Emotional Maturity is More Important than Age

As a parent, I was unsure what to do when my intelligent little summer child entered school.  I was happy to see him go, but he was always behind the emotional maturity of his classmates.  With tutoring in the summer after first grade, he caught up.  But even though his grades were A's and B's, he was still behind by the time he finished 6th grade.  I made the decision after much soul searching and advice from psychologists to hold him back and have him repeat 6th grade.  The principal said they were switching textbooks in some of the classes and they placed him in the gifted program.  He blossomed.  After he graduated 8th grade, he said he was glad we held him back.  Now he had friends in two grades too.  To make a long story short, he did well in high school, and now has a physics degree.  It should not be seen as punishment, but allowing a child to mature at his/her  own speed.  Some of his friends had repeated first grade too because they were not emotionally mature.  Boys especially need that extra time to mature in the lower grades.  I am very glad I made that decision 17 years ago.