By law, children must be at least 5 years old to begin kindergarten. Red-shirting is the practice of holding children back from kindergarten for a year instead of enrolling them right when they turn 5. Red-shirted children enter kindergarten at the more mature age of 6; they are typically at the head of their class, which gives them a great head start in overall academic achievement, according to Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman in a Newsweek article. Concerns about the practice of red-shirting include the fact that more affluent parents can generally afford to give their children this head start, while many working class parents cannot afford to go without the free childcare school provides. Red-shirting thus serves to increase the achievement gap between children of different socio-economic backgrounds.
Professionals agree that listening is an important prerequisite for entering kindergarten. Teachers can easily spot the children in their kindergarten classes that have not been properly prepared for the focused attention needed to succeed at this grade level. How much TV a child watches and how much time her parents spend reading to her are thought to be the primary causes of varying listening skills levels at the kindergarten level.
Some less mature kindergarten students lack the independence-based skills required to keep pace with other children in a school setting. Parents and preschool teachers must equip young students to perform basic tasks, such as hanging up their coats, snapping and zipping fasteners on clothing and pouring milk into a cup. Kindergarten teachers simply do not have the manpower required to perform these tasks for all their students.
If a child enters kindergarten without the ability to share and play with others, he will likely have difficulty coping in the school environment. Parents and pre-school teachers must therefore find creative ways to teach children these core social skills before they enter kindergarten. Play groups, emotion charts and adult-facilitated problem solving are all means by which children can meet the social expectations surrounding kindergarten readiness.