Posts by urbantinker8

Tyler Ruiz502 said:I’ve already pointed this out a few times now in this thread—whether we delay things or not, it feels like it doesn't even matter. It all leads to the same place anyway.

It feels a little silly to generalize like that or to act like the whole concept of grade retention is some trivial thing.🤷
For those kids who don't actually *need* to be held back, but are pushed into it for the wrong reasons, maybe they will end up at the same destination in the end, I guess.
But then you have the children for whom grade retention was originally designed; if we actually take active steps to help them catch up and fix the areas where they're struggling, they might actually see some benefit this year.

Grade retention exists for the kids who truly need it, and anything beyond that is just an abuse of the system. It’s kind of like if parents of perfectly healthy kids suddenly started demanding special education assistants in class just because it would make their lives a little easier.🙄

Daniel Gomez10 said:Come on, don't tell me it wasn't pushed on us. I know for a fact I felt that pressure 🤷
we actually had to fight just to make sure we *didn't* get an extension.

And look, maybe you guys just happened to run into some of those things I mentioned earlier—you know, like living in an overachieving neighborhood, hitting those specific age milestones a bit early, having "messy" handwriting, or just being in an environment where everyone jumps at the chance to delay things the second they can.
🤷
Regarding our own neighborhood, I was chatting last week with the teacher at my oldest's preschool, and she mentioned that out of both preschool groups this year (plus the kids in the mixed classes), absolutely NO children have been granted a deferral.
Now, whether that means nobody even asked or nobody was approved, I suppose I can't say for sure, but it seems to fit the pattern in this area—the high-pressure schools, the same group of specialists doing all the evaluations and interviews, and so on.
A few neighborhoods over, though, requesting a delay is practically the trend right now.😁

Ryan Stewart8 said:nimblelynx7, please, just stop talking nonsense. We actually ran into each other during a similar debate once before, and it turned out those "arguments" of yours were totally baseless then, just like they are now. It’s not like anyone is attacking professionalism or anything—if there even is any—we’re just calling out this absolutely insane way things are being handled.

Daniel Gomez10, I guess the reality is that it depends a lot on who’s doing the evaluating and how big of a deal they personally make out of what they see. But at the same time, in both instances, they definitely spotted something. As for whether it’s truly critical or a massive headache for the school district, I probably shouldn't judge since I don't have all the details.
The whole issue with Andrew Wright2's situation is that it looks like they decided to delay development for a child who is perfectly on track based on nothing more than a whim and a single sentence, and yet everyone just went along with it.

Just ignore them.
Otherwise, we'll probably end up back in that loop where, lacking actual points to make, people start quoting stuff about JPMorgan Chase or the population density of some random desert town.🤦

Daniel Gomez10 said:I’m not going to weigh in on that specific drama, but I see people saying it’s impossible to get a school deferral here in Chicago.
My experience with the district my kids are in has been the exact opposite.

Last year, my oldest was starting kindergarten. He turned 7 back in September.
He had all his preschool skills down—actually, way more than that. He breezed through the school interview, but the counselor noticed during their 15-minute chat that he gets distracted easily, so she suggested we consider holding him back for a year.
She wanted to send him for psychological testing first just to be sure.
I was honestly shocked at the idea of my kid starting first grade at 8 years old. It didn't even cross my mind that deferring would be an option, so I told her straight up: no way.
After thinking about it for a bit, he decided he wouldn't even bother with the testing "since he’d pass anyway," and figured he'd just mature a bit by September.

This year it's my youngest's turn. He's a March baby, so he'll be 6.5 in September.
He’s got all the basics covered too—even more than his big brother (he can already read, write, and count to 100). He’s totally stoked about starting school.
Given his birthday and what happened last year, I was certain they'd push for a deferral again.
He passed the school interview, even though he struggled a little with spatial awareness, which isn't really his thing.
The meeting was just Dad, the school psychologist, and the counselor.
The psychologist said he was ready to go, but the counselor suggested holding him back because of his fine motor skills (which his preschool teacher actually praised, by the way). They basically left the ball in our court to decide.
Of course, Dad jumped in immediately and said he's enrolling him.

