School Over-placement
By Rexanne Mancini
 

Some children are over-placed in school. These children are either too young to start school in the first place or not ready to move on to the next grade, be it for their chronological age or maturity level. 

At times, children are placed in kindergarten before they are ready, setting them up for 12 years of trauma that is easily avoided by holding them back a year if they are obviously struggling with basic principles of education at their current grade level. Some kids are sent to kindergarten before they are old enough or mature enough to deal effectively in a structured atmosphere. The very best thing you can do for a child struggling to keep up is allow them to remain a year behind at the earliest age possible, when it is less likely to create an emotional issue. Also, be reasonably certain your child is ready for kindergarten in the first place. 

If a child is not yet five years old but the school system allows him to enter kindergarten anyway,  signs of over-placement should be watched for. Or, if a child is five but shows signs of emotional struggles with the idea of starting school, think seriously about his readiness. 

I understand that many parents are eager to enroll their children in school at the earliest possible moment. Many times only to benefit the parents and their schedule, to gain more free time or because they are without reliable child care. This is not a good enough reason to rush a child who is clearly not ready, no matter what their age. These parents will assume the burden of a traumatized child which, in the long run, will create many more problems and time crunches.  

Inability to grasp classroom concepts, emotional reversal or clinginess may mean your child is not ready for the challenge of elementary school. In just a few months, he will be ready and will have better grounding emotionally and physically to meet the challenge of each grade as he progresses through school. Please give your child the chance to integrate by allowing him the extra year to mature. It could make all the difference. 

I couldn't find any reference to children who are struggling through school due to over-placement on the Internet. It may be out there but it got past me! I did find references stating that if a child is to be held back a grade, kindergarten or first grade is the optimum time.

If you suspect your child has been over-placed in school all along and it seems too late to have the school hold her back, there is hope in tutors, summer school and after school resources that can help bring a struggling child up to speed. It's well worth the effort and sometimes takes only six months for her to catch up. 

Link # 1 will give you a comprehensive list of skills needed for each grade your child is entering: Grade Skills

Link #2 is a parent's quiz to assist in deciding if your child is developmentally ready for elementary school: Developmental Readiness

C) Rexanne Mancini - 2000 - 2007

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Rexanne Mancini is the mother of two daughters, Justice and Liberty. She is a novelist, freelance writer and maintains an extensive yet informal parenting and family web site, Rexanne.com -Visit her site for good advice, award-winning Internet holiday pages and some humor to help you cope. Subscribe to her newsletter, Rexanne’s Web Review, for a monthly dose of Rexanne.

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