I thought it was interesting that the Terman participants who started school at an earlier age than normal tended to have more difficult lives as they grew up. It reminded me of my own personal experience with this.
With my birthday being in the late month of November, when my mom enrolled both my twin sister and I into kindergarten, we were both the youngest in our classes. I don’t remember kindergarten very much, except for a few moments. I remember one time I was supposed to finish a worksheet before I was allowed to play, but I was very tired of it. Instead of doing my work, I went to go play with dolls with other students in the classroom. I felt anxious about not finishing my work, but the idea of playing was more alluring to me. I remember my teacher being furious with me and yelling at me to go back and finish my work up, and I remember feeling very restricted and restless. As mentioned in the book, maybe I was feeling the effects of being in a confined play schedule.
When it was time for my sister and I to advance to first grade, my mom was hesitant about it. Like the book mentioned, she was afraid that my sister and I would not be able to fit in with the other students due to being young and, ultimately, impact our ability to excel in school. Therefore, my mom decided to enroll us both into kindergarten again for the second time.
I don’t think I have been impacted by my mom’s decision to do this. I remember I felt confused at why my friends were all in different classes than me. However, I think this choice was for the best. My second time in kindergarten was an enriching experience for me, and I was surrounded by very nurturing teachers.
I think its interesting that your mother pointed out the social complications that might arise from advancing to the first grade early. For her, it seems that being able to fit in and how one interacts with their social environment is foundational for succeeding academically. I had never thought of it in that way because my parents saw no issue in trying to push me to advanced classes because they assumed all that was necessary was studying harder. While this may not be untrue, I still think it should have been important for my parents to consider my social climate too because being miserable socially can impact my motivation to succeed academically and it is naive to dismiss the importance of that.
I think it was a very wise decision for your mom to decide to allow you to repeat kindergarden again. The prospect of doing this may be very unappealing for some parents, but as we have learned, it is very important for children to begin school in an environment where they feel comfortable and confident about their skill levels. Early childhood education has long-term effects because it gives children the tools that they need to succeed (high self-esteem, motivation, social support, etc).