Reply to Long: Redshirting August birthday girl?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a child who was accepted to four great schools last year, for PK, even though she has a mid-August birthday. Now she's uncharacteristically quiet in her classroom. Physically she's the smallest in her class - quite a bit smaller than the other girls. The other girls seem much older than her in terms of their interests, from television to pop culture to the ways they dress and talk and play with each other. She still looks and acts like a baby compared to her classmates. I'm worried about her losing her confidence in herself. I see it every day. I hate that she's so quiet and inhibited by participating in the classroom.

My last worry is that the short-term effects of holding her back next year might really harm her. She's very aware of the other girls in her class, and she keeps talking about moving on to K. I don't know how we would explain it all to her. [/quote]

I would worry far more about her looking and seeming so much younger than peers than I would about reading. That somewhat evens out by the early grades. You yourself said that PK is about social skills and confidence and she is not getting that in her current classroom. If you can swing it, I'd think about working briefly with a consultant to find a school and peer group that are a better fit for her. I'd move her and explain that due to the new school cut off she will be in PK there or whatever. I think going on as is in an environment where the kids sound older than 4 to me is likely to do long term harm as is being much less physically mature than a particular peer group. Some is just luck of the draw, how many of the kids have older sibs, etc, but I'd worry that she is hiding out in books rather than making peer connections and that is likely to be a pattern that continues. Reading is like walking, we all do it eventually. Social skills and feeling competent are huge predictors of life success. Her current peers don't sound like a good fit for her. That can be fixed. Find an environment where you think she can thrive.[/quote]

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