
Is it Common to Hold Children Back in Kindergarten?
It is more common than you would like to think. Holding a child back in Kindergarten is primarily due to age and emotional or developmental maturity. A child’s age may be at Kindergarten level BUT they may need a little more time to catch up developmentally and emotionally. Children mature at their own pace.
- Kindergarten age children need to be able to sit quietly and listen and follow instructions from a teacher.
- Kindergarten age children need to be able to play and interact with other children like sharing toys and not fighting or throwing temper tantrums.
- Kindergarten age children need to be able to deal with separation anxiety from their parents or guardians.
- Kindergarten age children need the ability to focus on activities they are asked to do.
- Kindergarten age children need to demonstrate mastery of academic benchmarks of the curriculum by the end of the year such as knowing how to spell their name, identify 10+ sight words, know their alphabet letters and sounds, know concepts about print such as where to begin reading a book, return sweep capability at the end of a line of text, understand punctuation, or count to the number 20 or higher to name a few.
Research establishes that it is better to hold a child back at Kindergarten level than at older grade levels. The older in age they get, the more damage to their self-esteem and their ability to relate to their peers can occur.
An IMPORTANT NOTE to parents is if your child has been held back a year in Kindergarten and there are still concerns, then it is time to look deeper. Enlist the help of other professionals such as psychologists, special education teachers, speech-language pathologists, a reading specialist, and the child’s pediatrician. It takes a team to lead your child to success but YOU the parent are the team captain!

KLAC ENTERPRISES, LLC/Buckaroo Buckeye™/Nuts About Reading™
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