So, from what I've seen, getting a deferral isn't hard at all. If anything, it feels like they try to push it on parents.🤷

Well, I probably wouldn't go quite that far as to say it's being forced upon parents😁, though I will say it’s definitely (too) easy to get
.
I suppose it's true, really, since everything depends on such a wide range of variables: actual developmental struggles—though, honestly, it seems like nowadays practically everything gets labeled as an attention disorder, fine motor issues, speech delays, and so on🙄, I guess—plus things like where a kid falls on the birth date cutoff, how much pressure there is on a specific local elementary school, and even just which doctor, pediatrician, or specialist you happen to run into... BUT, in the last few years, I feel like parental insistence has become a huge factor too, and experts seem to be pushing back against those requests less and less than they used to
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I suppose one could call her a lady of leisure, though I suspect that’s a bit of an overstatement, if you ask me. It feels like such a loaded term, doesn't it? I mean, depending on who you talk to, it either sounds like a compliment or a subtle little jab at someone's productivity, which I guess is always the way things go with labels these days. Maybe she just enjoys the quiet moments, or perhaps she’s mastered the art of doing absolutely nothing while looking perfectly composed, which is a skill in itself, really. I don't know. It's hard to say for sure without knowing the context, but there's something sort of peaceful about the idea, I suppose. kaže:
I mean, they aren't exactly being held under some microscope by Child Protective Services or anything like that. It’s more that the mother herself actually admitted she’s struggling to keep things together within the system right now. It isn't quite as if we’re constantly being watched by social workers or anything—that's not really what was said to us—it's just that the little guy is heading off to school this fall, and things are just... well, they're complicated.

I suppose you aren't planning on staying on an official basis, if that’s even what you meant.
Well, I suppose they’ve finally got you right where they want you now, and honestly, if I were in your shoes, I might start thinking twice before trying to sidestep any more federal regulations or legal hoops in their territory... it feels like once those agencies have you flagged, there isn't much room left for maneuvering, I guess.😉

I suppose one might call her a lady of leisure, though I’m never quite sure if that’s meant as a compliment or just a polite way of saying someone has far too much time on their hands, which, in this day and age, feels like a bit of a luxury, doesn't it? Maybe. It’s funny how we label people based on how they spend their hours, as if there’s some definitive rulebook for productivity that we're all supposed to be following religiously, but I guess life isn't always about the grind. Sometimes, it's just about existing without a schedule pressing down on you, which is a concept I find somewhat elusive myself most days. kaže:
I was just sitting there, waiting for my turn, observing one of those social workers at her desk, and I couldn't help but notice how she spends her time. It’s a bit strange, I guess, because while I’m standing outside just waiting for things to move along, I can see right into her office, and she’s mostly just snapping selfies and scrolling through Facebook. It seems like quite a lot of her actual working hours are being swallowed up by social media, which feels a little off, maybe, considering what she's supposed to be doing, though I suppose everyone has their own way of passing the time when they think nobody is watching.

I suppose this sort of thing actually touches on the subject at hand somehow... though I guess it’s hard to say exactly how it all connects, if you think about it for too long. Maybe there's a link there, somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure.🤷

I suppose one might call her a lady of leisure, though I’m never quite sure if that’s meant as a compliment or just a quiet way of saying someone has far too much time on their hands, which, in my experience, usually leads to a very specific kind of restlessness. kaže:
I guess we aren't some kind of special case here, if that’s what’s actually bothering you.

Honestly, it’s really nothing to worry about, I suppose—nothing's weighing on me at all, so there's truly no need for any concern.
I suppose I’m just exercising my right to sit on the sidelines and voice some disagreement when it comes to certain parents who seem to operate under the assumption that they "know best" about everything.

Andrew Wright2 said:See, there’s the difference.

Our own doctor actually told us we should ask for a deferral. And she sees my little guy all the time—not because he’s sick, just because we live in a small town. She knows him, she knows he's totally fine. Even his preschool backed our simple request to hold off, and the school district was on the same page. We didn't have to harass anyone, play favorites, threaten people, or grease any palms. The principal himself even told me we did the right thing by asking for more time. I've known the guy since I was a kid; he's an easygoing, open guy who admitted the whole school system is basically a chaotic mess right now.

Around here, everyone treats this like it's perfectly normal. Even NASA supports deferrals, so honestly, it just comes down to how people handle it. Some get it, some don't. Guess it depends on the doctor or whatever.

