As for concern about physical size along with being the youngest, it’s sometimes something a student will have to deal with even if he/she’s left back a year or two due to genetics or other factors. And sometimes, this factor could more than correct itself in later years.
For instance, despite being among the youngest kids in my grade and being among the smallest/shortest kids in my and two subsequent classes for most of my K-12 career, that dramatically flipped during the summer between sophomore and junior year of HS when I went from being among the shortest kids in my grade to being one of the tallest*.
By the time I arrived back as a 15-16 year old junior, several classmates…including some who were more than a year older ended up being dwarfed by my now greater height. Also, being older doesn’t necessarily confer greater size/height…even within a given family.
A pair of classmates who were siblings had a great difference in height. The older sister by 3 years was somewhere around 4’9" or so by junior/senior year whereas her much younger sister was 5’7" easy as a HS first year.
Went from 5'2" to 5'7" during that summer. Grew a few more inches from that point until frosh year of college.
Instead of skipping, consider private school. Look for a school with a low student/ teacher ratio that will adapt the curriculum for her intellect. Our prep school has amazing teachers who would customize the curriculum to keep the kids engaged and challenged. Teachers are so important!
The other benefit to a rigorous private is that she would be surrounded by like minded peers who live to learn. She won’t be discouraged by being the stand alone “smart kid.” It’s important that she feels encouraged to shine as opposed to feeling like an oddity.
Haven’t read the thread, but instead of skipping send her to a school for gifted kids, that way most everyone is a year or more ahead, but still in class with their age group and still getting academic needs met.
Based on my experience, no. I skipped 3rd grade and while academically I fit in, I was way behind physically and socially for a long time. I went to college at 16 and socially was not ready for dorms. I know everyone is different but there are so many other solutions as suggested by others. Our youngest of 4 is a Sept. baby and we did not hold him back so he was still 4 when he started school. He was reading chapter books and was very advanced socially- the result of much older siblings. He did very well and is very athletic although he was smaller than most. The only issue was during athletic recruitment he was still quite small and that was tough for him. It all worked out- he found a college team, grew to 6’2" and is fine. But he was the only one on the team who had to have Mom sign his paperwork. BTW I’ve also never heard of an athlete taking a year off after 8th grade. Not sure where that happens.
On another note, Rex Morgan opened his practice with June in 1948 so would have been at least 75 when he and June got married. June would have been around 70-75 when little Sarah was born. Sarah had better skip a lot of grades if she wants her parents around when she graduates. I had no idea Rex Morgan was still in print ( or that anyone read it).
“Sarah” will probably do very well, given how she’s been portrayed as being quite precocious in the comic. As for real kids, it depends - as with just about anything in child rearing.
My kids started college at 17 and the only negative comment I heard was about (joking) cracks made by a few classmates who were already in their early 20s. Their friends ranged from one year younger to six or seven years older.
Since we homeschooled, age and grades weren’t issues for our kids until they wanted to attend college.
I started college at 16, had way too much fun, and graduated in three years. Except for dh, the guys I dated were three to nine years older. Most of them had no clue. Legal age was 18 then/there, and I was never asked for ID when we went to a bar. The only trouble I recall came after graduation when I could not rent a car until I turned 21. For other kids, things might not work out so well.
It really depends on the child. It’s way easier to skip early in elementary school than later when she’s busy (and doesn’t want to leave her social group). Also if she skips early in school, maturity levels (at least for girls) won’t be a problem; she’ll just adjust and likely no one will be able tell she’s a year younger.
“Haven’t read the thread, but instead of skipping send her to a school for gifted kids, that way most everyone is a year or more ahead, but still in class with their age group and still getting academic needs met.”
The problem with that is such schools are few and far between. Some places commit to true G and T programs, and for example NYC, while it has some pretty bad schools, has programs in the public schools, plus there is the Hunter school, that are tailored to gifted kids. The irony is that a lot of top notch school districts do little for the top kids, they are great at educating the middle…
The private school option is a possible one, but it all depends on the school and especially the teachers, there are a lot of private schools that in some ways do the same thing the public schools do, and they aren’t necessarily full of really bright kids either. The private school my son went to worked because the teachers were true teachers, and they did something really wild, while keeping our son motivated and interested, filling his needs, they also kept him active in the classroom, part of it, so he never felt singled out. The kids in his class were pretty much in the norm range of things, but he never felt like he was slowed down or waiting around. Private school isn’t perfect, there can be social issues there, depending on the school, if you are the family that isn’t the one going on weekend ski trips to Europe and drives a mini van instead of a mercedes or lexus, in some ways public school socially may be a better fit, if not academically.
