger son, i dont think we would have made the same decision.

GL

Re: December Babies

December Babies

The only state I know of that does a calendar year is CT... 12/1 actually is a late cut off compared to other parts of the country.

I am a September b-day and I went to college in Virginia. I was one of the youngest in my grade (and those younger than me were from NY too lol).

My son is a December b-day and we started him on time. There are 3 other kids born in December in his kindergarten class and one kid born in October so he's not that much older than the others.

Many people I know who have kids with b-days from September on are deciding to keep their kids back a year. Especially with all the new requirements. People tell me I'm lucky my son was born in December because I didn't have to decide if I should send him or hold him.

Message edited 1/7/2016 8:47:19 AM.

Re: December Babies

The answer you your question is yes, catholic schools have different cut off dates. Not necessarily calendar year but they don't have to adhere to the district dates. I'm in NJ and did this with my son, his school has a 11.30 cutoff other Catholic schools had December cutoff dates.

December Babies

My twins were born December 2nd. The day after the cutoff date for our district. At first I wanted them to go to school with kids their age and not be the oldest in their class. We called the district to see if there was anything we could do and there was nothing. Catholic school for kindergarten is not an option for us. When we looked at preschools for them we had no choice but to look at Catholic preschools because they were the most affordable for us. The schools I originally wanted were 3 times the amount and I had 2 to pay for. We found a school that we liked after speaking with the director and some of the teachers and their cutoff date was the same as the school districts, 12/1. So we had to put them in the 3 year old program instead of the 4 year old program. Honestly, now I am happy that It worked out this way. There are several other kids in their class that are December birthdays as well. I don't think your DD will be perceived as behind. It's very common. I had the same issue growing up. The cutoff where we lived was 12/30 I believe then we moved to Long Island where the cut off was 12/1, which is my birthday. I was in 2nd grade and could have gone into 3rd but my mom made the decision to have me repeat 2nd grade because she just didn't think I was ready. Each child is different. I thought my twins were ready to be in the 4 year old class and now that we had to put them in the 3 year old class, I realize that there was so much more they needed to learn before going to the 4's. Now they are 5 in the 4 year old class and are doing great.

Re: December Babies

Cutoffs vary by district and by state, and people move. No one will think she's behind.

Re: December Babies

Growing up, there was a Dec 31 cutoff date. I'm a Jan 3 birthday. There were plenty of kids who were older than me, born the year before me, in my grade. I don't think it was weird, or anyone even really noticed.

ETA: I liked being one of the older ones in my grade, too. First to drive!

Message edited 1/6/2016 2:34:13 PM.

Re: December Babies

I wouldn't worry about perception or her being one of the older kids. Your decision should be based on whether she's ready to start school. There's no right or wrong answer, but the decision should be based on each particular child and his or her readiness to be in school.

I definitely struggled with this decision as the cutoff in CT is January 1 and DS was born mid December. We also have full day K in our district. We sent him at 4 because he was clearly academically ready. There are kids well over a year older than he is in his class. He's in 2nd grade and has done well so far. He absolutely would've been bored if we waited to send him as he began reading books at 4 and has very strong math skills. At the same time, he's small for his age and some of the other things like maturity and fine motor skills may have developed more if we waited. So far, his teachers have all supported that we made the right decision by sending him. It's not an easy decision and there are positives and negatives to each.

December Babies

Unless you plan on moving to CT or NYC it will be tough to find a district that goes by calendar year. I have family in CT and people are up in arms and want the cutoff moved to 9/1. So many parents of Sept-Dec babies hold their kids back a year- so no one would ever think your DC was behind.