And I'll say it again: my kid will be exactly 7 years and 10 months when he starts school. There's another kid starting at 8.5 years old who is just as healthy and well-adjusted. And nobody is making a scene about it or saying he'll fall behind or get bored in preschool, or that he won't be with kids his age. Seriously, nobody. Does that even make sense to you guys? Instead, they're actually supportive.

You can sit here and try to sugarcoat everything, acting like NASA is some magical wonderland filled with unicorns and rainbows, but it’s absolutely not the truth that every single deferral ends up there, or that they only issue disability statements, or that NASA is genuinely out to support these delays—please, don't try to blatantly mislead the rest of us on this forum.😉
The reason you were all summoned (including you and everyone who showed up today) isn't something we can be certain about, though we can certainly speculate; however, having spent a long time working within the American education system, I feel I have a pretty good idea of why this is happening.☕

And great, so you get your deferral, which is exactly what I anticipated would happen.
But just remember, now that you're officially part of their system, don't go thinking it's some wonderful, flawless setup that everyone should be lining up for.
I'll be able to keep an eye on things if, or when, the need arises.

Kate Cox2 said:Because, frankly, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of a local community center getting involved in school deferment issues! It seems perfectly logical to me that they realized they were dealing with someone who simply refuses to cooperate, so they decided to escalate the matter to a higher authority.
If that's actually what's happening, then her absolute panic regarding a call from the local agency makes complete sense to me.

I suppose we're all just working with a bunch of disconnected, weirdly conflicting bits of info here, so any of us could be guessing, but it feels to me like they sensed something was off and just tossed the ball over to Social Services.
I mean, it doesn't really make much sense to me that someone would go down to the center specifically to try and "prove" a diagnosis doesn't exist.😕
I assume these various agencies are at least integrated enough that they can pull those kinds of records with just a few clicks of a mouse.
Having a face-to-face conversation with the person in question is a whole different story, though.

Kate Cox2 said:To still doesn't quite make sense to me—what role does the Department of Social Services actually play in this whole process? 🤔
My take on the situation is pretty simple: either the child is facing genuine developmental hurdles that truly prevent them from starting school, or the relevant authorities decided they weren't going to play games with this mother. It feels like they might have told her one thing to her face, while privately sending their actual concerns and true assessment over to the Department.
I’ll admit, I’m not an expert here. Does the Department get involved in every single delay request, or is it reserved for specific cases? (And if so, what kind?) Since there are plenty of people here who are more well-versed in this than I am, I would love some clarification.
The whole story feels full of holes. Either the mom is being evasive about her child's struggles, or she's being dishonest about how smoothly the delay was granted—because if it were that easy, why would the Department even need to step in?
In any case, it's obvious the original poster is holding something back—not that she has to, of course—but if you're coming to a community like this looking for advice and answers, it would be much more helpful to give us the ACTUAL, honest truth of the situation.
Being hyperactive or having minor speech issues (nothing significant enough to require a speech therapist) simply isn't a valid reason for a school delay. So, we are left with two possibilities: either the little one has much deeper issues, or the mother herself is causing trouble, leading the institutions to decide they couldn't just let it slide and instead passed everything along to the Department.

But the question I’m most curious about is this: does the Department call in *everyone* for an interview regarding these delays, or is it just selective?

The latter scenario, I think.😉

No, they don't just call CPS in for a chat regarding every single kid who starts school a little late.

nimblelynx7 said:This is the bottom line. If a parent thinks their kid should start at seven instead of six, that needs to be respected. All those self-proclaimed "experts"—and the ones panicking about declining birth rates and their own job security—can foam at the mouth until they hit their meager Social Security checks for all I care.

Oh, please. Our school system is the absolute best in the world. You can learn anything except the stuff that actually matters. After graduating here, you could win any trivia night anywhere on Earth.
And don't even get me started on the teachers. Just wonderful.

Do you think it would work if they waited until they were 8 instead of 7?
It’d be respected, obviously. 🙂
I mean, these experts don't really have a clue what's actually "best for the child"—that's something only parents can truly figure out.😉
You always did have an interest in geography... but I don't think there is a single country on this entire planet where kids don't start school until they're 8.

David Palmer5 said:I'm not so sure about that.
Just because people claim they got a deferral solely because they asked for it doesn't mean that's actually how it went down.

Besides, you can see for yourself:

If everyone was in agreement, then the deferral was legitimate and there was clearly a valid reason for it. Otherwise, at least one person would have pointed out that delaying enrollment didn't make any sense.

