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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We have 3 summer b'day kids.  With the oldest, the teacher said he was ready to go, so we sent him on.  In the long run (he's 24 now), this worked out fine, but middle school and 9th grade were rough.  He's very bright, but was behind in terms of organizational skills.  Similarly, despite being sociable and friendly, he lagged behind his peers in emotional maturity.  We held back his younger brother and sister (both did an "extra" year of preschool, and didn't see the same problems.  Instead, teachers often commented on their maturity and sense of responsibility.          [/quote]

I have a son with a July birthday at an independent school. He is in middle school, and sounds very much like the boy described above. The teachers have expressed concerns about his need to take more responsibility. I am not sure they recognize that he is 1 to 1 1/2 years younger than his classmates. Academically, he is thriving. It is a tough call to make when you have a bright child with a late birthday. We discussed this at length when he was ready for K. My husband was worried he would be bored and possibly act out if we held him back a year. He still believes we made the right call, whereas I am not so sure.[/quote]

I'm the PP you quoted, and just want to add that neither of our younger kids was bored in the least.  Their school (same one the oldest attended) offers plenty of challenges.  Again, I wouldn't want to say that moving the oldest ahead was devastating, but having seen something of a controlled experiment with the younger 2, I think the oldest certainly would have benefited from having an extra year to catch up with the prevalent age cohort in his grade.  I'll also note that all 3 kids have either taken or will take a gap year between HS and college.  Again, greater maturity and the self-knowledge that comes with it is a valuable asset as young people take their first steps out into the world.       [/quote]

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