Kindergarten Debate

I agree with Wang and Aamodt's theory about the negatives of starting school late.  Gladwell did state that the more mature a child is, the better that child will be.  In addition, that peticular child will be given more time to practice, and an accumulation advantage will occur.  Now, I agree that an accumulation advantage would benefit anyone in athletics, but I disagree that you may gain an accumulation advantage by holding your child back.  If a child were to begin early, that child would be an entire year's worth of studies ahead of someone who started a year late.  Furthermore, a child's brain development can not be put off.  It is at its peak around the age of 4; so, why would a parent purposefully dodge this oppurtunity for their child?  That child just missed the best point in their life to suck up information.  Plus, I know students that have been held back for them to have a strong start in kindergarten.  All of this claimed advantage is utterly worthless by the time that child reaches high school.  Those students that I know dominate the fields of athletics because they are a full year older than everyone else, but they suffer greatly in academics.  Personally, I agree with the idea that holding you child back will only do them harm.