Is it Common to Hold Children Back in Kindergarten?

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Family, for parents, Kids, parenting, parenting tips

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!