The private schools we looked at for S1 wanted to have him repeat second grade because they used a June cutoff, which was different than the public schools. They were not open to subject acceleration where needed, either. We are very fortunate to live in an area with excellent, diverse public schools and some truly amazing signature programs. We have friends and relatives who live in other parts of the country and were envious of the opportunities in our community. OTOH, school here can be a real pressure cooker and that can be a real issue.
We did consider home schooling S2 if he had not gotten into the 4th-5th grade program (which was not at the neighborhood school). We talked about doing a lot of experiential and hands-on activities like going to sit in on Congress, visiting the Smithsonian, going fossil hunting, taking water samples at the nearby creek, etc. We did a good bit of that anyway, mainly in the summers, but he still talks about how cool that would have been.
We could not afford tuition for K-12 and college for two kids. For us, it made more sense to take advantage of what the public schools offered and save $$ so that they could go to the college of their choice.
Several women posting in this thread – including me – have reported that maturity was indeed a problem for them. Even if it doesn’t seem to be a problem immediately, it might become one later (for example, if the girl doesn’t feel ready for dating when her classmates do).
So while I would agree that maturity is more of a concern for boys, it can also pose problems for girls.
In New England it is very common for kids to go to public high school in 9th grade, then repeat 9th grade at a prep, private school. Many for sports, many to catch up to kids who have attended private schools their whole life.
Also, being a bit “slower” at 4 - 5 does not mean much at all either.
I mentioned that we put our D. a bit ahead, not as much a some others here - she was missing only 4 days for the deadline. She also took kindergarten readiness test and tested very low, just a bit above the cut off line.
This test should not be taken seriously at all. I do not know the reason for it. Our D. ended up never having a single B in her entire academic career from kindergarten thru graduating from college, while being one of the youngest in every class that she ever took. She went on to graduate from medical school and a first year resident now.
So much for a 4 y o not being ready for her kindergarten!
Some gifted kids have problems with early testing like kindergarten readiness. My daughter was marked deficient in color knowledge because she told the teacher that bananas are white. Later she said indignantly that if they wanted to know the color of the banana skin they should have been more specific.
This can also be an issue when they are seniors in college. If everyone else has turned 21, and you’re still 20, this has implications for your social life (i.e., going to clubs, etc.) unless you get a fake ID.
My son was asked the color of a crayon and he read them the name of the crayon. I couldn’t figure out why his Pre-K teachers was teaching everyone to skip (he was the last one in the class to get it), but it turned out that was part of the kindergarten readiness testing too. I talked to the principal about it at some point and she said they rarely tell anyone they aren’t ready, but they do use it to identify possible learning issues.
Our school system had a very lame gifted program which did not begin to meet the needs of my oldest, though it was a reasonably good experience for my younger kid. They are probably a standard deviation apart in IQ scores. Interestingly I had a better experience than my sil did with getting accommodations and subject acceleration in our school system than in the very well respected private school her son attended.
I had a 17 year old room mate in college who couldn’t legally drink. It didn’t seem to make much difference to her social life. Though she was annoyed when Massachusetts raised the age to 19 as soon as she turned 18.
As one who skipped, I always “seemed” to do alright. I’m outgoing and friendly, always had a group of friends, etc. I was the third (of 4) kids in my family, so I knew older kids. I wasn’t “immature”. I was a pretty easygoing kid and never made a big deal about how I felt.
But…I always felt “different” inside. It mattered to me when I wasn’t allowed to date or drive in HS when my friends could. When I got to college I met others who skipped or started school at age , so I finally felt normal. Interestingly, all of my closest friends from college graduated a year after me (i.e. they are the same age as me).
It really, really depends on the kid. I can’t think of more than a couple of D’s close friends who are her age. All of them are older. The kids in her class have always been older, so her school friend are a year or two older. Friends she’s made from her trips are older-some even 2 or 3 years older. Her church friends are older. It doesn’t phase her or them because she’s always ACTED older than her age, and she’s not into partying, and most of the kids don’t drive because they have good public transportation.
She DOES feel different-different in that so many of her peers are not dedicated to their educations like she is, different in that she doesn’t care to party like some of them, different in that she has a plan for college and beyond and they’re hung up about boys or girls, and what they can buy next. Her good friends are not like that, and they’re not her age.
Her brother is gifted as well, but skipping him would have been a total disaster. He really didn’t mature until after HS. Brilliance alone won’t make a kid ready to be accelerated.
I guess it does depend on the kid. I always took school seriously and planned college/career, but at the same time the social side of things was very important to me too.
(I don’t think I’ve seen that comic strip since the 70s!)