Little Cotton Candy was born in November 2012, meaning he is a couple months past the cutoff for starting kindergarten this fall. Because he started preschool in the fall of 2015, this means he will have three full years of preschool before entering kindergarten. (Side note: Looks like baby #2 will be following in his footsteps, as his due date is in late September of this year!)
For a while, I had mixed feelings about Little Cotton Candy having what is considered an early birthday. This would mean an extra year of (possibly private) preschool, and therefore preschool tuition. Additionally, this will make him 18 for the majority of his senior year of high school, which could be a bad thing if he is ready to get out from under our roof but still waiting to graduate. I myself have a late birthday, so I was 17 for my entire senior year, yet I still had such major senioritis and was ready to just get OUT of my small town already. I think about how much that would have been exacerbated if I’d been nine months older.
On the other hand, having a baby with an early birthday means they get to stay a baby a bit longer, meaning I get to cherish these irreplaceable moments when Little Cotton Candy is a carefree kiddo who doesn’t have to worry about public school curriculum, homework, or extracurriculars. It also means that Mr. Cotton Candy and I will get an “extra” year with him at home before he starts his adult life and moves away forever (tear). It will also allow him to develop more emotional maturity before entering public school. Finally, it will mean he has an extra year to mature academically as well.
Little CC on his first day of preschool, and last week
In four and a half years with a kid, you get to know them pretty well. What I know about Little Cotton Candy is that he is in no hurry to grow up. He loves for us to read him picture books and has no interest in graduating to chapter books. (Believe me, I have offered! I’m so excited to start reading him some of my favorite children’s books series.) He has needed a push when it comes to doing things independently, such as going to the potty, getting dressed, and brushing teeth (still working on all of these things). And he is just now really getting into drawing actual shapes and practicing some of his letters. Observing him learn and thrive at preschool, and listening to what his teachers have to say, I know another year of preschool will benefit him greatly. In the two short years he has been there, Little Cotton Candy has gained so much confidence in his abilities and so many skills in getting along with others. I love seeing the look on his face when he is proud of writing his name or learning a new letter, or of a drawing he created. And although still very shy with adults, he has no problem going up to kids he just met and starting conversations on the playground, which stands in stark contrast to the way he acted around new kids two year ago.
I’m in no hurry to see Little Cotton Candy grow up—on the contrary, I’m already starting to grieve for the fact that he won’t be my baby much longer. In just four short months, Baby Cotton Candy will arrive, and Little Cotton Candy will REALLY be my big boy. Somehow knowing that he still wants to be my baby for a little while longer, as well as the fact that we will be living under the same roof for that “extra” year, makes it a little easier to swallow.
Whew. No one told me that getting pregnant with baby #2 would make me have all the feels about my firstborn.
What about you guys? Did you or will you have a kid who starts kindergarten “early” or “late”? If you have a kiddo on the cusp, will you decide to hold them back or send them on?
cherry / 109 posts
My first son has an October birthday and started last August at almost 6. My second son has a late July birthday and will start this August at just 5. Cutoff here is August 15.
I loved having my first be an older kindergartener, he had some speech delays and he really needed that extra time to catch up. I am a little nervous about my second son as he will be so much younger and holding back is very popular here. But his personality is much more suited to be the youngest than the oldest as he tends to play to his peers. Meaning when he is the youngest in the class he acts like the older kids and when he is the oldest in the class he tends to act younger and get into more trouble. (He has been in both preschool settings.)
So although I am sad for him to go to kindergarten, I have to think about what is best suited for him and his personality.
blogger / apricot / 275 posts
I feel a lot of the same things about our son who has a summer birthday! He just doesn’t seem super eager to grow up yet, which I’ve realized is kind of great in its own way :).
grapefruit / 4085 posts
M’s birthday is mid-Dec so she misses the Dec 1 cutoff. I’m glad she gets another year of preschool as I think it’s helped her tremendously and I’ve seen so much growth in her. No hurry for her to go to kindergarten next year – if she was born just 10 days earlier she would be. But I think this last year of preschool will be very beneficial.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
Our kids are the same! I love it and I think it will be to their advantage. I really don’t think it’ll change the fact that they’ll both get senioritis in hs anyway, lol.
pomelo / 5084 posts
My son was born November 2015 and I was hoping for a Sept-Dec baby because those kids always had the advantages in school when I was young! I was born in August and was LITERALLY THE OLDEST in my grade, every year, but even that wasn’t a problem. I am super happy with a November bday and a child on the older side of his peers!
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
My daughter has a late dec birthday and I really wanted her to start kindergarten last fall but the district does not allow any exceptions. She has done well in TK (also through the district) and I hope she isn’t bored with kindergarten this fall.
pomelo / 5866 posts
My babe was born in January but the way our school system is she is considered a middle born, I believe. She was definitely ready and I’m totally ok with her growing up and learning new things at her pace except for the fact that she is not so tiny to carry around. Being tiny I have been able to cuddle her smallness for an extended amount of time, but it is fading as kindergarten is ending.
pomelo / 5258 posts
My DD is a Feb baby and I found I connected with this. Somehow her teachers got the idea she was going to K this coming fall. I’m sure it’s just because she’s tall but I started to get in my head about if another year of preschool is good for her. This was a good reminder to look at all the positives of another year of preschool.
blogger / apricot / 389 posts
W is also a November babe, and in Canada will actually be going to school while he’s still 3, the cut-off is the actual year here. I was the same (November) and went to post-secondary at 17! It’s crazy to think about but I’m just trying to think about the part where it is one less year of daycare
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
DS was born in July and DD was born in March so I’m guessing DS would be considered younger in his class while DD will be considered old?
guest
Our cut off is September 1. DS was born on Aug 31 and DD was born on September 1. I think she has to wait because you have to be before the cut off to start kindergarten. I’m almost 100% sure that even though DS could go right when he turns 5 that I will hold him off a year. He”ll be 4 this year and I know he’s emotionally immature and although he has learned so much in preschool he still shows very little interested in writing or drawing so I think the extra year will benefit him. It kills me to pay the extra year of preschool tuition but it’s only one year and then that expense ends!