How did you know you had to hold back your pre-k child one more year??
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Anonymous
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This is so confusing to us. We have a 4 year old boy who will be turning 5 in June. So far, from [/i]our point of view, he is perfectly ready to start kindergarten next fall. However, so many of our friends who have 4 year old boys with summer birthdays talk about having them repeat pre-k... and have asked if we are too. Our son's teacher has never mentioned anything about him needing one more year in pre-k. He is great in math, interested in letters and writing his name etc., socially he can be a bit shy at times, likes to do his own thing and play independenly, and just 3 months ago started to play more in groups, and he loves it now.
So, even though we are planning on sending him to kindergarten this fall, we wonder what other parents saw in their 4 year old (with summer birthday) which made them keep him/her in pre-k for one more year. TIA! |
Anonymous
| OP: I forgot to mention that he is on the shorter/smaller side.. if this matters at all... |
Anonymous
| It's totally a DC thing. If you think he's ready then send him. |
Anonymous
| The teacher and principal suggested we consider it. |
Anonymous
| It was clear that her social immaturity and immature emotional regulation would make it hard for her to be the youngest in the class. |
Anonymous
| We're debating it now, too. DC has significant motor delays (in OT) and a July birthday, but is cognitively on-track. Also on the small side, slightly anxious at times and not super confident. Leaning toward taking another year for Pre-K. |
Anonymous
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Ugh. Don't. Unless there's a good reason. Just don't. You think you're giving your kid an advantage in life because they'll not have to struggle as hard or something? Really you just end up with an 18 year old "adult" high school senior. And trust me, he will not be more mature than any other high school senior because of it.
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Anonymous
| When DC got rejected for every private K we applied for. |
Anonymous
Huh? There are plenty of 18-year old high school seniors. Did you flunk high school math? |
Anonymous
On the basis of what? We're thinking about private K for our kid with some SN |
Anonymous
Lack of readiness. The nursery school teachers said the same thing. We may be dumb but we're not stupid. We did an extra year of Pre-K (DC was readily accepted at several places), and it was the best thing we ever did. An ADHD diagnosis did come a few years later, by the way. |
Anonymous
| Interesting question OP. we also have a small DS with a June bday. I'd prefer not to hold him back though. Looking forward to reading other responses. |
Anonymous
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This topic comes up about once every two months. My good friend has DS with September birthday. She was concerned over it, but decided to go ahead. He is thriving and now as someone who also started *ON TIME*, my friend is glad she did. (She graduated at 17 and had more time to think about what she wanted to do before college, without worrying about "falling behind later" in life. She ended up doing remarkably well. Better than most in the area.)
Her DS is in elementary and is thriving. You really, really need to look at the individual child. No one knows best but the parent. IMPORTANT: You will find this is a regional "problem", likely caused by parents who simply worry too much; and/or are outrageously and unreasonably competitive (they did not live up to their own parents expectations). Do not do your child a huge disservice by worrying about the "what ifs". This is true every day, but especially in this regard. It is not fair to the child to hold them back because you want them to be something they may never be. Do not set your child up to be bored in school, or worse hate school later on. They call it "redshirting", OP. I suspect many in this area are hoping for a sports scholarship or something to justify their decision to hold the child back. But in life, there are no guarantees. Again, consider the parents. |
Anonymous
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Well, may cause flames, but are you really going to base a life changing decision on someone who has the credentials of a preschool teacher or head? Now a developmental pediatrician or similar, that's a different matter.
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Anonymous
| Pre-K teacher recommendation. |