Starting school before he is ready???

[alfison6578]

Sending child to kindergarten too early??
My son is 5 years old, and my mother in law wont stop harping for me to send him to kindergarten in the fall. He has some developmental delays. Is currently in ot and pt, as well as speech therapy. His teachers from last year recomend him to stay in the cese program. She texts and calls every week at least once to demand I put him in kindergarten. My husband agreed with me at first, but now she has talked him into putting my son in kindergarten. She wants me to put hhim the special ed program, but I feel if I do that he will be behind his classmates his whole life and if I can avoid it by having him catch up in the cese it makes more sense. Mind you she is the daycare provider but only 3 days a week, and the cese program is only a half of a day. I dont feel he is ready and dont want to set him up for failure. Am I being ridiculous???

[deb91]

Mom in law needs to mind her own business to be blunt. You know what is best for your child. She’s going to have to trust you in this. If she no longer wants to provide daycare then tell her you’ll find another provider. I didn’t start my son in kindergarten until he was 6 and I have never regretted that decision. By the time he started, he was more emotionally ready

[Penny Williams]

I would trust your gut and wait for kindergarten. Words can’t express how much I wish I had waited a year to put my own son in school. Instead, after several traumatic years, we had him repeat a grade to right that wrong.

Penny
ADDitude Community Moderator, Parenting ADHD Trainer & Author, Mom to teen w/ ADHD, LDs, and autism

[BRLK]

I agree with the others. I started mine at 5 and a half and although academically he was capable, socially and emotionally he was not. We did not have a dx at that time but if we had I would have waited for sure. Mine is dual ADHD/ASD and he’s 12 no and has managed, but I think he would have had an easier time all the way around if we had waited another year. I know it can be tough to contradict strong opinioned relatives who probably have good intentions but you know your child best and mommy intuition is real so do what you feel is best. And disability or not, I’ve never met a parent who waited an extra year and regretted starting their child later – whether their child had special needs or not. Kindergarten has changed and the standards are higher and more demanding than when we were in school, so an extra year to mature is good for almost any child.

[JBoom]

@alfison6578,

You and the school know better than any armchair critics. That’s all that needs to be said.

[Author]

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