Delaying Kindergarten…?

What do you think?

Academic studies can be fascinating … and totally confusing. So we decided to strip away all of the scientific jargon and break them down for you. 

The Background

American kids have customarily started kindergarten at the age of 5, but parents and school administrators across the globe are starting to wonder: Will holding kids back an extra year increase their odds of success? Research on the matter is mixed. Some studies suggest that delaying school enrollment increases test scores later in life, while others suggest that any perceived benefits actually decline over time.

Matching up kids' development and maturity levels with introduction to schooling has proven to be a difficult task. Many parents are taking matters into their own hands by “redshirting,” holding their kids back and hoping the so-called “gift of time” will set them up for academic success. An estimated 20 percent of kindergarteners in the U.S. are 6 years old.

As countries around the world successfully veer away from American early education norms and the national conversation heats up, a new study from Stanford University and the Danish National Centre for Social Research focuses on how delaying kindergarten could affect kids' emotional well-being.

The Setup

Researchers used data from the Danish National Birth Cohort Survey, which surveyed nearly 36,000 mothers who gave birth in Denmark between 1996 and 2002 about their children at ages 7 and 11.

You can read the rest of this article on Huff Post Parents. When you're finished, leave a comment and share your thoughts. Should we delay Kindergarten?