Parents of gifted students ask, "What do I do to enhance my child's education? Do I advance my child by skipping grades, or keep my child with children of the same chronological age?" The option is there but when parents are aware of the reasons why it might not be such a good idea to advance a gifted child to a higher grade, they may see why a gifted student needs will best be met in an age appropriate class.

REASONS WHY A GIFTED CHILD SHOULD REMAIN IN AN AGE APPROPRIATE CLASSROOM:

1. Physical Development:

If the child is physically smaller, shorter or less developed than the children in that child's classroom, it could create self esteem issues. Since the gifted student is already different from other student's, why would we want to place them in a class where their physical size would make them stand out even more? Physical appears makes a huge difference to a child's self esteem, and no child wants to stand out in a crowd, due to physical differences.

This is especially true for boys who tend to physically develop much slower than girls. Still, girls have issues with their appearance too, so it's wise to consider the average height of a child within a certain grade as well as the aspects that physical development changes what children do in a social group and where they fit in. Gifted children want and need to fit in with other children too.

2. Social and Emotional Maturity:

Just because a child is gifted doesn't mean he or she is emotionally and socially more mature than children of his or her chronological age. In elementary school, one year can make a huge difference in the maturity of a child, and the already frustrated gifted child might feel overwhelmed with stress from the social aspects of being among children more socially mature than he or she has had the time and opportunity to develop.

If the gifted child is placed with children more emotionally and socially mature, the maturity level will create issues with the gifted child that might exceed the intellectual benefits of skipping his age appropriate grade. This is due to the fact that by advancing grade levels, he or she will be in high school sooner than children his or her own age. What this could create is a child too young and immature to deal with the insanity which often occurs in high schools today. It's hard enough being a teen and dealing with teen insanity without pushing a gifted child into that insane stage

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