Ad

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. 

Rate it!
Add a comment

Parent Comments on "Emotional Maturity is More Important than Age"

RSS View 3 comments: Newest-Oldest, Oldest-Newest
Display all comments
nickey1
nickey1 August 19, 2008
Re: Emotional Maturity is More Important than Age
I held my son back in the first grade. He could do the work fine, but would not. There is a big difference. Now he's in the 6th grade and performing well with his class. He has also found out that he is not the only person whose parents decided to have their kids repeat a grade. Boys especially need to have this extra time (occasionally) and parents should realize that it is not a reflection on their skills, but on how much they care for the child. Not everyone can understand and accept that a child needs to repeat a grade for maturity.
cjohansson
cjohansson April 17, 2008
Re: Emotional Maturity is More Important than Age
This is great advice and relates to a lot of the discussion I have seen recently on Community. Of course every situation/child is different, but it is really nice to hear a success story.
suzanne0435
suzanne0435 April 17, 2008
Re: Emotional Maturity is More Important than Age
My twins were premature. The doctor told me that they may be behind emotionally and physically than children their age. I held my daughter back in Kindergarten and it did do her some good, but she is still struggling in reading and spelling, because of speech issues. Her twin brother is doing extremely well though and has done good in all his classes.

Related keywords: held back, school, behind, maturity, retention, grade, mature

Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of GreatSchools. GreatSchools does not check for accuracy in community posts or verify the contributor’s identity. If you are searching for health-related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Community Guidelines for more details.
Join the community or login
Join the community or
Read our community guidelines and FAQ
Community Moderator
Email the Community Moderator for help
tracker