Thursday, January 26, 2012
On the fence
I need some opinions from my teacher friends, or anyone with older kids, or anyone who can help me make this decision! My (not so) little boy Davis has an August birthday, which means I can chose to hold him back a year if I want to. I have been debating this for the past few months and can't seem to decide what to do. I feel like its such a huge decision! I have pros and cons for both. He has a funny little personality, the kind that doesn't really enjoy learning. He's a very smart, creative kid, but gets frustrated VERY easily and gives up quickly. He requires a lot of bribing. :) One of the main reasons I put him in preschool was because I struggled so much teaching him on my own. He learns so much better from other people, which I know is typical. But since he has a lack of enthusiasm for learning, I feel like he is slightly behind. If I put him in kindergarten next year he will always be the youngest kid in his class...forever. I feel like he will always struggle. And I don't know if that's true, I just don't want to regret it if I decide to put him in and then he is always frustrated and behind. If I hold him back a year, he will always be the oldest, and the biggest kid in his class, which is a huge plus for sports. He is 4 and already in size 7 pants, and has a size 2 shoe. He's huge. So he'll probably be into sports and being the oldest will help. And he will be 18 when he's a senior and can go right from graduation to leave on a mission, which I think is a huge plus. He'll get one more year of preschool, giving him the best chance to be caught up. The cons to holding him back is him and Rylie won't be in high school together and I won't get the "break" of everyday kindergarten next year. I don't know what to do? I'm leaning towards holding him back but I want to make sure I have all the facts straight before making a huge decision. Opinions? Comments? Help!
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5 comments:
So I think all your reasons to hold him back make sense- but because of his size I think you should start him when he is supposed to go. I had a student who was held back and was already really big for his size- he had a really hard time making friends cause all the kids were so much smaller than he was- and they thought he was an older kid. As far as learning goes- unless he is severely behind he will be fine, all kids struggle a bit- but the younger than the brain the easier to mold! His size is already big enough that he'll still be awesome at sports in his age group. Plus- the process of applying to hold your kids back in Utah is a pain I have heard- because of class sizes unless their is a severe learning disability they usually wont give your permission to do it- thats just what I have heard, I am not sure- ANWAYS this was way long- I think you should look into the what you have to do to get permission to hold him back- and see if its an easy process or not- then go from there to decide! I totally support whatever you want to do!
Andrea, I would love to talk to you about this--Out of my 6 children, I had three that I waited to start (and this is in California, where the cut-off date is December 2!) But there's too much to type. So send me an email and I'll give you my phone #. My email is gslassen@gmail.com
Normally I'm not a fan of holding kids back without good reasons, but you have some very valid reasons for Davis. If you are going to hold him back, now is the time (since once he starts, he will have many friends, won't want to feel "dumb" by being held back, and once you start school, THAT's when issues with holding kids back arise. If you just don't register him for kindergarten until next year, you should be fine).
As for his size, I don't think it matters. I was always way taller than everyone (including the boys) and I was the youngest (Aug. 31 b-day). Sure, it was rough at times, but you learn to deal and get over it. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger (and better in sports, right?)
I've had several kids in my classes over the years who were NOT ready for kinder, and thus NOT ready for 1st and have totally struggled. Especially if school is not "his thing," him being lower in areas and easily frustrated will most likely cause him to equate school with very negative feelings.
Once you've made your decision (either way) talk to his preschool teacher and maybe once of the kinder teachers.
As for the "break" of all-day kinder, enjoy another year at home with him!!! Kids grow up too fast... Hope that helps!
ha! I was just thinking of my aunt gayle when reading this post and then saw she already commented! But really, every one who I know that has held their boys back a year is so glad they did, I haven't known a single friend/family member who regretted it, it sounds like you have a lot more pros then cons any way, but Good luck making the decision!
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