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BRE and starting full day school???

Sat, 06/04/2011 - 13:11

Topic: Living With Epilepsy - Youth

My almost 5 yr old is supposed to be starting Kindergarten in Sept. Full day, 7 hrs, 5 days a week. She has BRE and is still napping 1-2 hrs mid day. We live in NJ and the cut off for K is 10/1, A LOT of people hold back so potentially she could be in a class w/ many 6 yr olds and she will have just turned 5. I am wondering if I should hold her back for a year ??? She still really seems to need that mid day nap and I am worried that 7 hr days may start seizures again. She is on Keppra at bedtime and has been seizure free for one year, although still showing some seizure-like behaviors (at night) so...????

Anyone w/ BRE give me some insight as to how your child did w/ full day school and how they have done academically as they progress through the grades???

Any suggestions, opinions???

Thanks,

brenda

Comments

Re: BRE and starting full day school???

Submitted by cdsmom on Tue, 2011-06-28 - 23:33

Yes I would definitely hold your daughter back - even if she didn't have BRE. There is just no benefit to being the youngest in the class. My son will be 5 in May 2012 but we are holding him back until Fall 2013 - he definitely needs the extra time to catch up with his peers.

sue

Re: BRE and starting full day school???

Submitted by Agill on Wed, 2011-06-29 - 01:59

As a kindergarten teacher, I would suggest holding her back a year. You won't be doing any harm by waiting a year and it'll give her some extra time to mature and be ready for a full day at school. I've taught grades 2, 3 and 4, and you can definitely tell which are the younger kids in the group. They often have a harder time learning to read and following daily routines. I've seen such things then start to affect their confidence, which just causes so many more obstacles for them down the road. I'm generalizing, and there are always exceptions, but I feel that if you're even asking the question, you know yourself that she isn't ready. I think it's great that you have a full day kindergarten program! It prepares the kids so much more for grade 1. But it does make for a long day, and you want to start your little one off on the right foot and make sure she's healthy. If you're concerned about socializing your daughter, as many parents often are, there are so many other options that you can take advantage of to get her playing with other kids. You could even see what the general daily routine is in the kindergarten class and start gradually following something similar this year and start getting her used to the snack, lunch and nap times she'll be following once she is in kindergarten. That way she'll be super ready and it won't be such a shock to her system. It's the best age to hold a child back. Once they are in the mid-elementary grades and need to be held back, there are so many more social implications. Good luck and trust that you'll make the right decision for your child!

Re: BRE and starting full day school???

Submitted by Hancai1997 on Tue, 2011-07-12 - 08:57

You should definitely hold her back. My daughter's birthday is August 31st and she started kindergarten just after her 5th birthday. Academically she was ready and I thought she'd do fine socially. However the social problems really didn't show up until about fourth grade, when all of a sudden the other kids started seeming so much more mature. By that point it was too late to hold her back. It was a huge mistake to start her in kindergarten when she had just turned five. I really wish that we hadn't done it because in the long run it has caused so many problems for her. Please, give your child another year! Michele

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