Parent Needs Advice On When To Enroll Child in Kindergarten

My son will turn 5 at the end of this month. We are struggling with the decision of whether to enroll him in kindergarten this year or hold him back for an extra year. He has been in day care since he was 12 weeks old and is right on the mark with motor, listening, academic, self-help and other skills. At his current preschool, he is well-adjusted and has many friends.
He is, however, small (10th percentile) for his age, and it worries us that he may be picked on in kindergarten for being small. My husband also worries about him falling behind at school because he will be one of the youngest.
The day-care director is concerned that holding him back may cause him to act up out of boredom and frustration when all his friends move on and he's stuck in preschool for another year. Our pediatrician, however, says there is nothing but positive benefits from holding back boys with summer birthdays. What do you think? -- Need to Decide
Answer: Generally speaking, there is support for enrolling younger children in kindergarten as well as holding them back. Research is not conclusive on this, although you will hear parents and teachers speak as if it is.
Keep in mind that kindergarten has changed. Some kindergartens push too much academics on children too early. Be concerned about how appropriate the program will be for your son. Try to visit a kindergarten classroom at the school he will attend to discover for yourself if he is likely to be comfortable in this environment -- keeping in mind that this is the end rather than the beginning of the year.
Don't worry so much about your son's size. You will never be able to guess whether he will be teased for being shorter than most of his classmates. After all, kids are teased for a wide variety of reasons, from wearing glasses to their haircuts to their names.