You’ve cheered your young learner as he recited his A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s along with Sesame Street, and you’ve taught him to say “hello” in four languages. But now that it’s time to start kindergarten, you wonder if he’s really ready to thrive. You may be thinking he’d do better with another advantage: a year’s time.

Some parents feel that holding their child back a year from kindergarten, called “redshirting,” will offer more time for cognitive and emotional growth—and a leg up in an increasingly tough academic environment. Or they may just want their child to be the biggest fish in the pond. But is this practice valid, or even fair? Whether your child is ready for kindergarten really depends on the student and the circumstances, says Kathleen McCartney, PhD, dean of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. But, in the majority of cases, you should go by the school system’s age guidelines.

Some 6 percent of U.S. kids start kindergarten a year older than eligible, according to a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) analysis. By first grade, redshirted children have slightly higher reading knowledge and skills than peers who start on time, but their math ability is lower, the NCES data indicates. So the early academic effects appear mixed. And even if the age gap doesn’t seem to make a psychological difference in kindergarten, drawbacks can occur later on. It’s tough to navigate puberty, growth spurts and other adolescent rites of passage before most classmates do.

Parents seem to hold back boys more often than girls—possibly because they perceive boys as less mature. The same goes for children with birthdays near the K cutoff date. But these aren’t grounds to justify redshirting. A legitimate reason may be a diagnosed learning challenge or developmental delay that might cause a true disadvantage. In these cases, your child should be evaluated by a qualified educator before any decision is made.

“Even if a child is one of the youngest in class, it’s possible for him to catch up to his peers,” says Dr. McCartney. What’s important is to stay involved in his education and talk to his teacher about problems. In school, as in the rest of his life, you’ll probably find there’s just no holding him back.

Be Prepared
Whether your kid is on the younger or older side when he starts kindergarten, there are things you can do to help him feel ready, says Dr. Kathleen McCartney. Check out the swing set. If possible, start using the school playground on summer weekends so at least one part of the school will feel familiar. Set Up Playdates. If you have early access to a class list, arrange times for your child to play with peers so he can establish friendships. Go shopping. Kids get excited about new sneakers and backpacks. Let him pick out his own before school starts.