Holding Back 1st grader

[Anonymous]

I am considering advocating that our school (private) hold my daughter back a year. She is not near reading fluently, and is just an early reader. She was premature, so her birthday should be in the summer (turning 7), but is currently in April. The school seems disinclined to do this, despite the fact that she has a high IQ but is performing poorly in reading and any written assignments. I think an extra year would be a gift for her. She is too young to determine whether there are learning disabilities. I think it may be developmental (she was 3 before she talked, but caught up rapidly). She is tall for her age, however, and they seem to think that is an important factor.

Ideas on how best to handle?

[Anonymous]

I'm not an expert by any means. I do remember our head of school saying they were not concerned with reading unless a child was not reading fluently by the end of 2nd grade. (This assumes that the child is constantly progressing in skill level, however). And that the head of school's own daughter almost hit that deadline, but somehow reading just "clicked" for her, and now she won't stop. So it makes me wonder if your daughter's school feels similarly about your daughter. Is she making progress at all? Is the school able to offer differentiated instruction to help her get to the appropriate reading level for her grade? Has anyone mentioned or discussed getting additional reading help outside of school? I'd have those discussions with the school and if they cannot accommodate your child at her current grade level, then I'd use that as the basis of my case to hold her back.

FWIW, I personally would stick it out, based on what you've described. But I'm a big believer in parents know best.

[Anonymous]

I have a 12 year old DD with an August birthday. She struggled learning to read and did not read fluently until the end of 3rd grade. We wondered if we should have waited a year at Kindergarten, but everything else was on target. She got a little extra support in school and a tutor for a year-- but I really believe time was the biggest factor. Now, as a 7th grader you can't keep a book out of her hands... she is CONSTANTLY reading and performs in the 99% with reading tasks on standardized tests.

I look at her next to the children in 6th grade now and realize how much more developed and mature she is than many of them and am thankful we didn't hold her back. I think standing out at 5th, 6th and 7th grade would have been much more difficult than being a little behind at 1st/2nd grade was for her (she didn't notice much).

Kids develop at different rates. School curriculums are set up for "learning to read" in K-2 and "reading to learn" from 3rd or 4th grade on. It is likely that things will click for your DD in the next year.

I'd look at all her skills, including social and emotional when making any decisions and consider the other side of the coin.. what happens when she is the oldest, most mature/developed in later years.

In your shoes I'd likely find a fun way to work on some reading skills over the summer and see what happens. (Don't make it too much of a chore or she'll hate it).

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't worry about it. In the Waldorf curriculum they don't even want kids to start trying to read until age 7. And in Sweden & Finland (the places in the world with the best schools) they don't really attend if they don't want to until 7.

[Anonymous]

I don't think she is too young to be tested for possible LDs. My DC's dyslexia was determined at 6. A neuropsych eval might be a good idea. Most places have wait lists so it may take several months to get an appointment.

If she is struggling so much that it affects her confidence/behavior then holding her back might be a good idea. If she seems overall to be happy and gets along well socially with her peers, then I probably wouldn't hold her back.