Believe me, I’ve personally seen way too many instances where the only official reason given was some vague sense of being "behind," when the actual motivation was just parents wanting their kids to have a little more time to "be kids," or perhaps just wanting to avoid having to sync up everyone's vacations with the standard American school calendar.

It usually involved kids born roughly around the turn of the year through early spring—nothing crazy, and honestly, none of them had any specific diagnoses or anything like that.

Sure, there are plenty of families who don't want anyone knowing their child is struggling, so they claim the deferral was just granted without cause, but I think those first types of cases—the ones driven by lifestyle or scheduling—are becoming more common every single year.

As for this specific situation we're all chewing on here, I really haven't a clue; it seems like every time a new post comes up, we just get more layers of detail and different information.
Who knows what's actually going on at the heart of it.

Andrew Wright2 said:Look, I get to live wherever I want. I'm not ditching the US just because of some people. I lived abroad and actually went to school specifically to work right here at home.

And yeah, we got a delay on our request, even with everyone involved in the process. It’s not like we were being pushy or making a scene or trying to grease any palms. We just told them we wanted priority for preschool, and they were like, "Sure, we'll look into it." Then they just hashed it out with the school district and the doctors.

You seem pretty worked up about all those rights of yours.
Look, I don't think anyone is actually trying to strip you of your rights, so there's probably no need to get quite so defensive about it.

I mean, by all means, live where you want and do what you want, provided you stay within the bounds of the law and don't end up infringing on anyone else's fundamental human rights.

Andrew Wright2 said:My attitude isn't changing. Not one bit.

Better now, Admin?

Deleted that just so nobody here gets their feelings hurt.

if your surroundings are really weighing on you that heavily, I guess there's the question of why you haven't just moved away yet, since you mentioned having the option?
and honestly, that environment isn't going to magically disappear before the next school year starts anyway.

David Palmer5 said:I was just quoting your post; I could have quoted anyone else, it's really no different.
Come on, everyone, let's not be naive here.
Kids don't get a deferral just because their parents want them to.
That's just how some people choose to look at it.
Every single kid who gets a delay in starting school actually has a legitimate reason behind it.

I'm not sure that's quite right.
sometimes, it seems to me, all a parent needs to do is be firm and persistent.
they just won't let the school district engage in an endless tug-of-war with every single parent who insists they know what's best for their kid.🙄

Joseph Stewart7 said:There was plenty of insults, mockery, and being ignored... But I don't project my own past onto my child. That would be doing him a massive disservice.

Since the narrative keeps shifting and new details keep popping up, I'm bowing out of this conversation.

I was actually thinking along those exact same lines just now.😁
It feels like you can't even tell what's an actual fact anymore versus some kind of manufactured story being spun.
No matter how I look at it, I just end up feeling bad for the kid.😢

Andrew Wright2 said:Not trying to sound like a broken record here, but based on my own experience dragging through the school system and seeing what my husband dealt with, we just decided to wait until the little guy was actually born before making any calls about starting school.

I’m just calling it like I see it based on the professionals I've dealt with my whole life. And yeah, I mentioned people who work with kids but shouldn't be allowed anywhere near them. If you want to roll your eyes at me, go ahead. Seriously. When your kid gets bullied by someone, feel free to just roll your eyes too. Tell them "that's life, get used to it."

Even Verdan said it herself—some experts are total trash and some are actually okay. Some people are just garbage and some aren't. Apparently, I fall into the "trash" category because we asked for a delay and actually got it.
Like I'm the only person in America who ever requested a delay and supposedly "crippled" their kid just because they're spending another year in daycare instead of starting first grade.

But honestly, that sounds a bit like a "I'm just over it" reaction where you might be projecting your own past frustrations onto your child.🤷
Who can really guarantee that a kid will have the exact same negative experiences you did with school?
There is no way to know if they'll end up with a terrible teacher this year, either.
And who's to say the teacher next year won't be absolutely perfect?
Plus, there's the possibility that they might actually miss being with their peers this year, especially if they start next year alongside kids who are a year and a half younger.
Or maybe an eight-year-old will struggle with a specific subject that would have been much easier to tackle when they were seven.
Even then, there is always the chance they might just end up incredibly bored in preschool this year.

I suppose you might be speculating a bit too much here, fighting against ghosts from your own past, when in reality, there aren't any certainties to be found.
And that includes the idea that delaying enrollment is necessarily "making life easier" for them.

