OT - moving daughter up a grade - opinions?

[DrBee]

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts on this. We keep going back and forth. We are going to have her evaluated by the school (as is required, of course) and go from there. We are going to talk with the school/teacher when we go on the house hunting trip. I have confidence in her in that she will do well in whatever grade she is in. We are talking with her about this as much as we can without putting pressure on her.

Wish us luck!

[DrBee]

The school system does have a good gifted program, too.

[GulfCoastSwim]

Do it! I was skipped ahead as a kid and it kept me from being bored in school. One year really doesn't make that much difference if she's mature, but I might hesistate at more than that.

[tygab]

I went to a gifted HS and the "normal" entry was to skip a grade when coming in (at 8th grade essentially). All my sibs did this (2 older, 1 younger). I did not. Now don't get me wrong, they are all very happy, successful, socially adjusted adults, but where it seemed to make a difference (to my view) was upon entering college. Being so young in college seemed to put some strains on them that I'm not even sure I could articulate - I just could feel it was something harder for them.

In my case, I didn't skip the grade, and I also took a year before college, which I spent in France, attending French HS and living with a family. So I was an 'old' freshman, and I loved having a more mature outlook that had come from both age and having already been away from home on my own in a different country.

So, I lean toward the earlier sentiment that it never seemed a disadvantage to be the older one, but it could hurt to be the youngest one.

[Geonz]

I started school early and dropped out a year early to go to college.

16 **is** young to be in college (tho' really it was the best option for me). In hindsight, I might have done better to do something else to figure out myself and the world, before heading off to college to do academic stuff. And, at one point (eighth grade), we considered having me stay back a year to mature.

Research bears out the experiences here: for girls, it is socially much less comfortable & healthy to be the most mature one in the class; for boys, it is more stressful to be late maturing. (Think abotu what it's like to have a full figure in fourth grade... the comments... etc... I would have were I not younger...)

If you're moving anyway, a lot of issues won't be issues.

[massbikebabe]

It had been requested that both my kids skip grades and both times I said no.
For it is easy to see them ahead of the game now, what is going to happen on the other end say college?? My little guy would have been a 16 year old freshman!!! My advice is have the teachers and/or teachers aides work with your kid and let them mature right along with the rest of the class. You won't be sorry, I'm not, mine is a college freshman right now and her brother is a high school freshman.


karen