This is something our own parents likely never had to deal with. If you turned five before the cutoff date, typically Dec. 31, that was the year you began school. Until the early '80s, most schools still had a cutoff date between September and December. And even if children were born a few weeks short of that, parents generally cajoled the principal so their kids ready or not could hit the kindergarten jungle gym at four. But more and more, today's kindergarten has become serious business.
Many programs are now full-day affairs, and real schoolwork often takes precedence over snack time.
But besides giving Jason the requisite immunizations and eye exam, the pediatrician told her it wasn't too soon to start thinking about delaying his entry into school. Jason's birthday, Aug. 20, was 11 days before Washington state's Aug. 31 cutoff date, and his doctor felt he wouldn't do well as one of the youngest kids in his class. Ball was torn. At four, she says, her son was already starting to read and write. For the next year, she talked with various professionals the local elementary school principal, kindergarten teachers.