Andrew Wright2 I suppose I should probably mention that urbantinker8 was saying...
And so, I suppose, that’s just how things stand. 🙄 I mean, we actually went through the whole process, did everything by the book, and then just asked for an extension—honestly, we were just upfront about wanting more time. And surprisingly, nobody, and I truly mean absolutely nobody, made a fuss about it. There wasn't a single person pushing back or trying to cause trouble. I guess I’m just sitting here wondering if anyone else finds that hard to wrap their head around? It feels almost too easy, maybe.

I’m having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around the sheer amount of contradictions popping up from one post to the next here, I guess. It feels like the goalposts are constantly shifting, which makes it somewhat difficult to follow the actual logic of the conversation, maybe.
If you made that choice right when the baby was born, and then decided to go through with it again nearly seven years later without any real, solid justification... well, from where I’m sitting, it just feels like you did it simply because you could. I guess it comes down to that "because I felt like it" mentality, if that makes sense, though I might be oversimplifying things. It just seems a bit arbitrary, maybe.
It’s funny how things work out, I guess. In one post, you’re busy tearing into those so-called "experts" you had these intense discussions with, acting like they don't know the first thing about what they're doing, and then in another, you're suddenly their biggest supporter just because they went ahead and granted you that extension without making a fuss. It's a bit of an interesting shift, isn't it?
I guess you just end up drifting off into these totally unnecessary historical and ideological tangents that don't really have anything to do with what we were actually talking about in the first place.
I suppose you could say the kid is pretty far ahead of the curve, though I guess it depends on how you look at things. They’ve picked up about two pages worth of a second language just from watching TV, which seems like a decent start, maybe? Beyond that, they’re completely healthy and perfectly socialized, and since they’re already over six and a half years old, everything seems to be unfolding exactly as it should, I guess.
I mean, I’m really not sure how much this is actually clicking for you, but if everything we've discussed is truly the case, then—not just from a legal standpoint, but just based on common sense, too—it seems like all the requirements for starting first grade are met.☕

Ryan Stewart8 said:I mean, I kind of caught on to the fact that they’re pushing back the start date just because the kid was born in November, and apparently, the mom had such a rough time in school herself that she wants to shield them from those same old traumas for another year... but now you're saying they aren't actually ready? I guess I'm just wondering why you feel that way. Like, what was the actual basis for the Department of Social Services deciding on a delay, and why on earth wouldn't they include the specific reason for the postponement right there in the official paperwork?

But the child was actually born in November 2010.
The kids required to enroll in school this year are those born by March 31, 2011.
So the kid is already six years and eight months old, and yet they aren't starting school in two months because... well, just because, I guess...🙄

Quinn:

Andrew Wright2 I guess what they're saying is... I suppose I should probably mention that I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about how things seem to be shifting, though I can't quite put my finger on why it feels so much more pronounced now than it did a few years ago, if that makes any sense. It’s funny, really, because I was sitting there just the other day—I think I was near a coffee shop in Seattle, or maybe it was just a similar vibe—and it hit me how much we rely on these invisible structures to just, you know, hold everything together without us having to notice them most of the time. I guess what I mean is that everything feels a bit more fragile, or maybe just more transparent, which is a strange way to put it, but I feel like we’re all seeing the seams in the fabric more often than we used to. It’s not that anything is necessarily broken, per se, but it feels like the tension is higher, and I wonder if everyone else is feeling that same low-level hum of uncertainty, or if it's just me being overly contemplative during my downtime. Maybe it’s just the weather, or maybe it's just the way the world is moving, but I find myself pausing more often to consider the "why" behind things that used to feel completely automatic. It’s a strange headspace to be in, I suppose, being so aware of the mechanics of life while everyone else seems to be just cruising along. So, my little one is heading back to full-time daycare now, and I suppose I’m just sitting here processing the fact that, once this transition is over, they won't be home for twenty-four hours straight anymore. It's a bit of a shift, I guess, moving from that constant presence back to the regular routine, and it feels like a strange adjustment to prepare for. I mean, I guess it isn’t just my own personal theory or anything like that, because the preschool psychologist was on board with delaying her start, the school psychologist agreed, the school nurse felt the same way, and even the specialists over at the Seattle medical center and the speech therapist all weighed in and said waiting was the right call. It’s not like I’m just making this up as I go along; I only brought it up because, honestly, the child just isn't ready for school yet. That’s really all there is to it.

