The increasingly common practice of retaining kindergarten children by enrolling them in alternative programs instead of first grade is briefly discussed in terms of what research says about retention, the social stigma of retention, the escalating kindergarten curriculum, and alternatives to retention. It is argued that the fad to flunk kindergarten children is the product of inappropriate curriculum. Schools with appropriate curriculum and collegial understandings among teachers and principals make retention unnecessary. Once the larger context of curriculum escalation is understood, teachers and principals will have increased incentive to resist the pressures and accountability culture that render more and more children "unready." (RH)