Redshirting

As published in the LaPorte County Herald-Argus:

Redshirting or Possibly Repeating Kindergarten
By, Michelle Harmon

Redshirting. Have you heard of this? I just learned the meaning of it myself, recently. Redshirting is, apparently, the new term for holding children back from starting Kindergarten. That is, instead of sending your child to Kindergarten when she turns five, you keep her home (or at preschool) for another year and send her when she is six. It seems that more and more parents are opting for redshirting, given the expected benefits of doing so.
Redshirting allows your child to mature a bit more emotionally and intellectually before entering into Kindergarten. Most kids who are redshirted have less trouble adjusting to school and tend to do well academically. My suggestion if you do decide to redshirt your child, is that you have him in a preschool program or you work with him at home on the basics: alphabet, letter sounds, colors and numbers. Your Kindergarten teacher will undoubtedly expect him to comprehend such things more easily since he is older. I would also make sure that he has had the opportunity to socialize, at least somewhat, with kids his own age, whether in a preschool setting or through playdates, etc.
If your child is already in Kindergarten and is struggling, there is no shame in having your child repeat Kindergarten. I just had a conference last week with my daughter's Kindergarten teacher. My daughter is a young five and is struggling with letter sounds, handwriting and so forth. The teacher indicated that she may have to repeat Kindergarten if she doesn't improve by the Spring. Having dealt with parents who typically push their kids forward, the teacher was hesitate to tell me that she may repeat and seemed overly relieved when I told her that I was okay with the prospect of her repeating Kindergarten.
The way I see it, Kindergarten and the Elementary grades are the building blocks for your child's educational success. If your child doesn't have a strong foundation in reading and math, he will struggle the rest of his academic career. No parent wants to set her kid up for failure. So, again, it is okay to have your child repeat Kindergarten, likewise it is okay to redshirt him.
Finally, you know your child best. If he's five and you don't think he's ready for Kindergarten, don't send him. It's really as simple as that. He won't know the difference, and the school will support your decision, either way. Additionally, if your child is already in Kindergarten, but she is struggling. Let her repeat Kindergarten next year. Don't send her off to flounder in first grade. This will only cause her undo stress and will damage her self-esteem. You don't want her to learn to hate school at this age! She has her junior high years for that...