I think I mentioned somewhere in an earlier post that I probably have a better handle on things than those self-proclaimed school medicine experts, mostly just because I’m actually living through it every day with my son. I suppose you could say it’s a twenty-four-seven kind of thing, if that makes any sense, though I’m never quite sure if such an expression captures the sheer, exhausting persistence of it all. It feels like there isn't really a moment where the clock stops turning or the pressure doesn't just sort of settle back in, heavy and constant, regardless of whether the sun is up or down. Maybe that’s just how things work now, I guess, this idea that everything is always on, always moving, always demanding something from you at any given hour..
I guess they didn't really have much of a choice in the end, since after all that persistent pushing and those constant claims about how he just wasn't ready, they were basically backed into a corner and forced to issue a postponement.
I’ve been sitting here thinking about why some kids just aren't ready to hit the classroom, and I suppose I should probably set aside all that heavy political nonsense—you know, the usual shouting matches about historical factions or those local drug issues—because that isn't really what we're getting at here. It feels like there's a deeper, quieter layer to it, though I might be overthinking things. Maybe it’s just about developmental timing, or perhaps the way certain environments shape a child before they even step through the schoolhouse doors. I guess you could look at it from a few different angles, depending on whether you think it's a matter of emotional maturity or if the social structures around them haven't quite provided the right foundation yet. It's a bit complicated, I suppose, and there isn't one single answer that fits everyone, but it's certainly worth pondering.🙄)?
You mentioned that this was all part of some orderly development process, done without any real hesitation, and that it’s already been well over six and a half years since then—all of which you decided upon right around the time you were born, I suppose.
I guess I’ve been wondering lately if the first-grade curriculum might actually be a bit much for a perfectly healthy seven-year-old, though I suppose it depends on how you look at it. It feels like things move so fast these days, and maybe, just maybe, we’re asking them to grasp concepts that are a little heavy for their age, but then again, I could be wrong about that too.

feralmoose32 said:Honestly, school is probably the absolute least of any kid's worries in this life... ☕

I guess you could say that.

Andrew Wright2 said:My kid is already enrolled in a standard daycare. Let’s use some common sense here.

Besides, you nosorog actually said yourself—if I recall correctly—that kids shouldn't even start school until they're 8 or 9.

I'm not denying my kid an education; I just pushed school back by one year. That's it.

I'll definitely keep you posted. Just hang tight until Friday.

I realized he only did one single year of mandatory preschool, which I suppose means that instead of being in school or at daycare this year, he'll likely just be hanging out at home, right?
I mean, even if you have the most perfect family setup imaginable, having a seven-year-old stuck being "with mom 24/7" probably isn't exactly the healthiest thing for them, I guess.

Andrew Wright2 said:The CSS can't just overrule an IRS decision 🤦! It's not like they're the legislative branch or anything. My god, people here clearly have zero clue how basic law works.

Are you guys even listening to yourselves? This isn't about overturning a ruling—it's just about getting a statement confirming my kid doesn't have disabilities or special needs.

I guess the CSS can pretty much do whatever it wants.😉

oh my god🤦
I suppose there isn't much point in us speculating about the outreach to the Social Security Administration anymore, I guess.
Now, I'm just hoping they decide to rescind that postponement order.
The kid will almost certainly be better off back in school than stuck at home anyway.

Lady of leisure, I think you might have gotten a little too caught up in your own brainstorming session here.😳
I honestly didn't have much heart to finish reading your whole thing, mostly because you mentioned earlier in this thread that you’ve already made up your mind to request a school deferral the second the baby arrives.🤦 You also noted that, thank God, your little one is perfectly healthy and hitting all their milestones without any issues, so you're essentially just looking into a delay because it's legally an option available to you.
Well, if I'm being honest, that alone is enough for me to suggest that talking things through with someone on a forum like this is probably a very good idea.
Seeking to hold a child back from starting school until they're nearly eight years old—without some pretty significant underlying reason—just seems a bit irrational to me, and I suppose it makes sense for professionals to look into the specifics of the situation.
Whatever your actual opinion of them might be.😉
The deferral will likely happen regardless, but at least going through the process might force you to articulate your reasons more clearly, and maybe, just maybe, it'll give you something to actually think about.